Tian shi xing dong II zhi huo feng kuang long

A classic example of the Hong Kong 'battling babes/girls with guns' genre that was prevalent in the mid '80s to early '90s, Iron Angels 2 delivers exactly what fans expect: lots of well executed, hard hitting martial arts scenes featuring kung fu cuties Moon Lee and Elaine Lui, and numerous shootouts, with countless bad guys biting the dust in a hail of bullets and bloody squibs.

Lee and Lui play members of elite force Iron Angels, showing us what they do best in a blazing opening scene where they take on a gang of ruthless kidnappers, with the help of fellow agent Alex (Alex Fong). Bullets fly and blood squirts! Having dispatched of the baddies and rescued the hostage, Alex and the two girls take a well earned vacation in Malaysia, where they stay with Peter Kam (Ting-Wai Chan), Alex's pal from his college days, and now a successful businessman.

While the ladies sun themselves by Peter's pool, Alex and Peter, accompanied by another old friend Marco (Yu Lung Hsiao), hit the bars, allowing for some light-hearted fun and fighting before the serious action kicks in, which occurs after Marco, actually an undercover CIA agent, finds proof of Peter's involvement in a plot to overthrow the government. Captured by Peter's guards, Marco is executed by his old pal, the act witnessed by Elaine, who is also taken prisoner. Now it is up to the Moon and Alex, with the help of three other special operatives, to rescue Elaine from Peter's jungle stronghold.

The final twenty minutes or so consists of one long battle scene with huge explosions, countless extras mown down with machine gun fire, plenty of dangerous looking stunt-work, and two particularly impressive showdowns—Moon Lee vs some soldiers in a hut full of explosives, and Peter against Alex at the base of a waterfall—all of which adds up to a good time for fight fans.

7.5 out of 10, rounded up to 8 for the hilarious screeching tyres sound effect during a car chase, despite the vehicles being driven on dirt tracks.

The Iron Angels have just solved a kidnapping case and the reward is a holiday in Malaysia. One of them (Alex Fong) reunites with an old university friend called Peter Kam, a rich businessman. He's charming and one of the Angels fall for him, however when a CIA agent ( another reunited friend from the hero's uni days) goes missing on site, the Iron Angels unwittingly get a new assignment. Peter Kam! They learn that the power-hungry Hitler fan is planning a revolution in his own country. His secret Operation Cobra aims to overthrow the Malaysian government and put an end to foreign capitalist influence...

The story is quite good here, the hook of an old friend turning out to be a power hungry creep pulls you in - the acting all around is good, the production is slick and the action is above average; solid fights, car chases through the forest, and gunfights. Moon Lee in particular gets a nifty kick in the head. This is a solid Kung-fu action, though the way the hero gets proof that his friend is no good is a bit too easy ( a videotape of hitler and a plan of attack typed down on a computer.) Rambo-like finale is awesome and is filled with great stunts, choreography and gunfights. It's really impressive- definitely got my adrenaline pumping.

"Iron Angels 2" can be divided in 3 parts. The first 30 minutes are almost a comedy. The 3 Iron Angels go on a vacation to Malaysia, meeting Peter who is a friend of Fong since their college days. Peter has become rich and owns a huge company. They drink a lot, get into a tavern brawl and finally, angel Elaine falls in love with Peter. The second third is a spy thriller. Agent Marco gets killed and Fong's Iron Angels are asked to keep an eye on Peter who likes helicopter flights into the jungle. The final third is a violent battle: after Elaine is captured, Karen (Kharina Sa) is sent to Fong (with as many weapons as she can carry) to help and rescue Elaine.

The movie is constructed with a method: beginning with happy holidays, it gets darker, heavier, bloodier all the time - until the protagonists feel they've been taken to the slaughterhouse. Moon Lee gets her pretty face kicked really hard once. In the way it's moving towards the climax, the movie is a very effective piece of work, albeit not extremely original.

After successfully completing one more mission, the Iron Angels (Alex Fong, Moon Lee and Elaine Lui - no sign of that cool Japanese guy from the first film) go on vacation to Kuala Lumpur. There, they hook up with a very rich businessman who also happens to be Fong's childhood friend. But the friend is about to turn into an enemy when the Angels are informed that this man is also the power-hungry leader of a terrorist group that has set up camp in the middle of the jungle and plans to overthrow the government of Malaysia.

I found this film a bit better than its predecessor: the story flow is smoother, the production is slicker, the stunts are even more spectacular and, above all, Elaine Lui's character - who was somewhat of an airhead in the first film - is much improved: more mature, more tough, and able to stand on her own in moments of action. The first half has a few pointless scenes, but the second is basically an extended version of the attack on the jungle camp in "Predator", except here some of the commandos are women. So if you want to see the striking and exotic Kharina Sa (instead of Arnold) moving through the jungle and machine-gunning down dozens of bad guys without even flinching, this is your movie! (**1/2)

This is a fast-paced and thrilling action sequel from Hong Kong, featuring Alex Fong, Moon Lee, and Elaine Lui as the Iron Angels, martial arts-trained agents tasked to take on a rebel sect whose goals is to overthrow the government to rid the country of Western influence.

There's some good stuff here with action mixed in with drama and suspense, and a butt-kicking finale with plenty of martial arts and explosive action. Likable characters and a simple but effective story line that keeps this movie series going strong! Grade A