No Contest II

This sequel to the 1994 actioner "No Contest" (which I enjoyed much more than I expected to) is a much inferior film. The fight scenes are not badly choreographed, but all the rest is just SO stereotypical and familiar. Shannon Tweed still is up to the game, but Lance Henriksen does his usual "psychotic villain" number, and we're not impressed anymore. (*1/2)

In FACE THE EVIL (aka: NO CONTEST II), Shannon Tweed returns as Sharon Bell. This time, she's visiting her sister's art gallery. All is lovely until a group of homicidal criminals arrive to poop on everyone's party. Sharon must battle these terrorists along with their loathsome leader, Dane (Lance Henriksen).

Ms. Tweed must shift from uber-hot socialite, into uber-hot commando mode, while Mr. Henriksen grimaces and acts in eeevil ways. They're both great, raising the material above the typical DIE HARD clones.

Fear not! There's plenty of gunfire, explosions, and karate throughout, and the gushy finale is classic stuff indeed...

****SPOILERS**** Like in the first "No Contest" Sharon Bell, Shannon Tweed, saves the day with her fancy foot-work and a number of swings from a steel pole in this outrageous action movie set inside a locked museum with her little sister Bobbie,Janye Heitmeyer,the museum curator lending a hand.

There's an interesting sidelight to the movie between the two sisters and why Sharon is so hard and unfeeling when it comes to little Bobbie which stems from the two girls childhood. Bobbie finds that out from Sharon at the end of the film which was nicely done.

Sharon filming her latest action movie at the Hollman Museum where a gang of art thieves take over the place and hold everyone hostage. Lead by world renowned art collector Eric Dane, Lance Henriksen, who in reality turns out to be Eric Dengler the son of the Berlin Museums, during the time of Hitler, curator and fanatical Nazi Manferd Dengler.

The film deals with a number of valuable artifacts looted by the Nazis during WWII that in return were stolen by the Red Army at the end of the war. Later after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991 the artifacts were smuggled out of Russia by Dengler to the USA and brought to the Hollman Museum gallery.

You begin to wonder why Dangler would want to steal the very expensive items that he already had in the first place? Is he crazy? Locked in the museum with only an identification card by Bobbi able to unlock the doors Dangler for some insane reason activates a globe-like bomb with a secret nerve gas developed by Nazi Germany. This unusual device can not only kill everybody in the museum but burn the sheet that has the formula for an antidote to it? now you know he's crazy.

Sharon who escaped and hid from Dangler and his hoods takes out Dangler's girlfriend Lisette, Fiona Highet, in what looked like a hall of balloons, not mirrors. The fast swinging Sharon has it out with the powerful but a little bit off-the-wall Dangler associate and fellow thief Falco, Kevin Jubinville,in about a half dozen battles that took up the entire movie.

With time running out and the nerve-gas bomb about to explode Sharon confronts Dengler who's holding her movie director Jack, Bruce Payne, hostage on the main exhibition floor. With her having the card to open the door to save everyone that's still left alive by getting out of the place before the bomb explodes.

Nowhere as good as the original "No Contest" but you have to say that Shannon Tweed is some knock-out. The villain in the film Lance Henriksen is a far better actor the the villain of the previous "No Contest" Andrew Dice Clay. Even though he's nowhere as funny, intentionally or unintentionally, as the famous Diceman.

What I thought was supposed to be the highlight of the movie the final confrontation between Sharon and Dangler was a bit disappointing. Dangler gets locked in an exhibit air-tight glass enclosure and i vaporized by the exploding nerve-gas bomb. The poor guy was out of bullets so he was not even able to blow his brains out before he disintegrated.

Shannon Tweed is back fighting terrorists, but this time Lance Henrikson fills in for both Rowdy Roddy Piper and Andrew Dice Clay. I prefer the first one, even though I like Henrikson as an actor. This one is tedious to sit through and not nearly as fun as the film that preceded it. The fights are put together in such a haphazard way that those are boring as well. Giving a casual glance to both the writers on this film, I shouldn't be surprised at how bad it was, as neither writer has done ANYthing even remotely good. Skip the snooze-fest. Rent the original instead, or better yet just watch the vastly superior Die Hard for the upturn time.

My Grade:D-

This got to be on of the worst movies ever. The plot was terrible, the action scenes boring and the whole thing totally crap. Good action films makes you forget that some things are unrealistic, like having 100 bullets in a gun. This movie is not like that at all. Here it just seems silly. And the ending is crap as well.

The only good thing is Lance Hendriksen who can actually act, otherwise do not waste your time on this movie.