Michael Ransom's Vietnam squad leader, Vic Jenkins, is captured by terrorists demanding ten million dollars worth of diamonds in return for his release. Michael, reluctantly aided by local tough-girl Rosanna Boom, is dispatched by the C.I.A. to recapture Jenkins, and put a stop to his heroin-smuggling captors. But not all is as it appears. Michael Ransom is back! This time around, he's played by Brent Huff, and he really has his hands full for this particular adventure. His old Major in Vietnam, Vic Jenkins (Harris) has been kidnapped, and his captors want ten million dollars in diamonds in return for his release. The baddie doing all the dirty work representing the terrorists who not only kidnap people, but have a large heroin-making facility, is named Kramet (Davidson). He wears a white suit in the dead of summer and has an army of ninjas backing him up wherever he goes. Soon, Ransom ends up teaming up with local tavern owner Rosanna Boom (Stavin) and CIA guy Kelly Sellers (Vanni) (who is coming up with these names?) - to ultimately shut down the drugs operation, run by the nefarious Huan To (Diaz, because this movie was shot in the Philippines) and save Jenkins, but some twists and turns might say otherwise. Will Ransom pay the ransom for Jenkins? Find out today! While Strike Commando 2 has some good moments, overall we prefer the first entry in this two-part series. It must have been tough for Huff to fill the shoes of Reb Brown, and he even tries his hand at a Reb-style scream, or, Reb-el yell as we call it, towards the end of the movie. While it would have been a perfectly serviceable scream in its own right, compared to the master Reb, it falls short. But the main problem is that there are too many "wacky" musical stings, which highlight some attempted comedy. Usually this comes in the form of the typical bickering between Brent Huff and Stavin, who plays the stereotype "nagging woman" role. That is, until they can learn to get along. Adding some loopy clarinets and silent movie-style sped-up fights detract from the intensity the movie should have.<br/><br/>But there are plenty of positives to be found as well: many high-quality explosions are on show, and of course the main victims of these blow-ups are huts. There is some funny dubbing and some unintentional "laffs" as well. Naturally, there is the prerequisite torture scene, and in this jungle, many guard towers fall, or, poor unfortunate watchmen fall out of them. And lest we forget Richard Harris, of Richard Harris fame, whose presence here is inexplicable - but extremely welcome. Maybe the Academy Award voters held this against him and that's why he was a nominee but never a winner? Regardless, this is Harris as fans want to see him, and, like a true professional, he doesn't treat the material as inferior. He gives a strong, classy performance.<br/><br/>Michael Ransom has some UNFINISHED BUSINESS - with his automatic rifle and his missile launcher. Despite some missteps, if you can see SC2, do go forth and watch. Don't leave in a Huff, check it out if you get the chance. Strike Commando 2 (1988) <br/><br/>* (out of 4)<br/><br/>Here's another ultra-cheap action picture from Bruno Mattei. This time out, Michael Ransom (Brent Huff) must go into the jungles of Vietnam as his old squad leader is being held ransom. Once there the kidnappers are demanding some priceless diamonds for his return but Ransom has his own way of dealing with things.<br/><br/>Once again we are treated to another awful film from the one and only Bruno Mattei who has pretty much become a legend to bad movie fans because of his willingness to do whatever it takes to make something unoriginal. The first STRIKE COMMANDO was a really bad film but it did offer up a lot of bad action scenes and explosions. That stuff happens, to a lesser degree, here as well but this film also plays the Mattei game of ripping off other movies. RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARC, LETHAL WEAPON and RAMBO II are just some of the films that get ripped off here.<br/><br/>I must admit that I was a little shocked to see a lot more dialogue and story here compared to the first film but I'm going to guess that the budget got slashed before the production started. I say that because the first film was mostly action but that's not the case here as the action doesn't really start until the finale. With that said, I must admit that I enjoyed this one here slightly more than the first because the dubbing was so bad that you couldn't help but laugh at some of the dialogue and the way it was delivered.<br/><br/>Huff flexes his muscles throughout but the real shock to the cast is Richard Harris. I was shocked to see him in a film from Mattei and what's stranger is that he isn't just in a walk-on part but instead he appears throughout the movie in a rather large part. Perhaps the action scenes budget was cut to give more money to Harris? Who knows but STRIKE COMMANDO 2 is pretty much what you'd expect it to be.
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