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U.S.
SEALS 2 (1999)
A.K.A.
- U.S. Seals II: The Ultimate Force
Reviewed
by Phil Mills
Previewed
heavily in 'Impact' magazine, 'U.S. Seals 2' had all the
makings of another underground action classic in the mould of
films like 'Drive'
and 'Wicked
Game'. With Jackie Chan stunt group member Andy
Cheng attached for the fight choreography (and also starring)
the stage was set for some high octane, quality kung fu fights
that would once again set the B-movie market aflame.
Casey
Sheppard (Worth) and Frank Ratcliffe (Chapa) are two of finest
Navy Seals in the outfit and also close friends. That is
until Ratcliffe decides to follow the dark side and set up
camp in an abandoned Russian nuclear missile base that just so
happens to have some handy leftovers lying around.
Unsurprisingly, Sheppard is the first to offer his services to
bring in Ratcliffe but there is one small problem; the base is
filled with methane gas and the slightest gunshot or spark
would light up the whole place so it's a strictly covert
operation only. Therefore, fighting skills are the order
of the day and Sheppard recruits some of the toughest guys and
gals he knows to assist him in his mission. Now it's up
to our would-be band of heroes to whip up a storm and save the
day!
'U.S.
Seals 2' could so easily have lived up to expectations if only
they had made the martial arts the major focal point!
With the obvious lack of an all star cast and some ropey
scripting, the best the production team could have hoped for
was 90 minutes of hardcore action but there is an abundance of
cheese to wade through before you get to the good stuff.
Director Isaac Florentine (previously responsible for the
under-par 'Savate')
disappointingly fills the screen time with almost 45 minutes
of dull, unoriginal plot points until the first hint of action
steadily creeps in but luckily, when it comes, it is worth the
wait. Andy Cheng has clearly learnt his craft from the
master and every punch or kick is bone-crunchingly effective
with equally impressive combinations that create slickly
pasted together fight sequences. With the likes of Cheng
himself and Sophia Crawford performing these manoeuvres you
can be sure that you get enough bite for your buck with the
only real letdown being the fact that there are only two main
brawls that are far too short-lived for my tastes.
'U.S.
Seals 2' is at time bogged down by a truly awful script, dire
acting and unintentionally laughable characters but thankfully
Andy Cheng is at hand to provide the viewer with some
impressive feats of kung fu. Without these it surely
would have been easily bypassed but they alone earn the film a
hearty 3 stars and make it a worthwhile watch.
Rating:
 
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