Tiger Claws II Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		5.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.5
Overall		4.0

Tiger Claws II Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf December 11, 2021

While the story found its way to a conclusion in 1991’s “Tiger Claws,” producer/actor Jalal Merhi isn’t ready to leave money on the table. Trying to transform a simple action vehicle into a franchise, Merhi returns with 1996’s “Tiger Claws II,” reuniting with stars Cynthia Rothrock and Bolo Yeung for a second chapter that’s more about setting up a second sequel, making some noise while the tale works its way to a cliffhanger conclusion. Merhi’s vision is bigger for “Tiger Claws II,” but his budget restraints are more pronounced, finding the follow-up wrestling with limited sets and a few poor creative decisions while trying to offer B-movie fans an exciting continuation of the suddenly-a-franchise.

Chong (Bolo Yeung) sits in prison, awaiting punishment for his crimes, while New York City is protected by Tarek (Jalal Merhi). The cop botches another bust while trying to nail weapons dealer Victor (Evan Lurie), who gets away from authorities, picked up by goons working for Dai Lo Fu (Ong Soo Han), with the gang also breaking Chong out of the slammer. When trouble arrives in San Francisco, Linda (Cynthia Rothrock) requests Tarek’s presence, welcoming her ex-lover to the west coast for an investigative reunion. Instead of unearthing a crime, Tarek and Linda discover a martial arts tournament hosted by Dai Lo Fu, who wants to celebrate Chinese New Year with a fight strong enough to trigger ancient magic, giving him true power.

What these movies dance around is the fact that Tarek is a terrible cop. “Tiger Claws II” returns to the law enforcement hero, who once again mangles a mission to bring evil down, this time featuring Victor, who’s trying to finish a deal with Dai Lo Fu, hanging around for a completed payment. The bad guys get away in the opening act, where the production tries to add some John Woo-esque bullet ballet to a warehouse shootout. The idea is to move the action from NYC to San Francisco, reuniting Tarek with Linda for a police partnership, and the story gets closer to Asian magic by relocating to Chinatown, providing a venue for the tournament.

How “Tiger Claws II” goes west is a source of great amusement, watching Victor steal a French fry truck to remain inconspicuous(?), and when two state troopers show up to order food, Chong actually prepares a batch, with the newly Zen killer trying to prevent unnecessary death, making a critical mistake by putting mustard on the fries. Yes, this is an actual scene in the movie.

Tiger Claws II Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The AVC encoded image (1.85:1 aspect ratio) presentation is sourced from a 4K scan of the original 35mm negative. Detail is excellent, exploring different facial particulars on a varied cast, along with old age makeup. The tournament setting provides interesting stone textures and fibrous costuming, and San Francisco locations are dimensional. Colors are striking, with deep primaries on clothing and decoration. Winterscapes are also memorable, offering crisp, cooler whites. Skintones are natural, and Rothrock's blonde hair offers some appealing pop. Delineation is ideal. Grain is fine and film-like. Source is in excellent condition.

Tiger Claws II Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 2.0 DTS-HD MA mix provides repetitive but heavier scoring cues, which thunder with percussive intensity, also exploring synth-led moods with crisp instrumentation. Dialogue exchanges are clear, working with some obviously dubbed actors and the cast's somewhat limited range. Sound effects are defined, with harder physical hits and some mild fantasy touches.

Tiger Claws II Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary features producer/actor Jalal Merhi.

Tiger Claws II Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

"Tiger Claws II" eventually settles into the tournament setting, which requires some work inside a labyrinth before one-on-one fighting begins. The writing makes a critical error in diminishing Linda's role until the very end of the feature, restraining Rothrock when she's a more dynamic fighter than her male co-stars. And there's the aforementioned cliffhanger, which is put together with weird freeze-frames and extreme close-ups, suggesting it was a last-minute idea to keep the money train on track. Little errors in judgement keep "Tiger Claws II" from achieving the same kinetic success as the original endeavor, but it remains compelling escapism, and French fry weirdness doesn't hurt the cause.