User Reviews

Alan Yau (Yen) is an ex-cop on the edge. After being kicked off the force for his rogue ways, his wife files for divorce. This would help explain why he's on the edge. Leaving the law office after being served with divorce papers, he gets swept up in a violent robbery. During this encounter, he saves the life of lawyer Mary Chang (Kwan). (NOTE: these are the names of the two leads in the dubbed version that we saw. In other versions, presumably any subtitled ones, their names are Dragon and Mandy, not Alan and Mary.) Now on the run from amoral and unscrupulous gangsters, they go through many mishaps and misadventures, not to mention relationship woes. It turns out there's a complex money laundering scheme at play and a lot of money is missing. But Inspector Yeung (Khan) suspects Alan and Mary are involved, even though they're innocent. Meanwhile, the super-evil "Mr. Big"-type gangster boss Wilson Chow (or Waise Chow, depending on your international version), (Shou) wants the heads of Alan and Mary as well. So now they'll have to fight - and fight and fight - to prove their innocence. Can they do it? Tiger Cage 2 is pretty much an in-name-only sequel to the first film. Donnie Yen returns this time around, but as a different character. There's good news and bad news here: the bad news is that plotwise, this is a silly comedy. The plot and characters are not as good as the first film, and since they've upped the comedic elements, there are silly sound effects such as overly-exaggerated "eating" noises such as crunching and soup-slurping. Plus the dubbing, should you see the dubbed version like we unfortunately did, is very silly, especially the guy who dubs Donnie Yen. And, Rosamund Kwan plays the stereotypical "complaining woman" that fights and whines all the way through her adventure. So those are the negatives.

The GOOD news is that the fight choreography is amazing. Perhaps even better than the first film. And that, after all, is the main reason anyone would watch Tiger Cage 2. There are non-stop, expertly executed fight scenes, and most memorably, there is a rockin' sword duel between Donnie and John Salvitti. Salvitti is a real-life friend of Donnie's, and he's appeared in such classics as Private Wars (1993) and Shootfighter II (1996). Michael Woods, who played a heavy in the first Tiger Cage movie, here returns as "Black Henchman". In fairness, Salvitti was "Caucasian Henchman." fan favorites Robin Shou and the great Cynthia Khan also get in on all the high-kicking, bone-breaking action, making Tiger Cage 2 a must-see for HK action junkies.

Plus there are some great clichés at work, such as the climax in the abandoned steam factory, and the Prerequisite Torture of the hero. Granted, this time the torture is a bit more unorthodox, as Donnie Yen is tied to a stationary exercise bike's wheel and Rosamund Kwan is forced to pedal into his chest! Talk about feeling the burn! Hey-o! There's also the standard scene at the disco which we always like seeing. Speaking of which, the music in this movie is very enjoyable and keeps things buoyant.

The strength of this movie, and Yuen Woo-Ping, are fight scenes. So concentrate on what this movie really is good at, and you will truly appreciate what Tiger Cage 2 has to offer.

After rewatching this again, you can see that Hollywood in the 90s does not know how to direct action. The best example is here, where Robin Shu plays a convincingly formidable opponent to none other than the great Donnie Yen. Shou in the Mortal Kombat movies seems like a joke because the choreography is terrible and there are not real talents. This is the greatest strengths of Tiger Cage 2. There are great car chases, fight scenes and stunts. The fights look convincing in the sense that the moves are not flashy for the sake of exhibition, nor are they too intense that you would cringe. Yen's swordfight with John Salvitti, and leg to hand fight against Michael Wood are the best parts. But other scenes are brilliant such as the fight with David Wu.We also see that Hong Kong cinema does have strong female protagonists long before Hollywood. Rosamund Kwan was not just a pretty face but was pivotal in the story, she also had some badass moments too. Cynthia Kwan, who plays a supporting role, is also a strong detective and has one great action scene too. In short, this a great family action movie to enjoy. Because of the intense action scenes, it may get an R rating (I don't know) but for us Asians, we are totally cool.

I'll be honest right now...I'm a collector of Hong Kong action movies from the 80s and 90s and this film definitely didn't disappoint me one tiny bit! It was like watching 'In the Line of Duty IV' all over again. The plot is simple, but action director Yuen Wo Ping doesn't stay focused on plot for too long...he gives the people what they want to see and that's loads of gunfights, plenty of humor and fantastic fight choreography that hits dead center! In this actioner, Donnie Yen portrays Dragon Yau, a surly ex-cop with a short fuse who's had better days. He's a great police officer and he'd probably make it to police captain if his lone wolf behavior and blatant disregard for proper procedure didn't get him and the rest of the force into trouble. After numerous demotions, reprimands and suspensions, Dragon is kicked off the force and his wife has filed for divorce and claimed half of his property and his bank account (talk about rotten luck!) Just when Dragon doesn't think his day could possibly get any worse, it actually does: he witnesses a robbery in progress at the law firm where he went and after risking his life to save Mandy Chan (the lovely Rosamund Kwan), you'd think he'd get a medal or a request to come back to the force. But because of fright, Mandy assumes that Dragon was helping the bad guys and this enrages the burnt out cop. When he comes back to confront Mandy about her accusation, his problems get worse, but they soon become Mandy's problems when assassins kill her best friend Petty (Carol Cheng) and Mandy is blamed for the crime. Sighted as criminals by Inspector Yeung (Cynthia Khan), Dragon and Mandy are forced to flee, which becomes a bit of a problem since they're handcuffed together and Mandy is trying to fight Dragon as they attempt to avoid capture. As if that wasn't bad enough, they're being chased not only by the cops, but by Triad criminals who think they had something to do with the money that was stolen at the firm. Dragon and Mandy don't have a clue what's going on or why people are trying to kill them but when they encounter one too many 'close calls', they say enough is enough and prepare to fight back against those who have set them up and made their lives a living hell.

I gotta be honest, when the first battle began in the parking garage, I knew I was in for a treat and Donnie Yen shows us some of the solid, hard-hitting, high-kicking action that has made him famous over the years. The man truly does enjoy playing the hard-boiled tough guy who never runs from a fight and never backs down when trouble is near. I wanted to be like this guy so much when I saw his fighting abilities on screen and to this day, I still try to emulate some of his moves. Rosamund Kwan did a terrific job as Mandy Chan, the divorce lawyer who finds herself in an unpredictable situation and doesn't have a clue why people are trying to kill her and is plagued with guilt over the death of her best friend Petty. The situations with her and Donnie are just too funny for words as the two can't stand each other's behavior but learn to come to an understanding when they realize they can't survive without each other. Yuen Wo Ping also gives the two time to bond while they're on-screen, showing situations where they eat dinner together, have a beer or two and Dragon even teaches Mandy how to smoke. That was a very memorable scene.

Another interesting factor is that Dragon and Mandy aren't alone in this situation: they find an ally in the form of David, one of the henchmen who worked for Robin Shou's evil character, Waise. David has no intention of hurting either Dragon or Mandy, but he has to retrieve the money that was lost because his mobster boss, Uncle Chiu believes that someone at the firm ripped him off. Because Dragon and Mandy are suspects, David does everything he can to help them while still staying focused on his mission which is to retrieve the cash.

Speaking of villains, I was shocked to see Robin Shou playing the part of the bad guy in this movie! Robin's character was truly a wicked man with no qualms about killing innocent people to cover his tracks and he even has the help of Michael Woods and John Salvitti (Donnie's sparring buddies in real life) to help him in his mission to become top dog of the underworld. This character's fighting ability was completely different from the Mortal Kombat Liu Kang that I was used to seeing. Robin definitely made a name for himself with this role.

The fight scenes were amazing: plenty of raw kicking power, sword swinging action and gun-fights galore to keep you on the edge of your seat. The choreography for the scenes were right on point and I didn't see one mistake in the fights. Truly ground-breaking work.

Tiger Cage II was a fantastic modern day movie and I recommend it to anyone who's into modern day actioners, Donnie Yen, Rosamund Kwan and the choreography of Yuen Wo Ping. Truly a work of art!

Des Mangan said in the intro to this movie that it was basically all action tied together by a few other scenes. When he said this he was not wrong. Tiger Cage II is not a movie about themes but rather a movie with a nice little plot and a lot of action. Even with this there are still things that one can draw out of a movie to tell us about the people around us.

A case full of money has been brought to Hong Kong to be laundered but someone in the firm wants the money for himself so betrays them and tries to get the money. Unfortunately the money is hidden and they think that a cop and a female lawyer have something to do with it, but they do not. Thus the two unfortunates find themselves running away from the law and the criminals as they try to stay alive and clear their names.

I guess the major thing that comes out of the movie is how money decides the goals of everybody. This money causes people to betray each other, kill each other, and turn those who were good into criminals. The cop and the lawyer are not criminals but were at the wrong place at the wrong time. Fortunately, unlike American movies, the filmmakers reveal a way in which the cop and the lawyer are cleared for the superintendent learns who the guy behind the robbery really is.

This movie is simply pure action. There is no reason as to why it is called Tiger Cage II and has absolutely no connection with the previous movie, which was about corruption in the police force. Tiger Cage II is simply a movie with a lot of cool action and one to watch for all of those who love their martial arts and their action.