I can't believe I am going to say this but the sequel to Samurai Cop is worse!
Oh dear, I know it is quite the statement but bare with me. First of all, this sequel is technically better. Actually it is better in a lot more elements. The fight choreography has improved enormously. There is more Samurai stuff going on although don't get your hopes up too much since you still have white and black dudes playing Japanese gangsters. I have a good feeling that has been done on purpose. But to be honest it was not as funny as it could have been. Cause even being aware of the joke it was confusing. You never could tell from which gang they were and why they mattered. Anyway this time around the acting is a lot better. Especially Mark Frazer and Mathew Karedas come of as decent to good. Would have loved to see more of Frazer though since I think he has what it takes acting wise. For some reason they contracted Bai Ling to be in this. She is right in her element and manage to steal away the thunder from the rest of the cast very easily. I know she is weird but she definitely deserves to be in better films. Another good thing is the fact that some actors of the original apart from Karedas and Frazer have returned. Most of the time it's done in combination with a throwback to the original. Never forced or out of place. Yet nostalgic and funny as hell. One example Frazer breaking the fourth wall in his unique style. It cracks me up every time.
But ladies and gentlemen, there are some things that stand in the way of Bad B movie greatness. Incoherency. It is one thing to extract this element from the original and joke about it. But how long do you want that joke to last? Especially if you promised to do it differently than the original. The original made no sense whatsoever and was unintentionally hilarious. Here at least I assume it's done on purpose. The plot seemed simple enough and actually I liked the overused typical action film revenge motive. Only very soon after main character Joe forgets all about this. Washington already had a hard time convincing Joe to come back into action and when he finally managed to ignite Joe, our main character has more eye for new love interest Milena played by Kayden Kross. If that name sounds familiar then you might be familiar with her. She is a porn star. And she is not the only one. There are two others that I am sure of. I don't know whose brilliant idea that was but it felt off. I mean I get it. The original film was filled with hot and sexy women. Keyword sexy. Kayden might fit that profile but the others, not in this lifetime. Unless you like the fake lips and fake boobs type. Then there were some older women who have been to the plastic surgeon once too often. Those women creep me out. Seriously. Say what you want about the original. The hot women in the original Samurai Cop were more sophisticated. They were seductive but subtle. Not in your face. Sorry I digressed. So Joe forgets about his revenge and wants to go shopping with his new love. I need to tell you this is very briefly after they met on the plane. That is some severe case of short term memory. Still this distraction could have been overlooked if they continued with the plot set in motion where the two ex partners Washington and Marshal would kick ass again. No it is here where the plot goes haywire and brings us one random event after another. It is implied that what we see is all fake and in Joe's mind since he is hallucinating. You know I can't say that the film makers were lazy and that the attempt itself is not praiseworthy. Had it not been for the fact that Samurai Cop never recovers from the weirdness we are shown. Instead of giving us some fun we get events that bored the hell out of me. I was reminiscing how the original was so much more fun. And to make matters worse we get one Tommy Wiseau into the mix. I have no clue who he is and why I should care. On youtube people seem to know him so I did some reading and I still am clueless what makes him so special. He is known for starring, directing and producing one of the worst films ever called The Room. And that automatically gives him reason to be part of this franchise? Just because he is an expert in making bad films does not mean he is on the same level. In fact from what I have seen in this film it was atrocious. He was so bad it simply was not funny anymore. He really did not fit into this project at all and is a huge miscalculation on part of director Gregory Hatanaka.
There was a lot of potential of making this a cult hit on it's own merit. Now it is nothing more than a parody of a bad film that entertainment wise is much better. OUCH! I still hope some good will come from this. And that some real film makers will recognize the talent in Karedas and Frazer. Karedas might have not aged so gracefully (at least his face wise) he still is in good shape. I would love to see him in a real action film. Frazer would be perfect in comedies. I don't know if they have plans to remain in the acting business but it would we a real shame if they won't.
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