Strike Commando 2

Summary

“JEENNKINNSSS!! JEENNKINNSSS!!”

Severin Film’s catalog is pretty wild. Once you start working your way through it, it is easy to become addicted to the label’s releases which champion filmmaking from the VHS era. After numerous films in their collection, like most Severin Films fans, I started down the path of viewing some of the releases that feature collaborations of director Bruno Mattei with writers Claudio Fragasso and Rosella Drudi. Mattei is probably best known as a rip-off artist who relied on proven ideas from other films to form the basis of his own films. After watching Zombie 3, and Mattei’s amazing sharksploitation film Cruel Jaws (which Mattei helmed without Fragasso or Drudi,) I felt ready to view Strike Commando and Strike Commando 2.

I really enjoyed Strike Commando for what it was. The film was an exploding hut Namsploitation picture that borrowed heavily from Rambo: First Blood Part II. The film starred Reb Brown as strike commando Michael Ransom. Brown brought an animalistic quality to the role in his supercharged macho performance. He also decided to opt out of working on the sequel, Strike Commando 2. This would not hamper the plans of Mattei, Fragasso, and Drudi. They wrote a script that managed to simultaneously rip off Rambo: First Blood Part II and Raiders of the Lost Ark and they simply recast the role of Michael Ransom with actor Brent Huff. They look nothing alike, but that wasn’t an issue to them either. Reb Brown was blonde, Huff was brunette. Brown was an imposing physical presence with large muscles, Huff’s body type was decidedly more ripped. It didn’t matter – they made sure that the poster for Strike Commando 2 matched the blonde haired art of the first film. I can’t even imagine what people thought watching these movies back to back by just renting them off the shelves at their local video store. On top of those physical differences, Huff and Brown had very different approaches to the character. Luckily, both films are absolutely enjoyable for what they are. 

As the film begins, Michael Ransom is asleep in a Burmese hotel room. On the bed is a newspaper article that says Vic Jenkins has been slain. Michael dreams of his tour of duty in Vietnam where he was led by Vic Jenkins (Richard Harris.) Under attack and injured, Ransom was saved by Jenkins. When he awakens, CIA Agent Ruby arrives and tells Michael that Jenkins is still alive and working for the CIA. He tells Ransom that Peter Roeg is a CIA big shot who knows where Jenkins is being held. On a train, Ruby is followed by a man in a white suit wearing glasses and a panama jack white hat. KGB Agent Kramet (Mel Davidson) pulls out his garrote and kills Ruby. Ransom goes to Roeg’s office and beats the location of Jenkins. Ransom goes to the location to rescue Jenkins, but his plans are interrupted when Jenkins is stolen away by Burmese heroin smugglers. Ransom meets up with Peter Roeg. A video has been sent from Jenkins that explains that he is being held by Huan To and he demands ten million dollars in diamonds to release Jenkins, or Jenkins will be handed over to the KGB. Ransom sets off to save Jenkins, but first he recruits bar owner Rosanna Boom (Mary Stavin) to assist him in return for her portion of the diamonds.

I really enjoyed Strike Commando, and was happy to see that the sequel was in many ways just as ridiculous as the first film. While I enjoyed the first film just a hair more than the second, both are hilarious and entertaining in their own ways. Where the first film was largely an exploding hut film, the second picture is more of an adventure picture with exploding hut elements. It still borrows from Rambo, but it has also brows from other sources.  The film was directed by Bruno Mattei under his fictitious name of Vincent Dawn. One thing I find amazing about Mattei’s film work was his ability to lift entire sequences from other films. The opening scene steals from Apocalypse Now. A bar fight sequence is ripped off almost shot for shot from the burning bar fight in Raiders of the Lost Ark. These are not subtle plagiarisms- they are absolutely brazen- which adds to the enjoyable nature of these moments.

Brent Huff plays Michael Ransom very differently than Reb Brown, and while I prefer Brown’s more macho take on the character, I liked Huff’s approach. On the Severin Films podcast they pointed out that Huff has “kind eyes,” and I thought that was a funny and correct way of pointing out that Huff brings a lighter air to the character. Australian actress Mary Stavin is so fun to watch in this film. Her voice changes into this growling raspy scream in numerous sequences in the film and each time it made me laugh. Mel Davidson is solidly cast as the evil KGB agent Kramet that is very similar to the evil Nazi agent Toht from Raiders. Richard Harris is obviously slumming it in this film, which makes his presence stick out more so than in a film like Patriot Games as being out of place. It was fun to see him play a role that was so obviously beneath his talents.

Strike Commando 2 is a very fun and over-the-top action-adventure sequel to Strike Commando. Fans of the first picture will surely want to check this one out.

Video

Severin Films has provided a great transfer in 1080p of Strike Commando 2 in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1 with an MPEG-4 AVC encode from a 2K scan of the original negative. Fine detail for the most part is very well maintained and the film stays well saturated. The film is in good shape and has been brought to the format with good care from the fine folks at Severin.

Audio

Severin Films has provided enjoyable DTS-HD MA 2.0 tracks in English or Italian. The sound quality on the tracks is essentially reference quality, and sounds much more real than the dubbed tracks on the first film. Fans will be very pleased.

Supplements:

• Two Cuts of the Film: Extended Cut (HD; 1:36:08) or the Theatrical Cut (HD; 1:30:18)
• Guerrilla Zone – Claudio Fragasso discusses his work as assistant director to Bruno Mattei on the film. Like his interview on the Strike Commando disc, this is well worth your time.
• Michael Ransom Strikes Back – actor Brent Huff discusses working in the Philippines, his longstanding friendship with actress Mary Stavin, and the acting lessons he learned from Richard Harris while filming Strike Commando 2. Brent Huff seems like a really fun and gregarious guy, so this is an enjoyable interview.
• Trailer

Overall Scores:

Video – 4.5/5

Audio – 4/5

Supplements – 3/5

Overall – 4/5

Strike Commando 2 is an incredibly entertaining sequel that manages to steal whole cloth from Apocalypse Now, Rambo, and Raiders of the Lost Ark. While I prefer the first film just slightly, the films are different enough in their approaches that I can understand people preferring the sequel to the original. Brent Huff and Mary Stavin are fun to watch onscreen and Richard Harris sticks out like a sore thumb slumming it in this picture. Fans of Bruno Mattei, Claudio Fragasso, and Rosella Drudi will certainly enjoy the picture for its more ridiculous qualities. Severin continue to impress with their attention to detail on their releases.