Strike Commando 2 (1988)
"Trappola diabolica" (original title)

I bet most of you reading this are baffled by the fact tht they made a sequel to that wretched film, Strike Commando. Well while I agree that Strike Commando was one of the worst action movies ever, it also has to be one of the most unintentionally hilarious films ever. Reb Brown's over-the-top performance and plenty of plot holes, terrible music, and stolen scenes from Rambo: First Blood Part 2 made for quite an enjoyable and memorable experience. Hence, the film was successful enough at least for producer Franco Gaudenzi to finance a series of similar rip-off action films like Double Target, Cop Game, Robowar, and eventually a full-fledged sequel.

Brent Huff stars this time around as Michael Ransom, who in a very Apocalypse Now -fashion wakes up one morning and peers through his window blinds in his shabby apartment. Of course some army bigwigs drop by to charge him with a special mission to rescue his old war buddy Richard Harris (The Cassandra Crossing). Now this is the strangest aspect about this film; how the heck did Richard Harris end up in a Bruno Mattei film? In a recent interview, Harris claimed to be retired at the time when this film was produced, but there he is plain as day! Anyway, Huff saves Harris from the CIA only for Harris to be kidnapped by a KGB agent Mel Davidson (who actually seems more like the Gestapo guy from Raiders of the Lost Ark than anything else) and his army of ninjas. Here, the plot gets downright silly as Huff tries to buy back Harris with some diamonds while he hooks up with local tough-girl Mary Stavin (The Opponent) in what must be the worst female performance I have seen! Anyway, Harris ends up working for the bad guys in the end, so that leaves Huff and Stavin to go on the war path and kill as many communists as possible while retrieving the diamonds.

Lots of well-done slow motion explosions highlight this completely typical late-80's Mattei action film with its fair share of amusing moments. Although the film does simultaneously rip off Raiders of the Lost Ark, Rambo: First Blood Part 2, Predator, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, AND Romancing the Stone, the funniest aspect has to be how Mattei cranked up the camera speed for all the fight scenes to make them look faster. The results are downright hilarious and fake-looking, with Huff and the ninjas zipping around like the keystone cops. The final battle between Huff and Davidson is particularly hilarious in this way since it looks like they recorded this scene in fast forward! Of course with every Mattei film there's a good share of ripped-off scenes, like the woman drinking-contest scene from Raiders of the Lost Ark, and one part where a big thug jumps out with a sword only for Huff to shoot him like nothing.

This film was made almost simultaneously with about seven other Bruno Mattei films, somewhere after Zombi 3 and Double Target, but before Robowar and Cop Game, judging by which stock footage appears in which film. Most of the explosions in this movie went on to be reused in Robowar and Cop Game (especially Cop Game, which was about 40% stock footage anyhow). Even though this film tries so hard to come off as serious, one can't help but laugh at the many inept moments which litter the film. Huff and Harris are good actors, but both kinda sleepwalk through their roles. The supporting cast is fairly good as well, with Massimo Vanni (1990: The Bronx Warriors, Fearless) as a CIA agent and Ottaviano Dell'Acqua (Rats: Nights of Terror, Cut and Run) as one of the bad guys. I enjoyed the movie mostly because of the good musical score by Stefano Mainetti but also in part because Bruno blows stuff up real good. The ending is unddeniably exciting once the exploding happens and doesn't let up until the cheese-fest finale.

A rare treat if you can find it, though it's not nearly as hilariously bad as its predecessor. This film does contain one of the most memorable quotes from a Mattei/Fragasso film...

KGB agent - "I hate women!" Girl - "So you're into guys then?" KGB agent - "I also hate fags!"