88 Films UK Blu-ray Synopsis: Volatile and violent assassin Catherine is back and this time she's been upgraded! Black Cat 2 reunites director Stephen Shin with leading lady Jade Leung in this sequel to the 1991 original. Catherine has now undergone even more experiments to help refine her ferocious outbursts whilst still trying to retain the little bit of humanity which survives within her. But her next assignment is to take on Russian terrorists who are trying to take out Boris Yeltsin, pushing her skills to the max. Lovers of action-packed sci-fi cinema will be enthralled by the breathtaking set-pieces, explosive stunts and outlandish plot. (91 Mins)

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Vinegar Syndrome US Blu-ray Synopsis: After undergoing a series of medical experiments in order to become a more efficient assassin, Catherine struggles to maintain what little of her human side is left. Deemed compromised by her higher-ups, Catherine is given one more chance when she is partnered with a young hot-headed agent, Robin (Robin Shou, Mortal Kombat). Catherine must use her newly enhanced skills in order to stop a violent assassin before he claims his next victim. BLACK CAT 2 sees the reunion of director Stephen Shin with Jade Leung returning as the title character. However, this sequel manages to up the ante on the original by combining sci-fi elements with over-the-top action sequences, including an end fight scene that is sure to make your head spin. 

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Mega Star DVD Synopsis: The female assassin codenamed 'Black Cat' returns to the fray for a second thriller shot entirely on location in Europe. Cat (Jade Leung) is teamed with Robin 'Mortal Kombat' Shou in a bid to prevent the assassination of President Yeltsin. (87 Mins)

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Views: I really don't know where to begin with Black Cat 2: The Assassination Of President Yeltsin. After watching the stunning 2K restoration of its predecessor from 88 Films, I couldn't wait to watch this sequel – of which I had only purchased on DVD from an Ebay seller about 2 months before. And although the quality was nowhere near as amazing as the Black Cat Blu-ray, it still made for a fun watch. That said, this film was nothing at all like I was expecting and definitely proved to be a different kettle of fish than the first chapter. The film kicks off with a quick reminder of part 1 that shows us how the bad memoires are affecting the Black Cat chip in her brain. Thankfully, Erica – renamed after gaining her secret identity in part one – is set for a free upgrade that erases her memories and drains whatever little emotion is left, from her poor self. This, in turn, makes her act more like The Terminator as opposed to the femme fatale from her previous missions, giving her the ability to defy gravity, scale buildings in heels, and jump great distances to land on top of moving vehicles. On top of that, Erica is now able to shoot the dick off a mouse with her new self-targeting eye that makes sure she never misses. Elsewhere in the States, CIA agent Robin (Robin Shou) is protecting a family who are in possession of a microfilm who are attacked by some hi-tec super-assassins. After their attack, the killers make a cool escape on snow boards which leads to an exciting downhill shoot-out. Around the halfway mark, after the now-cyborg-like Black Cat teams-up with Robin, they are sent to Russia for a new mission to protect President Yeltsin from an assassination. Here, they cross paths with the super-assassins that leads to an explosive showdown that takes Black Cat 2 to another level altogether!

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While it definitely has some fun moments and memorable action scenes, I think it's fair to say that Black Cat 2 doesn't offer the same satisfaction as its predecessor having lost something along the way, with its uneven direction or lack of artistic flair. There may be a few different reasons for this, and one of which could be that it was written by a completely different team from before – although 3 in total once again. The first is Sin Kam Ching, an actor and writer who worked with D&B Films over the years – although Black Cat 2 would be his last screenplay to date. Interestingly enough, he would later work as the assistant director on Sam The Iron Bridge and Tales In The Wind a number of years later. The second is James Fung, a writer who has penned many great titles for Stephen Shin and Danny Lee including Brotherhood, Road Warriors, Against All, Final Justice, Red Shield, Best Of The Best, and White Lotus Cult, as well as working as the 2nd unit director on this project. But Black Cat 2 would be the debut of its third writer, Ivy Lee Mo King, who also served as the assistant director to Stephen Shin (the producer and director) which could indeed have been one of the major problems of the production. I found it an interesting choice to let Lee step into such a role for such a big production, and can only wonder what kind of sway she had on Shin and Dickson Poon to win such a job. The other reason I feel that things went a little tits-up here, was the lack of action-choreographer Benz Kong who had been a big part of the first Black Cat film. Although Poon Kin Kwan worked alongside Kong previously and has delivered the action on many great titles over the years such as Seven Warriors, An Eternal Combat, Flirting Scholar, Kung Fu Cult Master, and Forbidden City Cop (many of which were with Benz Kong) – it's possible that he maybe just got carried away with things here, taking Erica's cyborg upgrade down another road completely. But that said, and on its own merits, the action in Black Cat 2 can be highly entertaining at times...

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As mentioned, there is the action-packed introduction of Robin Shou's character set in a mountain ski-lodge that sees two super-assassins open fire on anything that moves. After the get their hands on the micro-film, the heavily armored pair escape by jumping out the window and flawlessly landing on their snowboards, taking off immediately with a small army of CIA agents on skis behind them. It's a chase that is packed with great stunts and explosions that pre-dates Jackie Chan's similar action-scene in First Strike, by 4 years. A brief fight in an air-hanger follows that pits Jade against Robin, and is really just an excuse to show-off the formers new super strength and abilities with another gunfight following that sees a couple of rogue gunmen shooting at an army blockade. Then poor Robin soon finds that he has his hands full after Jade slips away to assassinate an innocent old woman at point-blank range in a shopping mall, in one of the films more brutal moments. It's fair to say that the fights and action on offer are definitely more 'typically' Hong Kong in their execution, with strands of comedy making them seem almost silly at times and have plenty of wire-enhanced wildness to enjoy. One of my favourite action scenes (and possibly the most exciting fight overall) has to be the one that takes place in the iron factory, just before the one-hour mark. It reminded me a lot of the similarly themed construction-site fight scenes in Sammo Hung's Heart Of The Dragon, Skinny Tiger & Fatty Dragon, and Pantyhose Hero – albeit a little less polished, but still exciting enough that results in Jade getting smashed in the face by a tank of sorts. The grand finale is kind of wild involving Jade exploding a plane from her stolen convertible, before battling the super-assassin in a blend of choreography that looks like it came from an early 90s Ching Siu Tung film – or one of Philip Ko's Filipino efforts such as Lethal Panther 2 or Ultracop 2000.

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It was inevitable that Jade would have to follow-up with a sequel to her 'first' award-winning lead role, and the character of Black Cat. After living with her parents in Switzerland for a number of years, the former model returned to Hong Kong in 1990 to participate in the Miss Asia beauty pageant where she was soon discovered by Dickson Poon and Stephen Shin to star in Black Cat. Thanks to its success, Jade would sign-up for a six picture deal for D&B Films, but after this sequel failed to deliver the same results, her contract was revoked and the company (unfortunately) came to a close. Regardless, Jade has went on to star in a number of great films over the years including Satin Steel, Spider Woman, Fox Hunter, Leopard Hunting, Flying Dragon Leaping Tiger, Kung Fu Mahjong, Line Walker, and the New Kung Fu Cult Master alongside Donnie Yen. Leung also appeared in two unrelated sequels to the Black Cat franchise such as Black Cat In Jail and The Black Cat Agent Files, but I wouldn't say they'd be worth tracking down in a hurry. The great Robin Shou shines as his self-titled character, getting to show off some pretty cool moves (although nearly not enough in my opinion) and takes part in some great action scenes, as well as getting to deliver a strong performance overall. Although he had only been in the business for about 5 years by this stage, Shou had managed to star in over 15 films including many for D&B Films. Of course, it would only be a few years after this that Robin would get the chance to move to Hollywood with a leading role in Mortal Kombat, that saw him play the much-loved character of Liu Kang – and again in its sequel soon after. It was nice to see a huge western cast being put to good use, and eagle eyed viewers should keep an eye out for Australian actor Mike Miller in the iron factory-fight – with the martial artist having appeared in many titles over the 90s including Once Upon A time In China 2, Pom Pom & Hot Hot, Bodyguard From Beijing, Knock Off, and The Black Sheep Affair...

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Cheng Siu Keung returns as the DOP once again, and manages to deliver some strong visuals that could look even better with a restored Blu-ray release. He is backed by Leung Lik Ji who went on to shoot the Cheng Siu Keung directed, Stephen Shin produced, White Lotus Cult the following year and One Arm Hero after that – both of which are known to be part of the brilliant, Sam The Iron Bridge Trilogy – and Chris Lee Chi Wa, a cinematographer that started as a focus-puller on many D&B productions before going on to work on titles such as the Sam The Iron Bridge Trilogy, The Grandmaster, John Woo's Manhunt, Donnie Yen's Enter The Fat Dragon, and Jackie Chan's Vanguard. Having watched Black Cat 2 a couple of times now, I can't help but feel that my DVD version has been cut in some way, with scenes and edits that seem to just stop or start at odd moments. If this was the version presented to HK audiences I can see what they didn't like it, but at the same time, I have to say that the film isn't completely dreadful and does entertain to some degree!

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Overall: While flawed in many ways, Black Cat 2 still has its moments and offers some wild action!

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88 Films Blu-ray Extras: 2K Restoration, Audio Commentary by Frank Djeng and Robin Shou, Interviews with Jade Leung & Robin Shou, English Opening Credits, Trailers, Image Gallery

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Vinegar Syndrome Blu-ray Extras: 2K Restoration, Interviews with Jade Leung & Benz Kong, Video Essay by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, Trailer, Image Gallery

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Megastar DVD Extras: Synopsis, Trailers

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Watch my unboxing of the 88 Films Blu-ray release HERE

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Watch my unboxing of the Vinegar Syndrome Blu-ray release HERE