Game of Death II (a.k.a. Tower of Death) (1981)

Director: See-Yuen Ng (w/ action choreography by Yuen Woo Ping)

Cast:  Bruce Lee, Tong Lung, Huong Chen Li, Roy Horan, Roy Chiao

Country: Hong Kong

Production Company: Golden Harvest

Rating: R

Run Time: 86 minutes

Game of Death II (or Tower of Death / The New Game of Death) is a shameful attempt at cashing in on Bruce Lee's name and the original Game of Death. The film has nothing to do with the original film except for the fact that Billy Lo is in the first 45 minutes of the film (only in the English dub though). It also duplicates Game of Death's tactics by using body doubles, stand ins, and stock footage to represent Bruce Lee. The first 45 minutes have some dreadful story telling and dubbing but first rate action scenes that surpass anything in Game of Death. 

But than Game of Death II does the unthinkable and kills off Billy Lo! And you know what that means? More footage of Bruce Lee's actual funeral! The film brings in another character named Bobby Lo (Tong Lung), Billy's brother. Bobby becomes the lead of the film as the second half of the movie becomes something entirely different from the first half. The first half of the film is brought down by its ridiculous attempts to portray the real "Bruce Lee" just like in Game of Death. 

Once Billy Lo is killed off, there is no more Bruce Lee stock footage or body doubles. The second half of the film is all about Bobby investigating Billy's death and discovering a martial arts training compound owned by a man named Lewis (Roy Horan). The film becomes exciting, crazy, and completely bonkers in this final half of the film as the filmmakers let loose with some of the best fight scenes in movie history. Billy Lo fights a kung fu lion, a one armed man, a horde of henchmen, a monk, and a man wearing a tiger print outfit that looks like a cross between something Fred Flintstone and Tarzan would wear. Where do I even begin with this movie?

"Bruce" vs. lots of baddies.

The first half of Game of Death II is about Billy trying to discover who is trying to kill him and his master Chin Ku (Drunken Master's Huong Chen). As Billy investigates, he meets with an old mentor of his and expresses his worry about how his younger brother is too immature and doesn't take martial arts seriously. Chin Ku is eventually killed and a funeral is held in his honor. A helicopter shows up at Ku's funeral and picks up his coffin. Billy leaps onto the helicopter and tries to bring it down. Unfortunately for Billy, a man in the helicopter shoots a dart at him and causes him to fall to his death.

Bobby now shows up as our protagonist and realizes that he has to man up in order to uncover who killed his brother Billy and his master Chin Ku. After he receives some film showing Chin Ku studying at a temple, Billy heads there to investigate. When he arrives, he offers his services to Lewis, the man who owns the grounds. Lewis is an excentric bearded man with a love for trained peacocks, an appetite for raw deer meat and deer's blood, and loves to feed his fallen challengers to his many lions as dinner. Lewis is easily the most ridiculous and memorable character in the whole film.

When Billy suspects that someone is trying to kill him and Lewis, Lewis reveals that a tower of death was built into the ground somewhere. He believes that whoever might be trying to kill them lives in that tower...of death. When Lewis is eventually killed, Billy tracks down his killer and finds the tower of death. The last 40 minutes of the film are an action packed extravaganza as Billy has to uncover the mystery behind the deaths of Lewis, Chin Ku, and his brother Billy.

"Raw venison! Deer's blood!"

As I stated before, the first half of Game of Death II is nothing special. It's yet another attempt at Bruce-ploitation with some absolutely excellent action scenes. The film takes advantage of even more stock footage of Bruce Lee and passes off a deleted scene from Enter the Dragon as new footage (at the time it was new footage but it has since been restored into Enter the Dragon). The film even has the balls to use footage from Bruce Lee's actual funeral yet again when Billy Lo dies. If one time wasn't shameful enough, a second time is just laughable. 

But once you get through this boring and monotonous retread of what the original Game of Death was, the second half of the film comes to life and feels like an entirely new film. The craziness of the animal filled compound, the ridiculousness of Lewis, and the insane fight scenes during the final 40 minutes make Game of Death II one of the most entertaining action films ever made. I discovered after watching the film that the one and only Yuen Woo Ping choreographed all of the fight scenes and this explains everything. Ping turns even the crappiest of material into a jaw dropping masterpiece thanks to his masterful fight choreography.

Once Bobby reaches the underground tower of death, the film feels like a science fiction movie mixed with a video game. Bobby arrives in a huge room filled with blinking lights and pools of boiling red acid. Numerous henchmen in silver suits attack Bobby and all fall at his mighty hands. One henchman even falls into the boiling acid and burns to death! Sliding doors reveal more enemies and eventually a man in a ridiculous tiger print suit. I don't even know how to explain this. Game of Death II stops giving a crap and turns into pure adrenaline pumping action non-sense. 

Watch out for those pits of acid!

If that wasn't entertaining enough, Bobby than has to make his way across a hallway with an exploding floor! If anything touches the bottom of the floor, it sets on fire and explodes! After making his way across the hallway, Bobby than has to fight a monk. As I watched this film I asked myself, "This has to be the final fight scene right? There can't be more?" But alas, there is still more action! After the battle with the monk, Bobby discovers the master planner who has been behind all of the killings. What follows is an epic 10 minute fight between Bobby and the final villain. It's like something out of a video game! You fight hundreds of henchmen, take on several mini-bosses, work your way across a booby trapped hallway, and than take on the final boss in an epic showdown.

Game of Death II is a lousy film with a ridiculous plot, worse acting, and horrible English dubbing (I did not have access to the original dub). However, the insanity of the final half of the film makes up for everything that comes before it. Even the fight scenes in the first half of the film are excellent too. The original Game of Death had decent fight scenes and a few excellent ones leading up to the true Bruce Lee footage. Robert Clouse tried his hardest to come up with solid martial arts fights and action scenes that could match the quality of Lee's incomplete Game of Death footage. But Game of Death II has quality action from frame one! Every single fight scene is out of this world.

Exploding hallway rope climbing.

The most bizarre scene in the film takes place near the end. When Bobby is relaxing in his room, Lewis sends a prostitute into his room to pleasure him. As she and Bobby start to kiss, she tries to stick him with a needle from her ring. When Bobby blocks her attack, a freakin' kung fu lion breaks into the room! At first, I couldn't figure out if it was just an attacker in a lion suit or if it was actually a lion fighting Bobby! I didn't know what the film wanted us to believe. After watching the scene, I am sure that in the context of the film's universe that we were to think that it was a man in a lion suit. But why should I doubt that it is a kung fu lion when though there are so many other crazy things going on in the film?

I think that this film should have been called Tower of Death and not Game of Death II. There is some incredible quality action in this film and it is a shame that it is attached to the title of Game of Death II. The film features no new footage of Bruce Lee (minus the deleted Dragon footage) and is only called Game of Death II because the English dub calls the main character Billy Lo, the protagonist of Game of Death. It's all a shameful cash grab but I completely understand. Raymond Chow produced all of Bruce Lee's films. Therefore, it makes sense that the guy wanted to cash in on Bruce Lee's name even after his death. I am just arguing that the second half of the film is so bonkers and insane that I wish it stood on its own as Tower of Death and not Game of Death II. Besides, Billy Lo is killed 40 minutes into the film. It essentially stops being a Game of Death film (if that is even a term) once he dies.

World domination? You guessed it!

Unlike the original Game of Death, there isn't much to say about this film. The incredible action scenes speak for themselves. Just look up the fight scenes on YouTube or purchased the out of print Fortune Star Bruce Lee Ultimate Collection on DVD if you want to get your hands on the film (as well as the recommended Game of Death). See Yuen-Ng and Golden Harvest made a helluva action film with Game of Death II. However, the boring opening act and lousy storytelling prevents me from ranking this film very high. Never the less, I still highly recommend the film to action enthusiasts who go bananas for fight scenes like I do.

Rating: 7/10 - A horrible mess of a film blessed with some of the best action in movie history.

Franchise:

Game of Death (1978, dir. Robert Clouse)

Game of Death II (1981, dir. See Yuen-Ng)