Man, unofficial foreign posters are awesome!
No Retreat, No Surrender 2 (also known as No Retreat, No Surrender 2: Raging Thunder) is a 1987 Hong Kong-American martial arts film directed by Corey Yuen, starring Loren Avedon, Matthias Hues, Max Thayer and Cynthia Rothrock.
Despite its title, the film does not have any connections to No Retreat, No Surrender, featuring an entirely original storyline and all new characters as well as an independent story.
Scott Wylde (portrayed by the then 25-year-old Loren Avedon, a household name among B-grade action movie enthusiasts) is an American kickboxer visiting his Vietnamese girlfriend, Sulin Nguyen (Patra Wanthivanond). Unfortunately their date is rudely interrupted by a sudden military coup in Vietnam (being backed by Russians, led by ruthless Spetsnaz commando Yuri), where Sulin's father, an important political leader, is involved. During their date, agents sent by the enemy insurgents kidnaps Sulin, prompting Scott to seek out his former teacher and best friend Mac Jarvis for a rescue mission. Coming along for this ride is Mac's ex-girlfriend Terry (Cynthia Rothrock), who serves as their helicopter pilot, and its the three of them against an entire army...
This movie contains examples of:
- Actionized Sequel: The original No Retreat, No Surrender is a martial arts movie in the vein of The Karate Kid. This sequel on the other hand is a Chuck Norris-esque action movie full of explosions, large battle scenes, a three-digit body count and a climax which have the main characters mowing down enemy mooks by the dozens.
- All Monks Know Kung-Fu: One fight scene had Scott, Mac and Terry fighting off against a groups of kung fu fighting monks in a temple.
- Always Save the Girl: Played straight for Sulin. Averted for Terry, unfortunately.
- Back Stab: Scott takes out an enemy guard with a machete this way while infiltrating the base.
- Badass Teacher: Mac. Being played by Max Thayer, another B-grade action film badass who is also known for killing loads and loads of faceless extras in various action movies certainly helps.
- Barefoot Captives: Sulin lose her shoes after being captured by enemy insurgents and remains this way for the rest of the film.
- Blasting It Out of Their Hands: A variation, but in the climax right after Yuri shoots Terry, Scott knocks Yuri's Uzi out of his hands with a crossbow.
- Booby Trap: The climax of the movie have Scott and Mac setting up turrets, claymores, and landmines around the enemy base and then triggering them remotely to take out the numerically superior enemy soldiers.
- Boyish Short Hair: Terry, this is the movie where Cynthia had the shortest hair among the numerous characters she ever portrayed.
- Climbing Climax: The process of infiltrating the enemy base for the finale involves Scott and Mac climbing upwards against a cascading waterfall.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: Yuri's forces against the local Vietnamese army, as they're raiding the compound where Sulin's father is. The local army gets decimated within minutes.
- Death by Cameo: The prisoner who got his butt whooped by Yuri and hurled into the crocodile pit is co-action director Ma Chin Ku.
- Dolled-Up Installment: Originally titled Raging Thunder, and was supposed to be a standalone film instead of a sequel.
- Foreign Queasine: During Scott's dinner date with Sulin, specially prepared by Sulin's father, where Scott finds out what his favourite dishes are - fried locusts, boiled cicadas, dried lizards, animal testicles... and monkey brain stew.
- Fragile Speedster: Terry, being portrayed by Cynthia Rothrock and all, she can fight pretty well and kick plenty of butt, but after being hurled aside by Yuri she's put out of action rather quickly.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Terry, who gets blasted full of lead while trying to shield Scott.
- I Ate WHAT?!: The dinner date have Scott taking a mouthful of what he assumed to be Chinese beancurd stew... only for Sulin to inform him it's monkey's brains. Cue Spit Take from Scott.
- Impaled Palm: Right before the final battle, Scott pierces Yuri's palm with a crossbow.
- Karmic Death: Yuri, who enjoys beating the pulp out of helpless captives and captured prisoners, ordered his mooks to hang and strangle the main characters, and hurls a prisoner into his crocodile pit, ends up getting the snot beaten out of him, choked on a rope, dragged behind a moving jeep before getting thrown into his own crocodile pit. For good measure, the jeep then falls on him and explodes.
- Kick Chick: Terry frequently uses kicks as her main fighting technique. Heck, she's even shown doing this
on a more than one poster of the movie!- The former example is lifted from a scene in the film itself, where Terry gets captured and have to fight while having her arms tied to her back.
- Knows the Ropes: The monks in the temple fight scene briefly overpowers Scott, Mac and Terry using ropes, but when Mac uses a concealed knife to slice the ropes wrapped around him soon the battle turns towards the good guys' favour.
- In the climax, Scott manage to finally overpower Yuri by trapping him with a rope and tying it around the hulking Russian's neck. Could overlap with Chekhov's Gun, since Scott is recalling what he experienced in the temple fight to his advantage.
- Lightning Bruiser: Yuri, being played by the hulking Matthias Hues, who can pull off some really agile and flashy moves despite his size.
- Ludicrous Gibs: After Scott and Mac knocks out a group of mooks, one mook whips out a grenade and chucks it at the two. Scott and Mac then throws an unconscious mook on the grenade. Boom.
- More Dakka: The climax have at least five automatic machine gun turrets being mounted on strategic locations, firing on enemy troops killing dozens at a time.
- Never Smile at a Crocodile: Yuri's compound has a pit of crocodiles which he uses to dispose of prisoners. He ends up being devoured by those same crocodiles in the end of the film.
- Stuff Blowing Up: The entire climax, which consists of explosive traps being installed and triggered en-masse. How did Scott and Mac sneak 30-odd claymores into the enemy base is beyond anyone's guess.
- Unwilling Suspension: Terry and Sulin are hung by their wrists over a pit of crocodiles near the end of the film.
- Tomboy and Girly Girl: Terry and Sulin, in that order. Somehow, both of them become Damsel in Distress at the end of the film.
- Vasquez Always Dies: There are two female leads in the movie, the tomboyish Terri and girlish Sulin. Guess which one of the two failed to outlive the credits.
