Convicted drug smuggler and villain Charlie Baskin (Harlow Marks) has managed to bust out of jail. Working with some of his ex-military buddies, he’s looking to extract a little payback on the people who set him up for the fall and put him away before getting back into business. So, the judge (Joe Railton) and detective (Will C. Hazlett) responsible for convicting him are easy pickings. Finding the former friend turned fink Frank Atkins (Frank Magner) is a little harder because he was put into witness protection and relocated. Soon enough, Baskin’s people get wind of his location. He’s living in Beaver Creek, Utah with his wife Annie (Tricia Quai) and stepdaughter Jill (Tiffany Soter) are sitting pretty … and in possession of some of Baskin’s valuable property.
However, when Baskin’s thugs arrive to claim Frank and his family, they discover that Beaver Creek has turned into a relatively low crime area over the last few years thanks to the tireless efforts of Sheriff China O’Brien (Cynthia Rothrock) and her martial arts friends, Matt Conroy (Richard Norton) and Dakota (Keith Cooke).
When the baddies move in to kidnap the Atkins family during fourth of July fireworks, China and her friends gets involved and sends the initial set of thugs packing. More will come. Turns out Frank did not disclose all the money he got while being a part of Baskin’s operation, and that seed money for future crime is lure enough for the bad man to keep coming, turning up the heat more and more with each attempt.
Can China and her high kicking, law enforcement team take Baskin down? Or will they wind up picked off, one-by-one during the madman’s assaults? Robert Clouse once more helms and co-writes an action flick that melds Hong Kong martial arts antics with western themes and locales with China O’Brien II (1990).
Golden Harvest decided to go all in with their gambit to lay claim to some of North America’s market share. Or at least make an impact with audiences to draw some attention their way. So, they got internationally renowned director Robert Clouse to helm a pair of flicks that would showcase Cynthia Rothrock’s talents and charms, sent a predominantly English speaking cast to Utah, and had them shoot a pair of movies—the original and its sequel. The shooting was an oddity for the actors since they would know for certain only when they arrived what scenes and from which of the two movies they would shoot. While the gamble did not pay off quite how Golden Harvest expected, it nevertheless cemented a Rothrock fan base here in the states.
Shot concurrently with China O’Brien (1990), there is no chance of the cast looking at all different from the way they did with the first flick (despite there being three years between the stories). While the bad guys are all brand new to this story, there are some familiar faces in the goons between the two pictures thanks to reused stunt people. Still, the action carries over as do the mythic qualities—this one is as much a valiant heroes versus monstrous villains story as it is an American western or Hong Kong martial arts yarn. The merging of these disparate elements makes for some entertaining twists and turns. And there is also a lovely sense of humor on display, as shown in the scene when China has to square off with a mountain man looking drunkard and winds up luring him into smashing himself against his own house. In the previous movie, she dispatches a baddie by hogtying him with a final flourish that plays for the audience in the movie itself. In this picture, she dances out of windows and hides up above, playing the rodeo clown for the out of control bull of a character she is luring into exhaustion, playing to the audience attending the movie. It’s broad, martial arts inflected slapstick humor, and it works because of Rothrock’s good humor and charm.
Unfortunately, the film’s adversary is a bit of a letdown. Once more a mastermind who pits his cronies against our heroes, Baskin winds up being a mostly ineffectual baddie despite having the same Special Forces training as China’s beau Matt. So, as the film speeds toward its conclusion, it will feel a tad underwhelming for those looking for Rothrock and company to have a slam down boss fight. It does not lack for attempting poignancy, but it’s not wholly successful in pulling heart strings because that is not the director’s forte.
As well, Clouse relies a bit too much on footage that appeared in the first picture, including a review of China’s first encounter in that movie as visual reference for her reluctance to carry/use firearms as well as some of the pick up parade footage that appeared in that film. On the latter, there is a fun story: Clouse did not actually hire the pieces necessary to shoot the parade scene. The crew happened upon a parade and wound up catching footage of it for their own picture. All without permits. Yikes!
Rothrock is once more the main draw here, with her charm and fighting talents both getting opportunities to shine. Likewise, Richard Norton and Keith Cooke have fun being the fast and furious support to Rothrock’s star turn.
Frank Magner is a sort of weaselly character, who is played like a hardcase with a glass jaw. His character is a thirty-year-old child who doesn’t know how to properly communicate with anyone or ask for help, though he knows he is woefully out of his depths. Magner isn’t the best at line delivery, but he can communicate quite a bit with a glare.
Harlow Marks is playing a kind of Clarence Boddicker (Kurtwood Smith) role from Robocop (1987). He’s wicked and cruel, but played without many opportunities to shine on his own. Still, he has one hell of a scowl.
The Vinegar Syndrome 4K UHD/Blu-ray combo release for the film includes a solid 4K transfer and sound. As mentioned in the review for the first film, the interviews and features here often served double duty for the pictures. Since they were shot at the same time, memories of the two movies blur. Still, the four disc set that captures both films in UHD and Blu is worth finding for new and old fans of Rothrock’s brand of action.
Although lacking in some of the regional charm as the original picture, China O’Brien II reunites the cast for an entertaining return to visit some fun characters facing yet another dire situation that pits human greed and corruption against the forces of karate kindness and innate goodness. It’s a formula that works, however, and while the picture is not as gritty as some cops who kick flicks turn out to be, it nevertheless attains a kind of mythic wholesomeness, and turns into a rather swell fireside story with plenty of action and thrills and an uncluttered plotline.
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China O’Brien II is available in DVD and 4K UHD/Blu-ray editions.
Next, we will take a look at the documentary focused on Jim Wynorski’s low budget erotic thriller and erotic horror shooting process during the boom years of the 90s-00s. Popatopolis (2009) is available in a Blu-ray edition.
Writing for “Breaking Jaws to Serve the Laws: China O’Brien II (1990)” is copyright © 2024 by Daniel R. Robichaud.
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