Armour of God 2 (1991)

Armour of God 2 (Operation Condor) (1991)

8/10

Starring:

Jackie Chan
Carol Cheng
Eva Cobo de Garcia
Shoko Ikeda

Directed by Jackie Chan

After the success of the first movie, a second part was created in 1991 and had a theatrical release in the US in 1997.

This movie was better and more interesting than the previous one. The storyline was more basic and straightforward, and the screenplay was humorous and thrilling. There were more stunts and effects in this one than the first. Armour of God the first part was a hit, with one girl on Jackie’s trail and another being saved.

In this part, we have two girls on his trail, and another met along the way. I guess the producers thought, “If two girls can make this much money, what will three girls bring?” Well, they brought in the cash as Armour of God Part Two was also a success.

The tale goes like this: Jackie is hired to find World War II Nazi gold hidden in the Sahara desert.

He teams up with three misfit ladies and they head out to Africa to find it. On the way, they stop over at a hotel where the manager is more interested in cash than anything else. They’re followed by two guys who could pass as the Three Stooges without a “Moo.”

Then add to the mix mercenaries who are ready to kill anyone who gets in their way, as they also want the gold.

The movie is funny because the makers focused more on humor, and the screenplay is one worth tipping your hat to. Problem is, I felt the jokes were a bit too much and at times went too far, it felt like the makers wanted to please some viewers in the expense of the more action-oriented ones.

Also, there were scenes in the movie that did not matter, and I felt the whole two girls on his trail thing did not add much to the movie but took from it instead.

The cinematography is what kills me in this movie — I kept wondering how many cameras were used to shoot it. Many trick-angle shots were present. In the desert, there are some quite interesting shots. This movie was shot in 1991 and all I can say is, well done, Jackie.

For me, the two Armour of God movies are ones any Jackie Chan lover will enjoy, so take a sip and savor the taste.

In December 2012, a Chinese movie starring Jackie Chan, CZ12 (also known as Chinese Zodiac), became the third part in the Armour of God series. It also earned Jackie Chan two Guinness World Records: "Most Stunts Performed by a Living Actor" and "Most Credits in One Movie."