Reviewed By-Paul Cooke
Director : Isaac Florentine
Scripted : Michael D. Weiss
Starring : Michael Worth , Karen Kim , Marshall R. Teague ,
Damian Chapa , Kate Connor & Sophia Crawford

Slip into the scuba gear and fill the bath with cold water for the full on silly effect before submerging yourself into the fun blast that is , ‘ U.S Seals II ’.

Navy Seals Casey and Ratcliff work for the same side but not for the same team as after completing a mission Ratcliff kills a bad guy , with callous disregard to orders to bring the man in alive. The reaction does not go unnoticed by Casey and when Ratcliff rapes and kills a daughter of their martial arts teacher , Ratcliff goes renegade leaving Casey to deal with the consequences , as their Sensai commits harikari and his eldest daughter Kamiko’s blossoming affection towards Casey turns to contempt.

Several years pass and Ratcliff reappears intent on using his acquired military astuteness to abduct the army’s female leading physicist Doctor Burrows , which leads to Navy Admiral Patterson seeking out the retired Casey to helm a rescue mission. The opportunity to avenge the events of his guilt ridden past reacquaint him with Kamiko , as well as affording him the ability to hand pick members of his old Seal team , who have likewise fallen upon tough times.

The mission requires a crack detachment to infiltrate a Russian weapons testing site , where Ratcliffe has two nuclear missiles prepped to be armed by the captive Doctor Burrows against her will. The area in which they abide is enshrouded with methane gas following a chemical fallout disaster , which means the use of any weapon is prohibited , as any spark would ignite with explosive consequence.

Casey seeks out his unit from bars and chain gangs to reform his very own parred down version of ‘ The Dirty Dozen ’, as the elite band of five men set off on their rescue mission. They are joined at the martial airport by Army Major Donner who is responsible for the welfare of Doctor Burrows , and also by Kamiko who is kitted out to deal with the unconventional circumstances of the environment they are heading into , including the opportunity to redress the loss of her family.

Each member of the elite team has their own fighting skill and choice of non ballistic weapon that includes a high tech air gun totted by the Major , that literally burns through anything it makes contact with in deathly fashion.

Soon after reaching their destination their arrival is beset by the highly trained team of professional fighters under Ratcliffe’s command , that include specific hand picked specialists who are the equal of the Seals , as is soon displayed in a superb set piece of relentless aggression. Amidst the decimated Siberian nuclear reactor remnants , that is Ground Zero , the Seal Team battle odds of four to one. What follows is an extremely entertaining clash , implementing hand to hand combat interspersed with a frenetic skirmish that utilises the eclectic array of swords , chains and extending steel sticks to the fullest. The in your face encounter has that bring it on adrenalin rush that fuels the adrenal glands to maximum , delivering the goods wholesale to any self righteous Action fan bruising for bad ass ‘B’ movie brawling , big time.

The introduction of a wickedly cool looking Japanese right hand man to Ratcliffe fittingly stokes the interest level up a notch , as he appears replete with blond hair and designer sunglasses with a fighting style as noticeably up to date as his chic appearance. Throw in an idiosyncratic effect that has each tilt of the head or pointing of a finger having its own sound effect , humourously reminiscent to that of the opening and closing of the speed lift doors aboard the Star Ship Enterprise , and you will be wondrously teleported to the fabulous outer reaches definitely not associated with the Stars of Hollywood.

With his sturdy combatant colleagues recreating Custer’s Last Stand , Casey and Kamiko seek out the Doctor and the recreant Seal Ratcliff , with the clock ticking down to a nuclear strike. Whilst the Army are being held accountable for the non payment of the Billion dollar ransom the forces of good and evil continue to slug it out big time , with the countdown ticking away to its explosive conclusion.

What ‘ U.S Seals II ’ serves up by the fist load is a good old fashioned slam boree that’s more wooden than Noah’s Ark , but when these guys finally go at it two by two the participation will definitely float your boat.

Release : Artisan
Presentation : Fullscreen 4:3
Coding : PAL Region 2
Sound : Dolby Stereo 2.0
Extras : Movie Trailer