The 1990s saw me hitting a shift in tastes after the Hong Kong crossover that blew my mind thanks to the likes of Chan, Li, Yeoh, and Yen. I wanted more, and despite the successes of Western productions in emulating Hong Kong-style thrills in earlier years, I was resigned to there really never being a return to the form for a lot of DTV films…
That was until, after bypassing it several times, I decided to rent this little military potboiler action flick at the video store called U.S. Seals 2: The Ultimate Force. I didn’t know who Isaac Florentine was either, so I was ready for this film to be something completely mid or less. Inevitably, the film stole my attention, between the film’s nods to spaghetti westerns, stylish action, and gripping dichotomy between the heroes and villains all igniting a plot that involves saving the world with a sprinkle of vengeance to top it all off.
Not to mention seeing Andy Cheng and Dan Southworth go head to head in a fight scene that feels like it should have been longer gave rise to my hopes that the rest of the film would deliver in the same capacity, and it definitely did not disappoint. The film is also the only film I’ve seen that features late actress Karen Kim who plays the vengeful Kimiko who joins our titular “Seals” on their mission to stop an American turncoat from turning the U.S. to ash using a pair of stolen nuclear warheads. She’s amazing to watch, and opposite Hong Kong action veteran and former WMAC Masters co-star Sophia Crawford at that.
U.S. Seals 2: The Ultimate Force is far from a masterpiece, but it’s complete popcorn fun with some of the best ninety minutes you’ll spend on streaming if you love martial arts action. You can find it on Prime Video as of this article or possibly hunt it down on DVD if you’re feeling lucky, although I wouldn’t mind it if a boutique label like Shout! or maybe Vinegar Syndrome took note and licensed it for a re-upped Blu-Ray + 4K UHD release.
I also figured this would be a nice little way to get Florentine back in my purview while we await the release of his most recent actioner, Hellfire. As for U.S. Seals 2: The Ultimate Force, below is a trailer I ripped many moons ago and uploaded to an old YouTube channel I no longer have access to. Have a look!
