Armor Of God 2: Operation Condor: Viewer Comments

Jackie returns as the Asian Hawk in this classic action adventure, which was, at the time, the most expensive HK movie ever made, and it shows.

With "Miracles" Jackie had firmly put his detractors to shame, and shown that he was a fully fledged filmmaker, and not just a glorified stuntman churning out mindless action comedies on Golden Harvest's nickel. So with that in place, it was back to business as usual, this time revisiting his Asian Hawk character from "Armour Of God", and in my mind, improving the formula and fixing more or less all the problems from the first film.

First of all, just the sheer scale of the production, for an HK movie of this time, is quite something. Shot on several continents, sporting multiple big action sequences and some really impressive sets, it's easy to see where the big budget went.

With that said, the movie is not without its shortcomings. While I realize that this is essentially a comedy, I still find the bad guys a little too cartoonish, if not buffoonish, for their own good. The two Arabs chasing Jackie and the girls around are, in the words of Jim Kelly, straight out of a comic book. And the fact that the Nazi villain's name is Adolf doesn't make it any less ridiculous. I also found Jackie's three female companions something of a chore to watch. And some of the comedic scenes involving these three ditzy dames run on for a bit too long. In the end though, these are minor flaws, and not to the detriment of the movie in any great way.

Jackie puts so much energy and ingenuity into every scene that you can't help wonder how he could keep coming up with this stuff in film after film. And aside from a few of the comedic scenes that sort of overstay their welcome, it is pretty much wall to wall action. The big finish in the Nazi bunker alone has more action, excitement, and clever gags than most movies of this genre have in their entire running time.

When the dust settled, this movie was over budget and over schedule. And as a result, Golden Harvest sort of revoked the carte blanche that Jackie had been riding all through the 80's. It also more or less ended his career as a director. But I think the final result is almost worth that. This is a thoroughly fun and enjoyable thrill ride of action, comedy, and great adventure that shouldn't be missed by anyone.

After a few box office flops in the late 1980's, Jackie Chan (Sing Lung) probably had to make something a little more commercially-driven, by going back to his Asian Hawk character from 'Armour of God'. From what I've heard, this film was one of the most stress-inducing that Jackie has ever worked on (The humid desert heat, natives trying to use prop money as real currency, confiscated film reels, illnesses, filming equipment getting damaged by sunlight and sand, etc.). Thirteen years later (8/19/03), 'Armour of God 2: Operation Condor' is still a blast to watch! 'AOG 2' is bogged down by a number of flaws: three annoying, 'Three Stooges-esque' female co-stars who were cast to appeal to the markets that Jackie had already reached, racial stereotypes (not too uncommon in Hong Kong cinema, or Hollywood), elements "borrowed" from the 'Indiana Jones' films, a gwailo non-martial artist villian who is unable to fight one-on-one with Jackie, etc.

As for its redeeming values, this film delivers the goods. Beautifully crafted action scenes and stunts, top-notch production values (HK standards), a short, yet decent fight between Jackie and Vincent Lyn, and more. This quintessential action-adventure film really holds up after numerous viewings.

Not as good as the first Armour of God, but this movie will keep you entertained by the amount of action and comedy.

The fights are quick and not very well choreographed, whereas the first one was better than this. It is still worth watching for an action-packed Jackie Chan movie, but not really worth buying if you're a Jackie Chan fan to see his best work. If you're really mad about Jackie then of course you will collect every movie of his, but I'm saying for the people who only collect the best Jackie films, this is not a purchase, but a rent. After all renting, will open up your personal opinion and you can decide whatever you like.

The film is very rushed, so for the fans who do not like rush action type films almost all the way through the film then don't buy this. The humour and comedy are quite funny as Jackie always contributes some comedy into his films. If you want Jackie to usually win the fights then this is not the film because most of the time he loses the fights, but after all wins the war cheesely.

I recommend to rent this movie first to open your own personal opinion; and if you like it buy it; if you don't then don't buy it. After all, at least you've seen it then and know what it's like.