Abyss47
The first Cleopatra Jones, in my book, is one of the very best black action films of the 70's. Tamara Dobson made for a gorgeous and charismatic lead, the full embodiment of a strong black woman, who contains beauty, brains, and attitude. It also helped that her body was in such great shape, considering she was a model. She towered over her supporting actors like a giant, at 6 feet 2 inches. The film was also quite successful at the box-office and quickly gained a cult following that continues to this very day. So, of course a sequel had to be made.The first film took place on the streets of Los Angeles, which worked great for the film's story, but the sequel moved things to Hong Kong, a location that better suits the playful tone Max Julien was going for. The story here is pretty mild compared to the racially charged one found in its predecessor, moving away from being steeped in black culture like most other blaxploitation films at the time. Here, two black male agents are sent on an undercover mission, only to find themselves getting into trouble with the film's villainess, the dragon lady (played convincingly by Stella Stevens), who is a sadistic lesbian and a marksman at shooting. Whereas Coffy demonstrated female empowerment in excessive ways, this film takes a more subtle approach, as Cleo is forced to go get her fellow male agents out of trouble, and save the day. There are no scenes with a female blowing a man's balls off here, the film takes on a light-hearted tone pretty early and sticks with it until the end. That doesn't mean it has no violence, there's plenty to be found here, but none of it is over-the-top like it is in the Pam Grier revenge movies.As expected, Cleo gets hit on by her white boss, as well as the various Asian characters who take up most of the film's cast, and who can blame them? The fight choreography isn't the best, but their rapid enough so as to avoid tearing the film down, and thankfully, the movie doesn't just contain fights. There are gunfights, vehicle chases, and explosions aplenty, and director Charles Bail did a good job of keeping the ball rolling. There are some slow spots to allow the viewer to catch a breather, especially towards the beginning, but for the most part, this is a very action-packed film that has plenty of appeal for both Hong Kong action fans and blaxploitation fans, as the two genres mesh together and form a seamless whole here, similar to Black Belt Jones and Enter the Dragon. Cleo gets aided in the film by an Asian woman named Mi Ling, who proves capable of being able to kick just as much ass as Cleo. This foreshadowed the team-up of Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan in the Rush Hour movies, as both trade quips and wisecracks throughout.The acting isn't the best, but if you've seen enough exploitation movies, that shouldn't be a problem, as even the worst acting adds to the amusement factor. Personality-wise, Tamara Dobson overshadows the rest of the cast by quite a wide margin though, and I definitely disagree with reviewers who said she was best in supporting roles. I think both Cleopatra Jones films proved she could carry her own film very well. The movie hits its peak in the finale, which contains a large-scale battle in the dragon lady casino complete with motorcycles, machine guns, explosions, Kung-Fu, and swords, as both Cleo and the dragon lady duke it out in a fight I wish was a bit longer. It's a stunning sequence that easily one-ups everything that came before it. The rest of the action scenes are quite good though, and the soundtrack as well. I always liked the Cleopatra Jones theme. Sure, it's not iconic like the James Bond theme, but it's still really nice. If I had one major complaint, it would be that the scenes scattered throughout the film with the two black male agents aren't very interesting, and there are some cringe-worthy lines here and there, but not enough to ruin the overall experience.It's a shame that another Cleopatra Jones film was not made soon after, I would've loved for it to be a trilogy, but apparently this one wasn't well received and didn't do the business the first film did at the box-office, so it's understandable. Still, an awesome B-movie gem like this is definitely worth a look alongside the first film, as they're among the best films of the blaxploitation genre.
elshikh4
If you can stand this frightening eye shadow, as well as those painted long very long eyebrows then you can stand anything ! First of all they wanted to make a stronger sequel in kind of big production where Dirty Harry meets James Bond meets Bruce Lee ! And they did it through this story about a casino, dragon lady, a drug smuggling, etc. It's bigger indeed than (Cleopatra Jones) which was close to a solid TV pilot. BUT I have a lot to say about it though..Of course as you guessed : (Tamara Dobson) and her outrageously bizarre looks in here! In fact she made me sick to my stomach during the whole 96 minutes. What the hell was that anyway ?! Those showy outfits, flamboyant costumes, funny hats, jewelry with frippery, and that genuinely horrible make-up !!!! She looked all along like a total freak, or a walking bazaar. That was too damn much in the most ugly way EVER !It was beyond any endurance's power I have. So it may hurt you badly when some boy whistles when he sees her and be that dazzled ! Yes, she could DAZZLE easily I know to the extent that makes you blind !Not to mention the characterization of Cleopatra this time. If you complained about her being some mannish at the first movie then be assured; here she's all man baby ! with no slight second to feel any kind of femininity. They wanted the taste this time as intensive as it could be. Look at the frame of Cleo here : no boyfriend, with a girl sidekick all the time, her girl sidekick got no boyfriend also !, moreover being in explicit manly costumes. It's the typical manly violent black lady of the era for all the aggrieved black people, the aggrieved women, and the sexually perverted persons too.I liked the theme song, the wonderful music, the good cinematography, the strong editing, and the fact that there were no Barb Wires in the fights' scenes unlike our very fake days ! Despite some crappy moments like when the Chinese girl, who supposed to be a sharp police officer, opened her flat's door while she was going to shower so the whole bunch of killers could enter plainly !?. It transformed into comedy already when Cleo was hiding in the dark to descend upon a bad guy at the stairs unexpectedly while she was wearing the most flashy suit I've ever seen in my life !It's fine Action for sure but as I told you earlier; how it recommends a very powerful stomach to bear Dobson's sight as she wasn't here a "Hard Woman" inasmuch as a "Hard" only !
Infofreak
'Cleopatra Jones and the Casino of Gold' is even more enjoyable than 'Cleopatra Jones' (if such a thing is possible!), because it realizes that the best thing about the first movie was its sense of fantasy. The sequel doesn't even attempt to be realistic or socially aware, it goes for trashy Bond-like entertainment, and is all the better for it.Special Agent Cleopatra Jones (the beautiful Tamara Dobson) arrives in Hong Kong after the disappearance of her friends the Johnson brothers (the always amusing Albert Popwell and Caro Kenyatta) in a drug sting gone wrong. She befriends a local street smart girl Mi Ling (Tanny) who helps her track them down. All paths lead to The Dragon Lady (Stella Stevens).
In the first movie Cleo's nemesis Momma was played by Shelley Winters, a drug pushing lesbian. In this movie it's Winters' 'Poseidon Adventure' co-star Stevens, again a drug pushing lesbian. What's up with that? I don't know, but The Dragon Lady beats Momma at her own game, she also runs a gold casino in Macao, has foxier girlfriends, and is pretty nifty with a sword.This is fantastically entertaining silliness. Cleopatra wears her usual outrageous outfits, talks tough, kicks ass, and never runs out of wise-cracks or loses her cool. The relocation to Hong Kong and the ensuing increase in martial arts is a good thing. Don't ignore this movie if you're a fan of blaxploitation, 'Enter The Dragon' or James Bond. Great fun!
