Tiger Cage 2 is a 1990 Hong Kong action film directed by Yuen Woo-Ping. Donnie Yen, Carol Cheng, and Michael Woods return for the sequel, but this time the movie follows an entirely new storyline far from Tiger Cage with all-new characters. Its cast introduces David Wu, Cynthia Khan, Rosamund Kwan, and Robin Shou.
Donnie Yen, Yuen Woo-ping and Cynthia Khan would collaborate once again later, in In the Line of Duty 4: Witness.
Donnie Yen plays a hot-headed ex-cop named Dragon Yau whose attitude has got him in trouble with his bosses and his wife. On a trip to the lawyers, he witnesses a robbery go down where a suitcase of money disappears and a lot of guys get shot. Somehow, he ends up with lawyer Mandy Chang (Rosamund Kwan) on the run from the cops who think they committed a murder and from the bad guys that think they have the money. Reluctantly they are forced to form an alliance with one of the bad guys, David (David Wu), who has been betrayed by the Triads led by Waise Chow (Robin Shou).
Tiger Cage 2 provides the following tropes:
- Advertised Extra: Carol Cheng is in the sequel and appears in the original Tiger Cage 2 poster. It looks like she's going to be one of the main characters in the movie. In truth, her character Petty Lee ends up murdered not even 30 minutes into the movie.
- Briefcase Full of Money: The movie literally starts with an opened briefcase full of cash being closed over the titles. The briefcase becomes the MacGuffin Full of Money that lands into Inspector Yau's possession.
- Big Eater: The scene at the outdoor restaurant shows Yau and Mandy chomping down on a large amount of food while chugging on beer and smoking cigarettes.
- Break the Cutie: Mandy has her life turned upside down by everything Waise had sicked upon her and Yau's lives.
- Bullying the Dragon: The two American thugs pull this on Waise when they first meet him. Too bad for them, he was prepared with a sharp dagger in his hand and a pistol in his sock.
- Butt-Monkey: Inspector Yau is probably the most accident-prone character Donnie Yen has portrayed, from getting tangled with the obnoxious lawyer Mandy, getting unintentionally handcuffed to her which results in him nearly getting run over by a truck, getting filthy water dumped on his head during a stake-out, forced to hide in a water tank full of kitchen waste, nearly getting arrested by the police after losing his badge, and getting put through torture.
- Casting Gag:
- Donnie Yen, David Wu, Robin Shou, and Cynthia Khan all appeared in the In The Line Of Duty movie series. Robin appeared as one of the dogged bodyguards of Yamamoto in In the Line of Duty III: Force of the Dragon and then later in In The Line Of Duty 6 Forbidden Arsenal as Paul. Donnie would appear as police lieutenant Donnie in In the Line of Duty 4: Witness. David would appear as David Ng in In The Line Of Duty 5 Middle Man.
- A significant portion of the cast, specifically Donnie Yen, John Salvitti, Michael Woods and Cynthia Khan previously appeared in In the Line of Duty 4: Witness, which was also directed by Yuen Woo-Ping. Gary Chow also appeared in the later sequels In The Line Of Duty 6 Forbidden Arsenal and In The Line Of Duty 7 Sea Wolves.
- Donnie Yen, Carol Cheng, and Rosamund Kwan all starred in the Once Upon A Time In China II.
- David Wu, Carol Cheng, and Rosamund Kwan both starred in The Banquet.
- Donnie Yen and Michael Woods are again in a film collaboration of at least 6 onscreen collaborations.
- Ceiling Cling: During the storm drain sequence, a character hides from goons by doing this. Unfortunately for him, his necktie is hanging down directly into the path of the cigarette lighter that one bad guy is using as a light source; his tie catches fire and he is discovered.
- Chained Heat: Inspector Yau ends up getting unintentionally handcuffed to Mandy after a botched arrest scene. And what's even worse, his right hand is cuffed to her right hand, meaning there's absolutely zero room of maneuverability, and all this happens in the middle of a fight scene, where Yau attempts to perform a flying kick on David... only to have the cuffs snag him down and making him trip mid-jump.
- Chain Pain: In the final battle, the Scary Black Man thug uses a chain to attack Inspector Yau. He momentarily gets the drop on Yau by restraining his wrists with the chain, but Yau got back up as quickly as he's down.
- Clothing Damage:
- Mandy's first outfit gets badly ripped up when escaping the police with Yau.
- During David's fight with Waise, Waise tears off his necktie and rips open his shirt to break free from being choked by David grabbing his necktie.
- In the Sword Fight, Yau's clothes get ripped up by John Salvatti's character.
- Cold-Blooded Torture: Inspector Yau is subjected to torture by having his chest pressed against the front wheel of an exercise cycle while his hands are cuffed to the handlebars, while a thug forces Mandy (Whose tied to the bike) to repeatedly pedal the cycle to cut into his chest. Yau, being Donnie Yen and Made of Iron, only exclaims "The massage feels so good!"
- Curb-Stomp Battle: David vs Waise. Can be seen in Oh, Crap! Waise wins in the presence of the two American thugs without their help.
- Designated Girl Fight: Between Inspector Yeung and Waise's assistant. It doesn't last long as when the assistant tries to run from Yeung, an assassin guns her down to keep her from talking.
- Dine and Dash: Yau and Mandy do this when they can't pay for the $180 meal they just consumed. Thankfully, Yau provoked a thug that started a fight, allowing them to avoid getting in trouble for this.
- Drinking Contest: David tricks Yau into this. Once Yau passes out, David places a large bundle of cash into Yau's suit. Mandy isn't impressed from this.
- Foolish Husband, Responsible Wife: Yau's failing marriage is noted to be this when his wife files for a divorce at Mandy's Lawfirm. His attitude is so radioactive that it not only gets him in trouble at work as a cop, it's pushed his wife to get away from him.
- Foreshadowing: When Kent runs off during the robbery, he's carrying a bullet riddled briefcase. When he runs into the second elevator and then flees to the Parking Garage, the briefcase is nowhere to be seen. After Kent dies, David notices that the briefcase is missing. This gives off the hint that the briefcase was still somewhere in the Lawfirm building. Meaning that Waise and David were looking in the wrong places and people for it. It was hidden right under their noses.
- Guilty Until Someone Else Is Guilty: Inspector Yeung thinks that Yau and Mandy murdered Petty until she heads to Waise's Lawfirm and sees that his assistant has the same gun shot wound she afflicted to her the night Petty was killed.
- Guns Akimbo: Inspector Yau in the final shootout against triads.
- High-Voltage Death: In the storm drain sequence, our hero breaks power cables off the wall and sticks them into the puddle in which one bad guy is standing.
- Horrible Judge of Character: Petty seems to think because Waise is a Lawyer like her, he will always uphold the law first. After hearing David and Waise's conversation, that is no longer the case.
- Hydro-Electro Combo: In the storm drain sequence, our hero breaks power cables off the wall and sticks them into the puddle in which one bad guy is standing.
- Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: The black thug dies in this way after Yau kicks him into a long, bent metal spike.
- Inside Job: Waise Chow, a lawyer who is apart of the Triads, set up David and Kent to be killed in an elevator robbery to hide the fact that he was behind the robbery and overthrowing Uncle Chiu. Being that he was Chiu's Second-In-Command, that also is a Rules Lawyer, it would be easy for him to hide his dirty dealings from the Lawfirm and the Organization he worked for.
- Karaoke Bonding Scene: Between Mandy, Yau and David after they get the briefcase full of money.
- Love Triangle: In the Karaoke scene, David confesses to Mandy that he's in love with her. It comes out of nowhere as there is barely any build up or a hint showing that David liked Mandy from the beginning. It also doesn't help that Mandy was with Yau longer than David.
- Kung-Shui: In the Curb-Stomp Battle between David and Waise, inside Chiu's office, Waise kicks David through a glass door, kicks David to break a small wooden table, kicks him through a non-glass door, and then kicks David into a glass table... while the thugs enjoy the fight drinking Scotch without ice. In a strange effect, Waise uses a high kick to break through the remains of said glass door.
- Man Bites Man: A Call-Back to the previous movie, at the ending battle Tak briefly managed to distract Waise by biting his heel.
- Money to Burn: After Mandy, Yau and David get their hands on the briefcase full of money, Yau takes out a note and sets it on fire, using it to light a cigarette, in a Shout-Out to A Better Tomorrow.
- No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: Waise delivers this to David after killing Uncle Chiu. By the time Yau and Mandy come rescue David, David is badly bleeding and on the point of death.
- No Honor Among Thieves: After Kent dies during the robbery, David suspects that there is a traitor among the Triads. Waise questions David on if he and Kent were followed while traveling to Hong Kong from the United States, but David tells him that they would have been caught earlier if that was the case. Someone knew ahead of time where they would meet with the Briefcase and when they would leave the building. And David was right to be suspicious. Waise sent his thugs to follow him the same day Yau and Mandy went looking for David. So he knew right away who the traitor was.
- Oh, Crap!: David's reaction in the following scene
- Over-the-Shoulder Carry: After Mandy refused to cooperate with Inspector Yau after they got handcuffed together, Yau had to resort to carrying her over his back while making a run for it. With her slapping him and demanding to be let down all the way. To the point of nearly causing him to get run over by a truck...
- Paper-Thin Disguise: Yau, David, and Mandy dress up as Elevator repairmen to investigate the elevator and find out how Kent manage to hide the Brief case before he died.
- Pinned to the Wall: Waise throws the knife he had in his hand at the black thug's coat sleeve while holding the other thug at Gun point.
- Power Trio: An unlikely allience. Yau, Mandy, and David all team up to find the briefcase of money until David goes alone into the final battle.
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Recycled Script: There are similarities from the first film found in the sequel:- There's a celebration of a couple getting together at the beginning of the story. Shirley and Lung were going to get married in the first film. Mandy and Phillip got engaged and merged their Law Firm.
- There's a traitor on the inside who puts in excessive effort to cover their tracks. Inspector Huang in the first. Waise in the sequel.
- There is a Drug trade going down in secret. Uncle Tat with the foreigners in the first. Waise Chow with the American thugs in the second.
- Carol Cheng plays a character who is the object of the Big Bad's affection. The difference is that Shirley in the first film survived. Petty wasn't so lucky. Nevermind the fact that Shirley survived Huang's assault on her and that there were hints of Waise wanting to do the same to Petty, whom he was in a relationship with.
- An assassin is sent out to kill someone who knows too much. Uncle Tat and Amy in the first, but Tat survived. Petty and Waise's assistant in the sequel. Like Amy, Petty wasn't lucky.
- A good cop is framed for a crime they didn't commit. Fan in the first. Yau in the second.
- A Love Interest is in danger of being killed because they witnessed a crime. Amy in the first. Mandy in the second. Amy was targeted by the Big Bad because she watched the tape Fan recorded of Uncle Tat's drug exchange. Mandy witnesses the robbery extend to the parking garage, but she lived because Yau saved Mandy when she was in danger multiple times. Amy wasn't so lucky.
- There's a Designated Girl Fight between a cop and a henchwoman. Inspector Shirley vs Huang's henchwoman in the first. Inspector Yeung vs. Waise's assistant in the second.
- A Desecrating the Dead scene is present. The Black thug is killed in Uncle Tat's apartment and repeatedly punch by an enraged Tat in the first. Waise kicks over a dead Uncle Chiu in the second.
- Donnie Yen vs. Michael Woods. Woods' character dies from being impaled in different situations.
- One of the main characters is killed by the Big Bad. Terry by Inspector Huang in the first film. David by Waise in the sequel.
- Red Herring: When Yau burns a note to light a cigar in the Karaoke Bar scene, some fans familiar with A Better Tomorrow will think he will die just like Mark; since Donnie Yen's character Terry didn't survive the first Tiger Cage. For context, Buddhists burn money (Fake money, not real) during funerals, so that the dead will have money in the afterlife. It seems like Donnie's characters are destined to die in the Tiger Cage series. As it turns out, that is not the case in the second film. Yau lives to the end. It's David that doesn't make it.
- Scary Black Man: Once again, Michael Woods plays a muscular black henchman Donnie had to fight, and this time their battle is uninterrupted all the way to the death.
- Secret Handshake: In the first scene where David and Kent walk into Waise's office, Waise greets David with this kind of handshake after Petty had already left the office.
- Sword Fight: Between Inspector Yau and the American mafia leader played by John Salvatti during the climatic fight scene in a power generator room. Yau wins by way of inflicting a Slashed Throat after a lengthy fight scene on his opponent.
- Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: The main trio Yau, Mandy, and David are reluctant to team up with each other to find the missing briefcase. They're teamwork gets better after they find the briefcase. Cue drunken Karaoke scene.
- Wake Up Fighting: Mandy, after regaining consciousness and finding Inspector Yau in front of her, instantly lashes out at him repeatedly trying to kick him.
- We Have Ways of Making You Talk: The mobsters who interrogates Yau for the briefcase of money gets really creative in their interrogation technique, such as having him strapped to the front of an exercise cycle and pedaling the machine at full speed.
- White-Collar Crime: The Triads were attempting to wash $7 million worth in US cash to hide in money laundering.
- With My Hands Tied: Inspector Yau, despite getting both his hands tangled in chains, managed to retaliate and beat down the burly black thug who's beating him up in the final battle, and even win with his hands still chained together!
