The second installment is more gizmo-friendly, and ace-thief Sam is chased all over Hong Kong by assassins, lead by a squinting Eastwoodian bounty hunter named Filthy Harry (get it?). Many BMWs and Jaguars are trashed, and there's some really inventive sight gags (a packed elevator, and ballet sequence are a couple of highlights) that deserve some kind of honorary Bugs Bunny Award for Clever Absurdity.

Anchor Bay 's crisp transfer is from an excellent print, with vivid colours and no visible artifacting. The mono English-dub track is pretty raw, though. The DVD does not contain the original Chinese language track - something fans might find disappointing - but the English voices math the physical performances quite well, inadvertently enhancing the film's cartoon sensibilities.

Like the movie, the included trailer is also in excellent shape, though the trailer is really a mini-capsule of the film's stunts.

This film is available individually, or in a boxed set, which includes "Mad Mission 1," "Mad Mission 2," "Mad Mission 3," and "Mad Mission 4: You Never Die Twice," as a bonus.

© 2002 Mark R. Hasan