Merhi’s vanity project continues, taking the far eastern spiritualism of the first film to confused extremes. Relevant cast and crew reassemble and relocate to San Francisco on the hunt of tiger claw expert Chong (Bolo), who has been sprung from prison as part of an arms deal between his martial brother (played by Ong Soo Han) and some assorted heavies. NY cop Tarek (Merhi) appears to have had a personality lobotomy since the first film, but the spunky Linda (Rothrock) still thinks highly of him, for reasons completely unfathomable. So they buddy up again and enroll in a contrived kung fu tournament held once every century to coincide with some ancient Chinese zodiac thing where the stars align and Chong’s sifu can enter another realm, or something. The story’s supernatural tangent is strange, with Merhi’s Canadian studio drenched in dry ice, electric sparks and video game villainy like something out of Big Trouble in Little China. But Merhi’s biggest crime is reducing Rothrock to such a subordinate role, particularly when watching him act is like having some kind of eye surgery.