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Armour of God II: Operation Condor
[Blu-ray 4K]
Blu-ray ALL - United Kingdom - 88 Films Review written by and copyright: Eric Cotenas (19th June 2025). |
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The Film
 Just settling in for a fishing trip vacation after a botched mission in the Philippines to find precious emeralds in the possession of an ancient tribe, Jackie (Police Story's Jackie Chan) – aka Condor, aka Eagle, aka Asian Eagle – is summoned to Spain by the Duke Scapio (The Pope Must Die's Bozidar Smiljanic) on behalf of the UN to discover the location of a German base in the African desert supposedly hoarding a cache of several tonnes of Gold; that is if Commander Ketterling and his team of eighteen men did not make off with it after mysteriously vanishing on the mission. The UN wants to get to the gold, which was stolen from several occupied countries, before the German government can make a claim on it. Jackie is accompanied by bookish desert guide Ada (Tiger Cage's Carol "Do Do" Cheng) who is less than pleased when Jackie tracks down the general's granddaughter Elsa (Matador's Eva Cobo) who is supposedly seeking to prove her grandfather's innocence but may be after the gold herself, along with Japanese Momoko (Shôko Ikeda) who is traveling the globe in search of spiritual enlightenment but appears to be on the same route as they. They are not the only ones looking, however, as Jackie is repeatedly accosted by a pair of Arabs (Once Upon a Time in China's Jonathan Isgar and Outlaw Brothers' Daniel Mintz) and a team of murderous mercenaries hired by crippled Adolf ('s Aldo Sambrell). The search for the base takes the trio to a Morrocan hotel soon decimated by machine gunfire, a white slave auction, and an African tribe whose ancient idol sits atop the entrance to the base. With studio shooting in Hong Kong and location shooting in the Philippines, Morroco, and Spain – where Chan had previously made Wheels on Meals (also with Cobo) – Armour Of God II: Operation Condor is a bigger and better follow-up to the Indiana Jones clone Armour of God with more ambitious action set-pieces including a car and motorcycle chase staged by Remy Julienne's stunt driving team and better comedy even if it still requires the three women to behave like bimbos for the most part. The underground base finale is a tour de force of action with Chan and his stunt team running across girders, scaffolding, and even being propelled intot the air by a large airplane hangar fan. As with the first film, Chan once again gravely-injured himself in a stunt this time involving a chain, and once again the injury makes the outtake reel over the end credits. Arthur Wong's photography is as workmanlike as the direction of non-action sequences but the backdrops are often stunning, while the synth scoring of Chris Babida (The Phantom Lover) seems like the production's weakest aspect sounding rather cheap and lacking presence. 2012's Chinese Zodiac is considered to be the third film in the franchise, with Chan once again playing the "Asian Hawk" and it was supposed to be his last action film. While he has appeared in several action films as an actor since – including the regrettable Skiptrace, a buddy action comedy with Jackass' Johnny Knoxville – although he has made a number of action films since and reportedly has a Police Story reboot and a fourth Rush Hour in development. 
Video
While Armour of God found its way onto VHS in the United States in the 1990s in horrid quality, the more entertaining Armour Of God II: Operation Condor went unreleased on home video while its export version was released in the UK theatrically and on VHS in its export version as "Operation Condor" in 1992 which was largely identical to the Hong Kong version apart from its inclusion of rear nude body double shots of Cheng in the shower that were replaced with alternate takes for a Category I all ages rating. The film did see U.S. theatrical release in 1997 following the success of the redubbed/rescored releases of Rumble in the Bronx from New Line and Supercop from Dimension Films. Like Dimension's other theatrical and home video Jackie Chan titles, this version also titled just "Operation Condor" was trimmed by more than fifteen minutes, redubbed, and rescored; in this case by Stephen Endelman (The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain). While it lost a lot of exposition including the introductions of Elsa and Momoko – the latter now first appearing in the desert later in the film – the cut was still entertaining and retained the nudity despite a PG-13 rating along with a Dolby Digital 5.1 mix in place of the original mono (even Hong Kong did a stereo surround remix for home video). Confusingly, the first film was released by Dimension direct-to-video afterward in the U.S. as "Operation Condor 2: The Armour of the Gods". While Dimension went some way towards restoring some of the damage they did with their Dragon Dynasty line, the "Operation Condor" version came to Buena Vista DVD in the same cut in a non-anamorphic letterboxed transfer. Anamorphic 2.35:1 and 1.78:1-cropped transfers of this cut from a new HD master showed up without accurate labeling on various Echo Bridge DVDs and Blu-rays when they outbid Lionsgate for a renewal of the Miramax catalogue. The Hong Kong cut could be found with English subtitles in Hong Kong and the United Kingdom on DVD but they were also a non-anamorphic letterboxed transfer until Hong Kong's digitally remastered DVD, the standard definition anamorphic transfer of which was the source for the 2010 upscaled Hong Kong Blu-ray and Mediumare's U.K. Blu-ray. Paramount in Japan released the extended 113 cut in an exclusive HD master while France's HK video used the upscaled master for the Hong Kong cut while striking a new HD master for their shorter domestic cut for their Blu-ray. 88 Films' 2020 Blu-ray featured a new 2K restoration of the Hong Kong cut (107:12) with the Category I cuts as well as a new 2K restoration from the original 35mm camera negative that turned out to be a version even longer than the Japanese cut, an extended version running ten minutes longer at 117 minutes and including the export nudity. Apart from the aforementioned nudity, the longer cut's several little extensions during the first half of the film (including an early introductory shot of the Arabs lurking in the background of one shot) are identical to the Japanese version while the second half of the film includes some previously-unseen bits in the underground bunker. 88 Films' 2160p24 MPEG-4 AVC 2.35:1 widescreen Dolby Vision 4K UltraHD and 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 2.35:1 widescreen Blu-ray presentations are split across four discs with the Hong Kong theatrical cut (107:19) – substituting the nude shots seen in the export version – on the first UHD and BD and the extended version (117:10) on the second UHD and BD from a new 4K restoration of the original 35mm camera negatives. Compared to the earlier 2K restoration, the new 4K restoration reveals additional sliver of picture information on all four sides of the frame and is overall brighter and less "blue" than the earlier master in the sunny exteriors and overcast ones. This latter point throughout with the skies looking less saturated so the Spain scenes no longer look overcast and the desert scenes more arid while the underground bunker scenes reds also look richer in the bunker lighting. A few night scenes utilizing blue gels look less dialed back. Overall, this grade has more than a bit in common with the Hong Kong Blu-ray (which was upscaled from Fortune Star's DVD master) but with better skin tones and richer primaries, particularly in the Dolby Vision version where the studio set hotel courtyard and bunker scenes reveal more texture in the stone and stucco as well slightly better shadow detail given the largely overhead lighting sources and weaker fill that looked harsh and noisy in some shots in earlier masters. Some weaknesses in focus and lens distortion curvature during wide angle shots are organic to the older Technovision anamorphic lenses (although the distortion is nowhere near as bad as some of the older Shawscope and Golden Harvest films of the sixties and seventies). We have no idea if this grade is more accurate just because it looks like the first Fortune Star master since they also did the 2K restoration grading and likely did not bother to consult anyone on the production (director- and/or cinematographer-approved Hong Kong restorations seem to be reserved for more prestigious art house titles). 
Audio
The Hong Kong cut comes with the original Cantonese DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono mix as well as the aforementioned DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 stereo surround mix that appeared on Hong Kong laserdisc and VHS. The stereo surround mix recesses some sound effects that are too up front in the mono mix and there are some directional bits while the score has a bit of breadth rather than separation. The original export English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono dub is also included and reveals that Dimension Films actually did improve things with the new voicing for the most part, not only having Chan dub his own English performance and better voice actors for Cheng, Cobo, and Sambrell (on the other hand, Ikeda and the Arabs sounded even more insipid). Created especially for this release is a "hybrid" Cantonese/English track although the rationale for it is unclear. It features Chan's dubbed Cantonese – by his regular dubber (Chan was not heard himself on film until the sync-sound Police Story 3: Supercop and the redubs of some of his earlier films he did when they were acquired for the U.S.) – with English subtitles even when he is having conversations with English-speaking characters (who had been dubbed in Cantonese in the original Hong Kong mix) apart from some of the henchmen while the English dubbing for the other actors is that of the classic dub. Separate optional English subtitle tracks were included for both Cantonese tracks – the stereo track adding some offscreen voices – and a track translating some text including the title card with the English dub. The extended cut includes only the Cantonese DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono track with optional English subtitles. 
Extras
The first UHD disc includes the Hong Kong theatrical cut and two commentary tracks. The first is an audio commentary by NY Asian Film Festival’s Frank Djeng and filmmaker FJ DeSanto recorded for this edition in which Djeng emphasizes that the 4K restoration here was done for 88 Films and is not the 4K restoration that was shown earlier at Cannes hosted by actor Vincent Lyn. They reveal that this was the most expensive Hong Kong film at the time and that it went over-budget and over-schedule, leading to it being the last solo directorial effort of Chan (credited solo since it was co-directed by an uncredited Frankie Chan). Djeng and DeSanto reveal that Miracles made little money so Chan promised Golden Harvest a hit by going back to his Armour of God character. They discuss the international shoot in Spain and Morocco, and how equipment issues and food poisoning lead to more of the Morocco part being shot in Hong Kong including the hotel set which necessitated importing ten tonnes of sand from Morocco to match the footage. They also provide background on the cast including the Western actors and anime voice actress Ikeda to capitalize on Chan's popularity in Japan. Djeng also notes that this was an "event movie" back at the time when bigger Hong Kong films were made for the Chinese New Year audience (the film was second at the Hong Kong box office that year). Just as with the American release through Miramax/Dimension, Djeng also reveals that the film was released on Mainland China before Armour of God which was then sold as the sequel. Ported from the 2020 Blu-ray is the audio commentary by film historians Mike Leeder and Arne Venema in which they note that the Armour of God films were a response not only to the Indiana Jones films but also part of the booming 1985-1995 period when Chan had Golden Harvest's backing to spend eighteen months on a film and shoot all over the world – noting the travelogue quality of films like this and Who am I? – the "28 Club" of western actors and stuntmen who appeared in several Hong Kong action films of this period along with some other familiar faces like director Chen Chi-Hwa (Dance of Death). They also note that Mars doubled for Chan in some shots even before his injury and speculate that one of the Remy Julien team doubled in some of the chase scene in Spain, remarking that Chan himself never claimed to do all of his own stunts and attributing that claim to New Line Cinema's marketing.  The second UHD and second Blu-ray features only the extended version and no other extras while the first Blu-ray disc includes the theatrical version and the two commentaries along with the two-part "Fighting with the Condor" (20:56 and 25:46), an interview with actor Vincent Lyn (The King of the Kickboxers) who was one of the first foreign actors in Hong Kong under personal management when he was cast six months into the shooting. He recalls the half-day audition being intensely physical. He also reveals that the original script was by actor Sambrell and it was tossed sometime into production and Chan was making it up as he went along. By this time, Chan had taken over directing from Chen Chi-Hwa who was the original director and had suffered a heart attack during the unpleasant Moroccan shoot and they were back in Hong Kong. He was one of two Westerners cast for the big wind tunnel climax. Chan thought him too good-looking to be a villain – he was signed with a modeling agency at the time – hence the scar make-up which took ten days to perfect, and Chan allegedly called up the director of Robotrix on which he was working concurrently to kill his character off (even though he was supposed to make it to the end) and he ended up working three months. He recalls the painful experience of the shoot in harnesses and attached to wires and various injuries on the set including splitting his head open and then having to the take again. The second part is a different, presumably older, interview in which he repeats some of the same information with a bit more information on how sequences were reworked and reshot as the editors pieced the sequence together from the daily rushes. "Magnificent Bodyguard" (12:14) is an interview with actor Ken Lo (First Strike) who discusses his early training, working as a disco bouncer, and getting into Thai boxing which was how he got his first film role and he already knew most of Chan's stunt team before getting hired and working first as his bodyguard before Willie Chan suggested he should be a stuntman. He discusses the difficulties of the wind tunnel sequence and how Chan would tweak the fight choreography through multiple takes. Also ported from the 2020 disc is "Martial Arts Mercenary For Hire" (20:51), an interview with actor Bruce Fontaine (The Inspector Wears Skirts II) in which he recalls becoming interested in martial arts and Hong Kong cinema while growing up in Canada and traveling to Hong Kong where he had a disastrous first experience working for Cinema City and was promptly fired from Mad Mission V/Aces Go Places 5. Instead, he learned stunt fighting and filmmaking while working at Godfrey Ho's infamous I.F.D. on such films as Kickboxer King and Catman in Boxer's Blow with fellow performer Ken Goodman before both got to work with Chan for the first time on Armour of God II: Operation Condor. In "Broader Horizons: Victor Fan on Operation Condor" (22:54), Fan discusses the film as a turning point in Chan's career and that of Golden Harvest as its competitors in the market started to struggle with their main rival being D&B (An Autumn's Tale) with both courting the foreign market and expanding their product in terms of genre and international settings (including Mainland China resulting in Once Upon a Time in China)) as well as pushing Chan into Hollywood with Armour of God 2: Operation Condor as a Hollywood-style film capable of conquering the international market. In "Broader Horizons: Victor Fan on Operation Condor" (22:54), Fan discusses the film as a turning point in Chan's career and that of Golden Harvest as its competitors in the market started to struggle with their main rival being D&B (An Autumn's Tale) with both courting the foreign market and expanding their product in terms of genre and international settings (including Mainland China resulting in Once Upon a Time in China)) as well as pushing Chan into Hollywood with Armour of God 2: Operation Condor as a Hollywood-style film capable of conquering the international market. The disc also includes the Japanese "Project Eagle" credits sequence (0:41), the Hong Kong theatrical trailer (3:19), the remastered Hong Kong theatrical trailer (3:59), the English export trailer (2:13) – narrated with a laughably bizarre and halfheartedly-delivered "rap" – the Japanese theatrical trailer (0:37) and Japanese TV spot (0:17) as well as a stills gallery (2:01). 
Packaging
The four discs come in a limited edition rigid slipcase with a reversible cover featuring brand-new art by Sean Longmore and original Hong Kong Poster, a booklet, and a fold-out poster (none of which was supplied for review).
Overall
Jackie Chan's Armour of God 2: Operation Condor went over-schedule and over-budget - with some involved citing it as Chan's Apocalypse Now - but it is one of his most entertaining and funny films from his peak period.
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