Even though "Maniac Cop 2" can't quite measure up to its predecessor (at least in this viewers' humble opinion), it still shows its audience a pretty good time. It may lack the freshness of the first movie, but it delivers its seedy B movie thrills with great skill. It's extremely well paced and never, ever boring. It begins with a re-edited recap of the climax from "Maniac Cop" 1, and soon gets down to business with your standard-issue convenience store confrontation. The stunts are very impressive, and the cast is just littered with familiar faces, who approach Larry Cohens' story with square-jawed conviction.Matt Cordell (Robert Z'Dar), naturally, has survived and goes on to commit a new series of murders. Following his trail are a detective played by a cooler-than-cool Robert Davi ("Licence to Kill") and a foxy police psychiatrist played by Claudia Christian ("The Hidden"). Also on the loose is a serial killer of strippers named Turkell. Turkell is a chatty, high energy guy who provides Cordell with a place to stay. The authorities, represented by Michael Lerners' police commissioner, still don't want the truth about Cordell to get out. And everything climaxes with an atmospheric showdown at Sing Sing, where Cordell had spent his jail time.The cast also includes Clarence Williams III as an inmate facing death, Charles Napier as a talk show host, Robert Earl Jones (father of James Earl Jones) as a news vendor, Cohen repertory player James Dixon as a range officer, Danny Trejo in one of his frequent pre-stardom jailbird parts, Frank Pesce as a strip club MC, and Sam Raimi doing the cameo thing as a newscaster. Fans of "Maniac Cop" 1 will note with pleasure the presence of returnees Bruce Campbell and super sexy Laurene Landon, no matter if their characters are treated in a typical slasher sequel fashion. Rossi is the standout in a role that would have gone to Joe Spinell had Spinell not passed away. (The movie is dedicated to the late actor.)The script, overall, isn't as good this time around, but William Lustigs' direction is energetic and his movie can boast two major highlights: a police station massacre that outdoes the similar scene in "The Terminator" for sheer viciousness, and a sequence with the imperiled Christian handcuffed to a runaway car. Location work - in Times Square and other places - is excellent. Cordell is even more of a zombie this time around and his makeup is appropriately more ghoulish.A worthy viewing for horror and action fans.Seven out of 10.

Maniac Cop 2 (1990) ** 1/2 (out of 4)Sequel to the 1988 cult film has the psychotic cop (Robert Z'Dar) back and this time he's killing any fellow officer that he can find. A detective (Robert Davi) knows who is doing the tricks and with the help of another officer (Claudia Christian) they try and track down the killer who is also working with a serial killer (Leo Rossi). In SCREAM 2 there was a long speech about everything a sequel had to do in order to measure up to that original film. Well, this is one example where everything in the sequel is bigger and better. This is a rather amazing little "B" movie that features just about everything you could fit into an 84-minute running time. We get some explosive action scenes, a great cast, great gore, non-stop violence and even a trip to a strip joint. There's certainly nothing CITIZEN KANE here but you can't help have fun with this thing that's all over the place in terms of craziness. Perhaps the best thing about the movie is its cast, which features some great "B" stars who turn in some wickedly entertaining performances. The rough looking Davi is playing the type of bad ass everyone loves him for. We have Z'Dar back as the killer cop and more physical and tougher than before. The supporting cast includes Bruce Campbell, Michael Lerner, Clarence Williams III and even Danny Trejo in a small role. Rossi does a nice job in the role of the serial killer but one only wishes Joe Spinnel, who was suppose to have played the part, had lived to do so. Lustig handles all the material extremely well and ends up delivering a nice little gem that fans of the genre or the first film are going to eat up. The highlight of the film has to be the ending where the cop goes back into the prison to take revenge on those who sliced him up. The added gore, violence and action makes this the best of the two films.

The massive maniac cop has returned to the New York streets again, this time with more taste for his fellow brothers and sisters in blue. After Jack Forrest (Bruce Campbell) and Teresa Mallory (Laurene Landon) defeat Matt Cordell (Robert Z'Dar) by drowning him in the river, they think all is well. They're sent to Dr. Susan Riley (Claudia Christian) to prove their sanity and return to the force, but before they're reinstated, Jack is murdered and the force finally realizes they must accept the fact of Cordell's return and find a way to stop his murderous rampage, all the while trying to put a stop to a serial killer who specializes in murdering strippers.After seeing the terrific original for the first time, I decided to check out the sequels, the first being Maniac Cop 2 (1990), followed by Maniac Cop 3: Badge of Silence (1993). First things first, however, with the #2. Unlike many horror series, the Maniac Cop trilogy maintains the same writing & directing team throughout all three installments. That's probably why it seems that the quality is maintained throughout as well. The ever-likable William Lustig (Maniac, which reflected some of its sleaziness here) and Larry Cohen (It's Alive) make a great team and it shows here and in their other projects (like Uncle Sam (1997)). Regardless of how entertaining this sequel is, however, it's not quite as good as the first (which is to be expected 99% of the time). It's not the writing or the direction that makes it come up short. Both of those are just about equal to the first (as they're by the same guys). It's not the story, which is fairly cool. The teaming up of the murderers was something I've not really seen all that much before this. It's not even the acting, which is as acceptable as any standard 80s slasher. No, it's none of those things. What hurts Maniac Cop 2 the most. . . is a huge lack of The Bruce. Killing off Mr. Campbell, one of the best actors of the horror business, only fifteen or so minutes into the film is not a way to keep your fanbase happy. Bruce is a legend of the genre since his terrific showing in Sam Raimi's (who made a brief appearance in the first Maniac Cop) Evil Dead, and to take him out so early was not so fun. Regardless, the rest of the film was fun, even without The Bruce. It was gritty, violent, and full of all the elements a horror fan could want: boobs, blood, and big murderous giants. Highly recommended for fans of the first, or anyone looking for a bloody good time.Obligatory horror elements:Sex/Nudity: As the serial killer loves to hack up hot strippers, there's quite a bit of nudity throughout.Scares/Suspense: Some good jump scares, and there's a thrilling car scene, but it's not as scary as the first.Mystery: We know there's a secret to Cordell (or else the story wouldn't be any different than the first), but it's not really 'mystery.' - -Final verdict: 7.5/10. How did you know? -AP3-

This exciting and action-packed sequel to the immensely enjoyable original has the unrelenting brutal badge-wearing wacko Matt Cordell (the hulking Robert Z'Dar) team up with scuzzy serial killer Turkell (delightfully played to the lip-smacking odious hilt by a bearded Leo Rossi) to wreak plenty of gory havoc in New York City. Out to halt the crazed fuzzball this time are rugged, cynical Detective Sean McKinney (a nicely hard-bitten Robert Davi) and feisty police psychologist Susan Riley (a winning turn by the gorgeous Claudia Christian). Capably directed with rip-roaring verve by William Lustig, with a sardonically witty script by Larry Cohen, plenty of show-stopping stunts (a wild police station shoot out and a breathtaking lengthy fire gag towards the end qualify as definite thrilling highlights), and a hilarious ending credits rap theme song, "Maniac Cop 2" sizes up as a solid and satisfying sequel to the excellent original. Appearing in nice supporting parts are the always affable Bruce Campbell as doomed cop Jack Forrest, Laurene Landon as Jack's equally ill-fated girlfriend Teresa Malloy, Michael Lerner as a shady politician, Paula Trickey as a sexy stripper who narrowly avoids being offed by Turkell, Robert Earl Jones as a blind newstand vendor, Clarence Williams III and Danny Trejo as prison inmates, Charles Napier as a tabloid TV show host, and ubiquitous Cohen film regular James Dixon (Lt. Perkins in the "It's Alive" pictures) in his umpteenth police officer role.