Le défi du tigre

Penitentiary II (1982) is the second part of the Penitentiary trilogy. The first film is deals with an unlucky dude name Too Sweet (Leon Isaac Kennedy) who learns that the only way he can get out of prison if he boxes his way to the top. A few years later, Too Sweet is a boxing champion and living the good life. But his life is turned upside down (again) as he has to deal with an old nemesis that what's a little pay back for what happened to him in the first film. Can Too Sweet defeat his archenemy once again? Will he defend his title and win the biggest fight of his life? Why does Mr. T play himself in this film? Find out by watching Penitentiary II. Ernie Hudson co-stars as Half Dead and Rudy Ray Moore cameos as himself. Recommended for fans of low budget films.

The only good thing I can say about PENITENTIARY II is that it's better than PENITENTIARY III, which was a soulless Cannon exercise redeemed only by the couple of really bizarre moments. In PEN II, the film is more down to earth, relaxed and "real" than Part 3. The film is still pretty much terrible but I like these junky "grindhouse" type of movies that they simply don't make anymore. The story doesn't make much sense, and by the time the second fight occurred, I completely lost track of what was going on. The last shot in the film reminded me of a Crumb comix. The funniest thing in this movie is the "villain" and his ho. The entire moment when they eat in bed is priceless!

I didn't think too much of the first "Penitentiary" movie, finding it a cheap and slow exercise. Though it must have made quite a bit of money, because a few years later this sequel came out. And it manages to be worse than the original in almost every way you can think of. The script is a mess - it has a meandering quality, as if director/screenwriter Jamaa Fanaka was making things up as he was going along. And it never makes any of the characters real enough to be believable. The only good things about the movie were that the production values were a step up from the original, and there is a (un?)intentionally funny "Star Wars" reference. If you must see one movie from this series, I recommend you skip forward and watch part 3, which is pure (and entertaining) insanity done with slickness.