Ring of Fire II : Blood and Steel A Sequel That No One Asked For, But We Needed For A Good laugh

 

Ah, Ring of Fire 2: Blood and Steel—a film so gloriously unnecessary, it makes you question whether even the first Ring of Fire was a good idea. Starring the always-somewhat-there Don "The Dragon" Wilson, this 1993 martial arts extravaganza (and I use that term loosely) is the sequel no one knew they needed, but somehow, we got anyway. If the first Ring of Fire was a lukewarm bowl of martial arts soup, Ring of Fire 2: Blood and Steel is that same soup reheated, spilled on the floor, and then angrily kicked across the room by legendary karateka Don "The Dragon" Wilson. 

This film asks an important question: What would happen if a mild-mannered doctor also had the ability to dropkick people into oblivion? And the answer is: A lot of slow-motion fight scenes, a leather-clad biker gang that failed their villain auditions, and Don Wilson looking like he's constantly regretting signing on for this.  

"Damn what did I get myself into" ?

The plot? Well, calling it a plot is generous. Wilson reprises his role as Dr. Johnny Wu, a doctor who kicks people in the face—because in the world of '90s action films, medical degrees come with black belts. This time, Johnny’s fiancée gets kidnapped by a gang of leather-clad hooligans who have seemingly stepped out of a low-budget Mad Max cosplay event. Naturally, instead of calling the police, Johnny decides that the only solution is violence. Lots and lots of violence.

The Opening Scene: Where Plot Goes to Die

We open with our hero, Dr. Johnny Wu, whose life philosophy is simple:

1. Heal people.
2. Kick other people in the face.

He’s a doctor by day, fighter by… well, whenever the script calls for it. Life is good—until a gang of street punks, who all look like they shop at a clearance sale for rejected Road Warrior extras, kidnap his fiancée for no discernible reason other than "we needed a conflict."

One minute she’s smiling and holding Johnny’s hand in a jeweler store, and the next—BAM!—she’s tossed into a van like an Amazon delivery package. No one around reacts, because in the world of Ring of Fire 2, public kidnappings are just part of the city’s charm. The goons straight up abduct her from a city hospital dressed in clothes that makes it look that they have stepped out of an underground BDSM dungeon.

The rogues with questionable fashion choices

Now Johnny seeks vengeance and to rescue his bride to be at any cost, so being the calm and rational man he is, immediately chooses the most logical response:

• Not call the police.
• Not wait on help from his friends.
• Start punching everyone in a 5-mile radius.

This is where the movie officially stops pretending it has a coherent story and instead becomes a martial arts rampage masquerading as a rescue mission.   

The Fight Scenes: Where Gravity and Logic Take a Backseat

Don Wilson, a legitimate kickboxing champion, clearly has the skills to pay the bills. The problem? The choreography in Ring of Fire 2 was seemingly designed by someone who has only heard of fighting but never witnessed it.

Some standout moments include:

👉 The Tunnel Brawls: Because it’s the ‘90s, every martial arts movie must include an underground fight, preferably in poor lighting, featuring goons who attack one at a time instead of just dogpiling the hero.

"Don't worry Johnny we will only attack one at a time"

Johnny Wu takes on roughly 90 gang members who all patiently wait their turn to be knocked out, like they’re standing in line at the DMV. The punches sound like they were recorded by slapping a raw steak against a wall, and every kick sends a villain flying as if gravity only applies selectively.

👉 The Underground Gangs: To rescue his damsel Johnny must now descend into chaos and scavenge through the unforgiving tunnels of Los Angeles. Here he encounters multiple gangs who he must beat to reach his  damsel in distress — the one who has been held hostage by the gang's leader- jacket wearing Rockstar wannabee kingpin Kalin.

The different gangs in question all wear different outfits to showcase their "gang diversity". There is a literal group called the garbage gang who camouflage in the swill and dress in it as well. Then there's the Shadow Warriors who despite having a cool name dress in motion capture suits, the hockey mask gang who as you can imagine dress in NFL attire. The Night-rats who use skateboards and mounted flashlights to overpower their foes are just a few of the names among the long list of villainous factions.

Shadow Warriors in their CGI suits

 And last but not the least the Bad Girls Gang who don't use martial arts skills but advanced seduction technique to overpower their prey. They dress themselves up in sexy latex and gyrate against the men who fall for their beauty and charm. The protagonist's buddies end up being their victims when they follow him down in the tunnel. 

The unlikely "Ally" in the Underground - Like every other film the protagonist finds a friend who aids him in his quest. A colored brother by the name of Ernest. Now Ernest has a weird backstory, he calls himself a Vietnam Vet who was shunned by society because of his  handicap (he has a missing leg) - a token from the war and now hates living among them as he believes them to be heartless but has no qualms about living among ruffians who won't hesitate to take your life at the slightest opportunity. 

Uncle Earl with his twisted logic behind staying in the underground 

Now Ernest has a score to settle with Kalin and as such helps out Dr. Karate. We still don't know why Ernest chose to wait this long to sort his beef with Kalin and his cronies but in movies like this logic always takes a backseat so I calmly chose to ignore the question playing on my mind. 

👉 The Final Showdown: This takes place in what can only be described as an underground MMA Octagon something that Dana White wouldn't be proud of . I guess when you live in the sewers you need some form of entertainment and this probably provided that. For starters there is no Bruce Buffer announcing the fights or Joe Rogan and DC commentating but Mario Yamasaki's soul was definitely there as fights didn't end till the other person leaves on a stretcher or is killed.

Johnny Wu faces off against the main villain's right hand man Predator—a guy whose entire personality is just “barely discernible gravelly voice and leather jacket”. Predator ejaculates testosterone from his voice as well and it's hard to decipher what he's saying and since I had no subtitles available so that made it tough for me to understand. Either way these two slug it out inside the cage with Kalin observing from the underworld throne accompanied by Wu's fiancé who is only there to shriek and cry whenever Johnny gets hurt.

But Johnny after facing a little adversity quickly dispatches Predator infuriating Kalin. Now the underworld leader is pissed and I mean real pissed and wants to fight our "Doctor Kick and Punches" himself. 

An acting Masterclass by actor Ian Jacklin aka Kalin

However all that takes a backseat as Ernest enters the fray armed with a machine gun and starts shooting at Kalin and his crew. After a series of sluggish yet dramatic fights Dr Wu and his friends make their way out of the menacing tunnel. But wait the story is not over yet as Kalin and Predator are also out of the tunnel in their car but instead of catching them off guard the villains make the worst decision possible:

• Instead of just shooting Johnny Wu (they had a gun the whole time!),
• Instead of simply running them over,
• They decide to challenge the martial artist to hand-to-hand combat.

Now this, naturally, ends badly for them. Johnny Wu throws an array of punches and kicks and beats up both men but spares their life cause he is a man of principles and "Only kills a man if he has to" like the criminals literally abducting his girlfriend and threatening to kill her, trying to kill him and his friends over and over again isn't plausible reason enough. 

The goons on realizing their mistake that simply crushing the good guys under their wheels would have been a better options decide to make amends to their schemes. This time they go in hard looking to plough in every single one of Johnny's friends but only manages to injure one.

Johnny uses this chaos to sneakily climb on a ledge and jump on the roof of their car. Kalin shoots but not a single bullet connects which is ridiculous as Johnny has nowhere to run and almost all his body weight is on the roof of the car. The first bullet might miss by sheer luck but the second and third will not. I mean in a similar situation Stevie Wonder can make a better shot but this so called "macho" Kalin cannot.

"Pass me the gun Kalin cause you failin brotha"

 Anyway so by this time you know that the villains won't get anything done and Johnny uses this opportunity to pull out a time-bomb from his backpack and throws it into the car and jumps off. And BOOM! the car explodes killing the Predator and Kalin. Following which the gang reunites and walks off into the horizon.