Unfortunately, lightning does not strike twice with this sequel to the 1973 cult comedy action film. Tamara Dobson is back, looking every bit as sensational as she did 2 years before, but unfortunately, the spark is missing from the situations surrounding her. Too bad because she has some great Chinese locations footage to work with, but where there was plenty of humor and camp and action in the first film, here, you get a little bit of comedy and plenty of action, but nobody really seems to be having as good a time as before.

In fact, Tamara Dobson is the only one back from the first film, and the villain is here is the one who made fun of Shelly Winters in "The Poseidon Adventure", none other than Stella Stevens, here call the dragon lady. Like Winters, she's a female drug lord, yet has made the orient her poppy field. She holds two of Cleopatra's associates hostage, and they are basically prisoners in a spa, given female companionship in the form of a pretty Chinese girl while Stevens gets to do bad things that obviously takes place off screen until the end.

The highlight of this film is Dobson's love/hate association with Norman Fell, playing a character by the name of Stanley long before he rented out an apartment building to two girls and a guy and kept fending off a lusty wife. Their scenes together are the highlights along with Dobson's association with another pretty Chinese lady who also is an expert in the martial arts.

So while there's plenty of action and some good moments, this doesn't have the spark of the first one. Obviously you couldn't bring Winters back and keep the credibility, but Stevens has played better villainesses before. It certainly is a missed opportunity for a film series that started off great but conked out at two.

Follow-up to 1973's far better "Cleopatra Jones" has statuesque black actress Tamara Dobson returning to her signature role as chic, super-tough narcotics agent, here busting a heroin ring in Hong Kong. Cross-pollination of blaxploitation action-flick and kung-fu B-movie is fun at the outset but eventually flags. The shoot-out finale is right off the assembly-line, and Dobson herself seems less energetic than before (she's still sexy, and she puts a unique spin on her comically-stilted dialogue, but these surroundings may have been too much of one thing for her--she's jaded). Stella Stevens plays the villainess this time; she's good, but can't match Shelley Winters in the predecessor. ** from ****

Special agent Cleopatra Jones (robustly played with sassy'n'sexy aplomb by the stunning Tamara Dobson) goes undercover to take down the nefarious Dragon Lady (a deliciously wicked portrayal by Stella Stevens),who has a fierce monopoly on a major drug operation running out of Hong Kong.

Director Chuck Bail keeps the immensely enjoyable story hurtling along at a constant snappy pace, makes the most out of the exotic locations, stages the rip-roaring action with considerable go-for-it skill and gusto, and even sprinkles in some tasty bare female flesh for trashy good measure. Bill Tennant's witty script boasts lots of sharp one-liners. Moreover, it's acted with tremendous zest by an enthusiastic cast: Norman Fell as worrywart superior Stanley Nagel, Ni Tien as brash partner Mi Ling, Albert Popwell and Caro Kenyatta as super cool brothers Matthew and Melvin, Shen Chan as slimy dope peddler Soo Da Chen, Christopher Hunt as vicious lackey Mendez, and Eddy Donno as wormy toad Morgan. Alan Hume's glossy widescreen cinematography provides a pleasing slick sheen. Dominic Frontiere's funky-throbbing score hits the get-down groovy spot. As an added plus, Dobson looks absolutely fabulous dressed to the nines in various stylish outfits. A total blast.