Avenging Angel

The first movie is a start for Molly/Angel to clean up her act. Though she straightened herself out over the years, she was tempted. Not to do tricks, but to avenge him. During a incident, the police lieutenant was gunned down in the line of duty. When Molly heard about the news, she reverted back to Angel to avenge her mentor. She brought back her former acquaintances, with a newcomer named Johnny Glitter. Solly, found a new place, and everyone took a part of avenging the police lieutenant. This movie is good. It's too bad that the original star had a conflict with the producers. It proved its point throughout the film. It's a major keeper. 4 out of 5 stars

At the beginning there is some promise to this sequel - there's a little zip, some decent exploitation, and it seems there will be more of an actual plot this time. Alas, as soon as Angel swears vengeance and hits the streets again, all the positive stuff generated up to that point is quickly flushed down the toilet. The production values barely meet that of a television drama of the time, there is more blatant and utterly unfunny comic relief (Calhoun really embarrasses himself), and the story moves at a snail's-pace, with only occasional (and dreary) "action" sequences. And once again, street-life is portrayed as being not all that bad, so much so that it too promotes boredom. Don't bother!

Wow, Molly Stewart, AKA former prostitute 'Angel', sure has changed in the three or four years since she quit hooking on the Boulevard: now played by Betsy Russell (replacing winsome Donna Wilkes, star of the first film), she's gained a couple of cup sizes, developed longer legs, sports an impressive perm, and is training to be a lawyer, thanks to the help of her guardian, Hollywood vice cop Lt. Andrews (Robert F. Lyons).

Molly's new life goes on hold, however, after Andrews is shot dead by gangsters; teaming up with her old pals, aging cowboy Kit Carson (Rory Calhoun) and lesbian landlady Solly Mosler (Susan Tyrell), she once again walks the sleazy sidewalks of Hollywood as Angel, this time looking for revenge.

For this cheesy sequel to his 1984 exploitation movie Angel, director Robert Vincent O'Neill throws any sense of realism in the nearest side-alley dumpster, opting instead for a much campier approach, his eccentric misfit characters even more exaggerated than before, his villains ridiculously reprehensible, and the violence about as cartoonish as it gets.

The film begins promisingly enough, with a car full of gangsters loading their weapons while heading downtown to 'off' a big-breasted undercover cop (who is busy taking a shower, natch!), a blaring Bronski Beat soundtrack giving everything that delightfully tacky 80s vibe. When the killers make their move, they blast their victims in the guts, resulting in some messy squib-work. Unfortunately, after this impressive opening, everything gets rather too comical for my liking (Rory Calhoun riding a gurney like a rodeo champ, as Angel and Solly bust him out of a sanitarium being the most cringe-worthy moment).

Still, even though Avenging Angel lacks the gritty edge that I generally look for in my vigilante/revenge flicks, and gets really, really dumb towards the end, the ever present sight of the delectable Miss Russell in a series of tight-as-you-like outfits, including a very sexy nurse get-up, makes the film just about bearable (no nudity from the star, but hey, I've always got her 1983 film Private School for that!).

What surprising elements redeemed the original, especially during its exciting climax, are nonexistent here. Even the wacky street characters are like something out of a TV show. Shopping Cart Sally? Johnny Glitter? The action sequences never improve from the opening, while the replacement Angel is nice to look at with zero depth. A lot of embarrassment captured onscreen demonstrates that a rushed sequel is most often a lost cause.

Here's a more racier, livelier product, than the well intentioned, melodramatic, dull, tamed vehicle that preceded it. Four years on, Angel has a new life, champion runner/lawyer. The murdered cop who saved her in the first one, is the catalyst which drives her back to LA, to track down, and kill the nasty culprits, a mob organization, greedy land developing SOB'S, who are taking down Hollywood Boulevard with whole new plans, set for the streets. We are reunited with some old characters and new ones, including a key witness, and glitter man, who aids Angel and her avenging team to hunt down these cruel people who like to play rough, not just on the streets You never get bored in this, and AA, is an unintentional slick pic in the Angel series, and the movie has pump and testosterone flowing through it, the legendary Calhoun proving he is a real saviour and cowboy in the finale, and I was glad, he stayed aboard for this one, as I was with Tyrell's foul mouthed Solly. Slick B grade camp, as bright as the lit up neon of the city streets. A lot of funny, with some roll eye moments too, doesn't hurt here.