Zeiram 2 (1994)

Zeiram 2 (1994)

Starring: Yuko Moriyama, Yukijiro Hotaru, Kunihiro Ida, Sabu, Kazuhiko Inoue (voice), Mizuho Yoshida
Director: Keita Amemiya
Special FX Director: Hiroshi Kidokoro
Action Director: Akira Ohashi, Mitsuo Abe

Zeiram 2 is an interesting sequel in that it tries to take some of lore created in the (superior) anime Iria: Zeiram the Animation and insert it into the context of the live-action films. It is only partially successful, thanks to the fact that Iria’s long-time rival Fujikuro (actor-director Sabu, who was in Don’t Look Up and Shinjuku Triad Society) has gone from a seasoned veteran trying to exploit Iria’s lack of experience to an annoying punk. But it does have flying umbrellas!

The film is set a few years after the events of the first film. Kamiya (a returning Yukijiro Hotaru) is trying to patch things up with his estranged wife. Teppei is about to marry his long-time girlfriend. And Iria is back on Earth with Bob (Kazuhiko Inoue) and Fujikuro in order to intercept a valuable teleportation device called the Karmelite from a band of space mercenaries. While that particular mission goes off without a hitch, the trouble begins when Iria is given a second, complementary mission.

The Intergalactic Bounty Hunters Union has recently built a new battle robot from the remains of Zeiram, the indestructible alien whom Iria had faced off with a few years earlier. Normally, that would be a very bad idea…wait for it. In any case, Iria supposed to have a duel of sorts with the robot to test its capabilities against a superior target (as opposed to robots and remote-controlled tanks). When Iria shows up in the outskirts of Tokyo to meet it, she is met by even more galactic ruffians. Zeiram does show up and, as per its programming, will not let the interstellar brigands harm her, so it switches into Turbo Mode and slaughters the lot.

The robot is initially not supposed to engage with Iria until a) she gives it orders to and b) they are isolated in a Zone (a pocket dimension meant for doing interplanetary dirty work without alarming the locals). This is where things get complicated. Iria and Bob are betrayed by Fujikuro, who wants to sell the Karmelite on the black market and retire early. To this end, he disables Bob’s hardware and kidnaps Teppei, who had coincidentally caught a glimpse of Iria earlier. So, while Iria is trying to rescue Teppei, she is not around to stop the last surviving star thug from spitting blood all over the Zeiram robot, awakening the little head that was built into it…really people?

This is the equivalent of setting a Krusty doll on “Evil” and Zeiram starts the “exercise,” creating a Zone and trapping itself, Iria, Fujikuro, and Teppei inside. Meanwhile, Kamiya has found his way to the abandoned building that Iria is working out of and fixes Bob and the teleporter. Get ready for more action in the vein of the first film.

The main problem with Zeiram 2 is that after the initial set-up (which probably takes longer than the first movie), it becomes a clone of its predecessor. It’s the same beats: Iria fights with Zeiram and wins; something happens for Zeiram to be revived; Iria is separated from the heroes for an extended period (she doesn’t even interact with them directly until the end); and then there is a final battle set to the Zone slowly deleting itself. Other than the monster designs—and we don’t get any stop-motion this time around (boo!)—there isn’t much to distinguish this from the first movie.

That said, one thing that director Keita Amemiya does well is suspense. There are several situations in which the protagonists find themselves fighting against impossible odds, like when Teppei is tied up with his foot on a landmine while Iria is trapped in a trash compactor room while holding onto a wasp-shaped missile (!) that is trying to fly toward Teppei. Or the climax, where Iria is engaging in a pitched martial arts battle with Zeiram at the top of a Kanon Statue as it “dissolves” from the ground up while the heroes scramble for the Karmelite. And the final scene will have even mildly-invested viewers at the edge of their seat…

The action is pretty good by Japanese standards, although it might pale in comparison to its Hong Kong cousins. The martial arts definitely have the feel of a Super Sentai series (or similar Tokusatsu show), although watching them performed by a GORGEOUS Japanese actress (and her stunt double) makes it more interesting then some Metal Hero. The rest of the action involves LOTS of gunplay and explosions. I enjoy the climax, which starts out as a sword fight, then becomes an aerial dogfight involving a winged Zeiram and Iria on a flying umbrella, and then becomes a martial arts fight, followed by ripping off the end of The Terminator.

The film is filled with early 1990s CGI (not great), miniature explosions, and your standard Japanese suitmation. I like the redesign for Zeiram. What I don’t like is the dog monster it creates—both the suit and the way the monster is created. Anyway, there’s enough fun action to keep most viewers entertained, plus Yuko Moriyama is always easy on the eyes. I just wish the film tried to set itself apart more form its predecessor.