Kill and Kill Again is the type of movie I live for as a martial arts movie critic and fan. It’s the goofball sequel to an equally goodball martial arts actioner from South Africa entitled Kill or Be Killed (1980), starring the sinewy James Ryan in his film debut. B-movie standards, tongue in cheek humor, decent direction, and authentic Shotokan karate action overseen by South African champions Stan Schmidt and Norman Robinson combine to overcome its many shortcomings and offer up some genu-eye-ne entertainment.

The plot is as ridiculous as its predecessor, which saw world martial arts champion Steve Chase (James Ryan) taking on descendants of World War II Axis leaders in a competition on a remote island. This strange variation on the Enter the Dragon model is repeated in the sequel. Steve is hired by wealthy private citizens to rescue a scientist with the formula to turn potatoes into a viable fuel source for the world. He’s being held by a would-be world conqueror named Marduk (Michael Mayer), who has turned the citizens of a small town into mindless, karate-chopping drones courtesy of a mind control serum. With the help of four martial arts-fighting buddies and the scientist’s beautiful daughter (Anneline Kriel), Steve fights his way through redneck brawlers, formation karate fighters and parachute-dropped combatants before infiltrating the town to confront Marduk and his muscle-bound champion fighter.

It defies logic and common sense to even consider watching a movie with a premise this idiotic, but to not do so would be a mistake. Even at its worst, there is something about this movie that makes it hard to walk away from. Maybe it’s the fight scenes as choreographed by real-life karate champions Stan Schmidt and Norman Robinson, who also play two of Steve’s fighting companions. Realistic karate moves are dished out with varying degrees of success by the film’s many screen fighters and mixed with fun accents such as Ryan’s acrobatic flips and gravity-defying mental powers of concentration. Ryan himself makes for a capable lead in the Jan-Michael Vincent mold, with a build nearly as impressive as Bruce Lee’s, respectable martial arts skills and charisma to match. He forms the nucleus of a group that could well be the prototype for the A-Team, especially with regard to Ken Gampu, who plays the strongman Gorilla (think Mr. T as B.A. Baracus) and Bill Flynn, who plays the slightly crazed Hotdog (think Dwight Schultz as “Howling Mad” Murdock).

As for the villains, Michael Mayer is a mildly comical dictator with fake beard and Blofeld-like suits, who is suitably complimented by his mouthy mistress with punk-inspired hair dyed red and an endless stream of embarrassing nicknames for her beau. Behind them is a scrawny toadie, uniformed henchmen and an army of t-shirt wearing karate fighters, who look just like the low or non-paid Japan Karate Shotokai student extras that they are.

Despite an obviously low budget, the filmmakers make good use of what they have by presenting it well, if not so originally. There’s no mistaking the fact that this flick is a cheap and inconceivable reworking of James Bond and Bruce Lee riffs, complete with corny one-liners, an exploding kit helicopter and nunchaku action. But that doesn’t stop Ivan Hall and his team from going all out within their means. It helps that they don’t take themselves seriously at all. The gratuitous title is somewhat misleading as I doubt you’ll find more than a couple deaths in the whole film and those are tame by any standard.

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