China O'Brien 2 (1992)

Even in the year of La Femme Nikita and Terminatrix Linda Hamilton, no movie heroine kicked more macho butt than Cynthia Rothrock's China O'Brien. That she accomplished this in the male-dominated martial- arts genre only makes her achievement more impressive. Rothrock is not just another pretty face with a good stunt double; she's a bona fide lethal weapon who has some spectacular moves all her own. In China O'Brien 2, a sequel to the 1991 direct-to-video hit, China O'Brien defends her hometown against a deadly drug lord. Once more, a small battalion bites the dust, though this time with a lot more blood — and a lot less imagination. But Rothrock remains Rothrock, and she's still the whole show: faster than Seagal, feistier than Van Damme, blonder than Chuck Norris. C+