Woodyanders Boxer Martel "Too Sweet" Gordone (a solid and sincere performance by Leon Isaac Kennedy) gets paroled from prison and hooks up again with old flame Clarisse (an appealing portrayal by the pretty Eugenia Wright). After evil nemesis Half Dead (robustly played with lip-smacking wicked relish by Ernie Hudson) busts out of jail and murders Clarisse after raping her first, Too Sweet resumes his boxing career as a means of exacting revenge on Half Dead. Writer/director Jamaa Fanaka eschews the gritty realism of the original in favor of a more blithely absurd and campy sensibility: The often ridiculous fight scenes, cartoonishly nasty villains, crude humor (one guy poops in his pants!), and excessive blood-spilling violence all give this film a certain endearingly kitschy charm. Peggy Blow lends sturdy support as Too Sweet's sympathetic sister Ellen, Glynn Turman likewise does well as shrewd brother in law Charles Johnson, Mr. T has a grand hammy time playing his own flamboyant and formidable self, and Donovan Womack cuts an imposing figure as fearsome opponent Jesse "The Bull" Amos. Popping up in funny bits are Rudy Ray Moore as an irate husband and Tony Cox as a lecherous midget. Jack Wheaton's funky-throbbing score hits the get-down groovy spot. A fun sequel.

Wizard-8 I didn't think too much of the first "Penitentiary" movie, finding it a cheap and slow exercise. Though it must have made quite a bit of money, because a few years later this sequel came out. And it manages to be worse than the original in almost every way you can think of. The script is a mess - it has a meandering quality, as if director/screenwriter Jamaa Fanaka was making things up as he was going along. And it never makes any of the characters real enough to be believable. The only good things about the movie were that the production values were a step up from the original, and there is a (un?)intentionally funny "Star Wars" reference. If you must see one movie from this series, I recommend you skip forward and watch part 3, which is pure (and entertaining) insanity done with slickness.

Maciste_Brother The only good thing I can say about PENITENTIARY II is that it's better than PENITENTIARY III, which was a soulless Cannon exercise redeemed only by the couple of really bizarre moments. In PEN II, the film is more down to earth, relaxed and "real" than Part 3. The film is still pretty much terrible but I like these junky "grindhouse" type of movies that they simply don't make anymore. The story doesn't make much sense, and by the time the second fight occurred, I completely lost track of what was going on. The last shot in the film reminded me of a Crumb comix. The funniest thing in this movie is the "villain" and his ho. The entire moment when they eat in bed is priceless!

Pops-14 Once again, we find "Too Sweet" struggling against his conscience, and the bad guys, to gain his freedom. After defeating his arch-rival, and gaining freedom: "Too Sweet" works himself into championship contention...he's reunited with his sister, who is married, and has a young son. As fate would have it...he must fight against the same man he defeated to end the first movie. Now, they each have risen in the rankings. You'll find the plot thin, the acting pitiful, and get a good laugh for nostalgia's sake.. You'll notice Mr.T, Ernie Hudson (the warden on "Oz"), and a few others...have your buddies over, break out the beer and enjoy. Its true entertainment value is how thinly veiled the plot and characters are. This movie, was BIG...back in the Blaxpo days. Essentially it rode the wave of the original. Leon Isaac had no talent, physique, or legitimacy as an actor. But , he did what most successful films do...run a sequel to milk the audiences thirst.