Eye for an Eye 2: Blind Vengeance (2024) – Review

Quick Thoughts – Grade – B – Directed by upcoming action director Bingjia Yang (Fight Against Evil 2, Eye for an Eye), this sequel packs a lot of fun action into its 90-minute running time and is another solid release from Well Go USA (watch One-Percent Warrior, The Prosecutor, Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In, and 100 Yards now) 

Eye for an Eye 2: Blind Vengeance focuses on Cheng Xiazi (Xie Miao), a blind swordsman/bounty hunter who takes a young orphan girl (played by Yang Enyou) under his wing after her younger brother is murdered by a gang of corrupt city officials. The two street urchins were trying to steal some food and instead witnessed the slaughter of a group of townsfolk who were meeting to discuss a rebellion against the well-connected city leaders. The leader of the murder-happy gang is a comically drug-addled maniac (played by Huang Tao) who kills women, dogs, children, and the elderly (he reminds me of the villain in 13 Assassins – but a little less evil). He’s the worst of the worst and you can’t wait for him to catch some blind vengeance. 

What follows is a familiar revenge tale that features all the tropes of the “orphan adopted by a professional killer/bounty hunter” genre (It feels like a remake of 1994’s The Professional). After being saved by the blind swordsman, the orphan slowly integrates herself into his daily life, and she starts helping him on his various trips to collect bounties in hopes of building the necessary skills to get revenge on the evil city officials. My favorite bounty hunting trip involves a fight on a houseboat that is home to two serial killers who stash their victims underneath the dock that leads to their house. It’s a brutal affair that’s surprisingly violent and leads to some fun water shenanigans and gushing blood.

This all leads to a massive final battle in which Xiazi and the kid battle hordes of villains before they can get to the final boss. The fights were designed and director by direct-to-streaming superstar Qin Pengfei (Red Cliff, Eye for an Eye, Fight Against Evil 1 & 2), and the action set pieces allow Xie Miao to showcase his action skills in bars, boat houses, banks, alleys, and villain’s cavernous lair. I was looking at Pengfei’s IMDb page and he seemingly doesn’t sleep because he either designed the actor or directed five films released in 2024. The action in Eye for an Eye 2: Blind Vengeance is occasionally edited into oblivion, but it does find a welcome rhythm and is well-designed for a straight-to-streaming release. 

Final Thoughts – The chemistry between Miao and Enyou is solid and it’s likely due to Miao’s history as a child actor in movies like My Father is a Hero (1994). The two work well together and they make the familiar story feel fun and fresh. Most importantly, there are some fun action set pieces that make it a worthwhile watch.