This sequel to the popular Jean-Claude Van Damme vehicle centers on the exploits of David Sloan (Sasha Mitchell) the younger brother of the two fighters (Van Damme and Dennis Alexio) who died in the first installment. As this episode begins, David has given up competition and is running a kickboxing school for underprivileged urban kids. His life changes abruptly when the villainous fight manager who murdered his brother shows up and forces him back into the ring. Fortunately, David's Zen master shows up for spiritual and moral support. The ensuing fight scenes are quite bloody and violent.

After almost 15 years comes Stripes: The Extended Cut, featuring 18 minutes of deleted scenes long thought to be extinct in the Salt Mine archives of good old Hollywood. Columbia Home Entertainment presents Ivan Reitman's hilarious military comedy that boosted enlistments and provided Bill Murray with an early hit under his belt around the time of his SNL years. The movie itself has been given a needed face-lift, with an anamorphic 1.85:1 widescreen transfer and a high-definition 5.1 Dolby Digital soundtrack that is a step and a half up from the shoddy presentations of old. With the option of watching the theatrical cut or the extended cut, with onscreen pop-ups that signal each cut scene, the DVD goes a long way to present both versions in all their glory. Six deleted scenes are presented, including the infamous seven-minute Columbian airdrop scene along with another racy scene with Murray and none other than late-'70s/early-'80s heartthrob P.J. Soles. While most of the scenes are arguably unnecessary, it's good to see that they're all quite funny and work in and out of the finished film. Extra care was obviously put into them, with Reitman himself tackling a few scenes again in the editing room just to make sure the right takes and comedic rhythms were worked out this time. Those stories and many others are vividly told both in the fun commentary with the director and writer/producer Dan Goldberg and the hour-long documentary that's culled from interviews with much of the main cast, including Judge Reinhold and a bizarre black-lit interview with the usually reclusive Murray. With the original theatrical trailer rounding out the list of extras, the Stripes: Extended Cut DVD is a loving tribute to an '80s classic that has cemented its place in comedy history, and with this version, is now able to entertain in vastly new ways for the young and old alike.

This fantasy-comedy for the whole family gets a respectable presentation for its release on DVD. Little Monsters has been transferred to disc in pan-and-scan format at the full-screen aspect ratio of 1.33:1. The audio has been mastered in Dolby Digital Stereo; the dialogue is in English, with optional subtitles in English, French and Spanish. The movie's original trailer has been included as a bonus.