There’s this popular phrase in the film industry: “If it worked once, do it again,” so it’s no surprise that Jackie Chan’s biggest box office success at the time, Police Story, got its own sequel. It may seem like a surprise that it took three years before the next film in the series was made, but the first film gave birth to what’s considered "the Police Story era" of Jackie's career, full of modern-day action movies with outrageous budgets and even crazier stunts. It likely took long to make Police Story 2 because he was busy producing Naughty Boys, filming Project A 2, almost dying in Armour of God, and also making Dragons Forever (I’ll likely review all of these films in due time). This was one of the busiest points in his career. But was the wait worth it?
Unlike most other sequels in Hong Kong cinema, Police Story 2 is actually a continuation of the first. Jackie Chan returns as Ka-Kui who’s been demoted to a traffic officer after his previous destructive episode. But it’s soon discovered that Chu Tao (Chor Yuen) is expected to die soon, so he’s released from prison to receive treatment. While he’s out of prison, he plans for his men to get revenge. Ka-Kui’s girlfriend, May (Maggie Cheung), no longer feels safe and feels that Ka-Kui’s more interested in his job than her. He decides to leave the force, but is almost immediately brought back in when he’s asked to take care of a case involving terrorists.
Unlike most other sequels in Hong Kong cinema, Police Story 2 is actually a continuation of the first. Jackie Chan returns as Ka-Kui who’s been demoted to a traffic officer after his previous destructive episode. But it’s soon discovered that Chu Tao (Chor Yuen) is expected to die soon, so he’s released from prison to receive treatment. While he’s out of prison, he plans for his men to get revenge. Ka-Kui’s girlfriend, May (Maggie Cheung), no longer feels safe and feels that Ka-Kui’s more interested in his job than her. He decides to leave the force, but is almost immediately brought back in when he’s asked to take care of a case involving terrorists.
Police Story 2 is a true successor to the first as far as action is concerned. Not only are the action scenes more frequent, but I might even argue that they’re better too. From the restaurant fight to the playground fight to the factory, they all show that Jackie knows how to choreograph an amazing and creative fight scene. He definitely makes use of his surroundings in this movie, especially during the playground fight. I do think that the mall fight from the first film is probably one of my favorite climaxes ever, but this film's finale in the factory gets surprisingly close. What’s so impressive is that the stuntmen performing these scenes make it look easy.
In comparison to the original, there aren’t as many death-defying stunts in this movie. But still, this is a totally unfair comparison. The original features a lot of dangerous stunts throughout and asking these guys to do more in this film is way too demanding. Of course, there are many, many painful stunt falls and Jackie Chan gets to show how much he’s willing to sacrifice himself for the sake of a movie. It’s exciting to watch him run on the top of a bus and almost get blown up.
In comparison to the original, there aren’t as many death-defying stunts in this movie. But still, this is a totally unfair comparison. The original features a lot of dangerous stunts throughout and asking these guys to do more in this film is way too demanding. Of course, there are many, many painful stunt falls and Jackie Chan gets to show how much he’s willing to sacrifice himself for the sake of a movie. It’s exciting to watch him run on the top of a bus and almost get blown up.
As far as characters go, there’s nothing terribly impressive. Jackie Chan has another very likeable character and Maggie Cheung is given much more of a character than the first. But I don’t think that the main villains are very interesting since they don’t have much character development. Unfortunately, the mostly fast-paced story is continually put to a halt during some of the talking scenes. After the playground fight, the story becomes increasingly slow (of course, until the finale). Usually I wouldn’t mind a bit of talking for a ton of action, but this movie bugged me for some reason. Especially due to a prolonged runtime of 2 hours, there are many moments that are easy to fast-forward.
Probably my biggest complaint about this movie is that the story is noticeably similar to the first. Both films feature the same basic storyline: After beating some bad guys, Ka-Kui is given a position that he doesn’t want. His girlfriend is unhappy with him, leading to some slapstick. The bad guys hold the female lead hostage and Ka-Kui has to go above the law to prevail justice. Also since the music score is mostly the same, it’s hard to look at Police Story 2 as its own movie. It at times feels just like the original. There is a version of this movie that’s cut by about 20 minutes and has a different music score which I definitely prefer. I usually like to watch films how they were originally intended, but this is one of the exceptions because I find the cut version much more exciting.
Probably my biggest complaint about this movie is that the story is noticeably similar to the first. Both films feature the same basic storyline: After beating some bad guys, Ka-Kui is given a position that he doesn’t want. His girlfriend is unhappy with him, leading to some slapstick. The bad guys hold the female lead hostage and Ka-Kui has to go above the law to prevail justice. Also since the music score is mostly the same, it’s hard to look at Police Story 2 as its own movie. It at times feels just like the original. There is a version of this movie that’s cut by about 20 minutes and has a different music score which I definitely prefer. I usually like to watch films how they were originally intended, but this is one of the exceptions because I find the cut version much more exciting.
Police Story 2 doesn’t feel like anything new when it comes to its story, but the action almost surpasses the original with its complexity and excitement. This movie is thrilling to watch in parts and should make up for some of the film’s faults, but you’ll have to sit through a few uneventful scenes to get there. If you’re patient, you’ll be rewarded. Police Story 2 serves as a great followup to the first.
Images from Wikipedia and HK Cinemagic
Images from Wikipedia and HK Cinemagic