** out of ****
As the direct sequel to Jackie Chan's highly enjoyable Police Story, I had high expectations for this thriller, but those expectations were only occasionally met, making this an inconsistent action outing that's easily the weakest of the Police Story series.
Jackie Chan returns as well, the cop with multiple names (depending on which version you see, he's Kevin Chan, Ka-Kui, or Jackie). Anyway, after the incidents of the previous film, Jackie's been demoted to traffic cop and constantly receives death threats from crime lord Chu Tao, whom he busted in the first movie but is on parole because of a life-threatening illness.
Jackie's still got his faithful and loving girlfriend, May (Maggie Cheung), but when she's threatened by Tao's thugs, Jackie replies back with his fists and feet. Eventually, to keep May safe, he quits the police force, but is brought back when bomb threats are delivered to a lucrative corporation. Unsurprisingly, May will get involved and it'll be up to Jackie to save the day.
Jackie Chan movies have always been driven by action, so to expect anything different from Police Story II would be foolish. But I at least expect a watchable plot that keeps the film flowing nicely in-between the martial arts battles. Not so here; not only is the plot terrible, the film also has less action than most of Chan's superior outings.
Bringing back the main villain from the original was a good idea, but the filmmakers use that as more of a red herring and a reason to set up fight scenes than for any purpose relating to plot. It's not until about halfway through the film we realize Chu Tao has virtually nothing to do with the story, he's just "filler" until we're introduced to (and stuck with) a small group of terrorist bombers, who are some of the lamest Jackie Chan villains to date.
To give you an idea of how lame, one of the villains is an annoying deaf-mute whom everybody dubs "Dumb." I could barely tell the other three apart, bland and dull as they were. The movie sets up two of these villains with high skills in martial arts, but they're hardly given a chance to strut their stuff in their fight scenes with Chan, which spend more time doing creative things with sets and props than actually trying to get the adrenaline pumping with an all-out kung-fu battle.
Stupidity is something this movie has in spades. Most of the cops in the film don't even know how to follow procedure or, for that matter, launch a thorough investigation. Chan's the one doing most of the problem-solving, everyone else takes a backseat. Chan directed the film, so I have no idea if this speaks more upon his ego or just how lazily written the script is. I'm not even sure which is worse.
The film's opening fight, set inside a restaurant, is quite impressive and at least then, I still didn't no just how dumb the story would be. A later fight set in a playground feels superfluous and by then, we realize it holds no impact towards the plot. We're just watching people beat on each other with metal rods for the sake of padding the running time. But for what it is, the action choreography is still excellent, especially the abandoned warehouse finale, which boasts a very nimble Chan hopping around from floor to floor with an almost effortless grace.
Also keeping the film relatively watchable is Maggie Cheung, who really has terrific chemistry with Chan. Without her presence, this movie would be quite a stinker, but she's thankfully given plenty of screen time, and even gets a hilarious tirade inside the men's shower room of a police station. Cheung is one of Hong Kong's most talented actresses, with a seemingly effortless ability to jump back and forth between performing slapstick stunts and humor (as she does here) and delivering powerful dramatic performances (as she did in the wonderful Hero, her best film to date)
Police Story II is further weakened by a teeth-scratching score and a poor use of sound (the punches and kicks sound more like a guy beating a two-by-four against a rug, amplified by a broken microphone), but I guess that's to be expected from an 80's chop suey flick. It's not a movie I recommend, but there's no doubt seeing Jackie Chan in action is a joy to behold.
As the direct sequel to Jackie Chan's highly enjoyable Police Story, I had high expectations for this thriller, but those expectations were only occasionally met, making this an inconsistent action outing that's easily the weakest of the Police Story series.
Jackie Chan returns as well, the cop with multiple names (depending on which version you see, he's Kevin Chan, Ka-Kui, or Jackie). Anyway, after the incidents of the previous film, Jackie's been demoted to traffic cop and constantly receives death threats from crime lord Chu Tao, whom he busted in the first movie but is on parole because of a life-threatening illness.
Jackie's still got his faithful and loving girlfriend, May (Maggie Cheung), but when she's threatened by Tao's thugs, Jackie replies back with his fists and feet. Eventually, to keep May safe, he quits the police force, but is brought back when bomb threats are delivered to a lucrative corporation. Unsurprisingly, May will get involved and it'll be up to Jackie to save the day.
Jackie Chan movies have always been driven by action, so to expect anything different from Police Story II would be foolish. But I at least expect a watchable plot that keeps the film flowing nicely in-between the martial arts battles. Not so here; not only is the plot terrible, the film also has less action than most of Chan's superior outings.
Bringing back the main villain from the original was a good idea, but the filmmakers use that as more of a red herring and a reason to set up fight scenes than for any purpose relating to plot. It's not until about halfway through the film we realize Chu Tao has virtually nothing to do with the story, he's just "filler" until we're introduced to (and stuck with) a small group of terrorist bombers, who are some of the lamest Jackie Chan villains to date.
To give you an idea of how lame, one of the villains is an annoying deaf-mute whom everybody dubs "Dumb." I could barely tell the other three apart, bland and dull as they were. The movie sets up two of these villains with high skills in martial arts, but they're hardly given a chance to strut their stuff in their fight scenes with Chan, which spend more time doing creative things with sets and props than actually trying to get the adrenaline pumping with an all-out kung-fu battle.
Stupidity is something this movie has in spades. Most of the cops in the film don't even know how to follow procedure or, for that matter, launch a thorough investigation. Chan's the one doing most of the problem-solving, everyone else takes a backseat. Chan directed the film, so I have no idea if this speaks more upon his ego or just how lazily written the script is. I'm not even sure which is worse.
The film's opening fight, set inside a restaurant, is quite impressive and at least then, I still didn't no just how dumb the story would be. A later fight set in a playground feels superfluous and by then, we realize it holds no impact towards the plot. We're just watching people beat on each other with metal rods for the sake of padding the running time. But for what it is, the action choreography is still excellent, especially the abandoned warehouse finale, which boasts a very nimble Chan hopping around from floor to floor with an almost effortless grace.
Also keeping the film relatively watchable is Maggie Cheung, who really has terrific chemistry with Chan. Without her presence, this movie would be quite a stinker, but she's thankfully given plenty of screen time, and even gets a hilarious tirade inside the men's shower room of a police station. Cheung is one of Hong Kong's most talented actresses, with a seemingly effortless ability to jump back and forth between performing slapstick stunts and humor (as she does here) and delivering powerful dramatic performances (as she did in the wonderful Hero, her best film to date)
Police Story II is further weakened by a teeth-scratching score and a poor use of sound (the punches and kicks sound more like a guy beating a two-by-four against a rug, amplified by a broken microphone), but I guess that's to be expected from an 80's chop suey flick. It's not a movie I recommend, but there's no doubt seeing Jackie Chan in action is a joy to behold.