![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Review: Police Story 2 (警察故事續集) (1988)
For some reason I had this movie on my list but not the original Police Story lol. In any case I didn't think it was necessary to watch the prequel so I went ahead and watched this movie.
It is a typical movie of this genre (martial arts/cop) but I was really just watching for the stunts and the nostalgia. I'm not the biggest fan of Jackie Chan so that was why this movie was just ok for me.
Spoilers.
Story
The story was kind of all over the place. The police story was specifically about a gang trying to extort money from a company, and the police trying to catch the gang.
Chan Ka-kui's story involved some spillover from the prior movie. The criminal he had put behind bars was released on account of his poor health, and his henchman was taunting and stalking both Ka-kui, May, and even May's aunt. As well, Chan Ka-kui had a penchant for causing mass damage from his fights and that was trouble for the police. For that reason, he resigned.
However, even after resigning, he could never keep his nose out of police work. There was supposed to be a bombing at a mall and Ka-kui helped the police officers. At first, his ex-superior Raymond said he had overreacted but there ended up being an actual bomb explosion. As well, Raymond's superiors were lauding the work done in his unit (mostly done by Ka-kui), so Raymond and his right-hand man Bill convinced Ka-kui to rejoin the police.
Chan Ka-kui and his girlfriend May went through a tough time because of his past grudges with the criminals. It was dangerous for May but she tolerated it. When Ka-kui resigned, May was excited because they could go on vacation. However, as they were getting ready to lift off, Ka-kui was called off by Bill and Raymond (who were re-recruiting him) and the plane took off without him. He unfortunately also had May's passport so she was sent right back to Hong Kong. May was really upset, feeling that she abandoned and then broke up with Ka-kui.
May was later kidnapped by the gang and the gang had taunted May and Ka-kui with the farewell letter she had written him, which was supposed to make them re-realize their love for each other.
In the end, Ka-kui took down the gang members and saved May and saved the day.
Ka-kui is so much of a hero fantasy I wanted to roll my eyes. He was always right because taking down the bad guys was always the most important. He was always so selfless. When he made that speech about wanting to get hurt himself instead of hurting other people I rolled my eyes so hard. So yeah, nothing about the story was special.
Production
The draw here was the action and it was fine. I wouldn't say that Jackie Chan is a GREAT action director, he still excels more in front of the camera behind it. I say that because I just generally don't find his action directing always the most satisfying. There are some decisions that are a little odd to me.
Otherwise the actors did what they could with the script they were given.
Characters
Chan Ka-kui
Ka-kui is our self-righteous hero fantasy. I have nothing good to say about him. He only cares about saving the day and the people around him only affirm his actions.
May
I love Maggie Cheung but unfortunately May is the accessory in this movie. She was just there to spice up Ka-kui's personal life and to give a reason for him to work with the gang for a period of time. Maggie Cheung is always so cute though <3
Bill
Bill was an inspector at the police department. He was generally seen as more sympathetic to Ka-kui.
Raymond
Raymond was the Chief inspector of the police department. He was stricter and more harsh on Ka-kui because he had to report to the higher ups.
Overall
Like I said, I watched this for the action and for the bit of classic Hong Kong cinema feel.
It is a typical movie of this genre (martial arts/cop) but I was really just watching for the stunts and the nostalgia. I'm not the biggest fan of Jackie Chan so that was why this movie was just ok for me.
Spoilers.
Story
The story was kind of all over the place. The police story was specifically about a gang trying to extort money from a company, and the police trying to catch the gang.
Chan Ka-kui's story involved some spillover from the prior movie. The criminal he had put behind bars was released on account of his poor health, and his henchman was taunting and stalking both Ka-kui, May, and even May's aunt. As well, Chan Ka-kui had a penchant for causing mass damage from his fights and that was trouble for the police. For that reason, he resigned.
However, even after resigning, he could never keep his nose out of police work. There was supposed to be a bombing at a mall and Ka-kui helped the police officers. At first, his ex-superior Raymond said he had overreacted but there ended up being an actual bomb explosion. As well, Raymond's superiors were lauding the work done in his unit (mostly done by Ka-kui), so Raymond and his right-hand man Bill convinced Ka-kui to rejoin the police.
Chan Ka-kui and his girlfriend May went through a tough time because of his past grudges with the criminals. It was dangerous for May but she tolerated it. When Ka-kui resigned, May was excited because they could go on vacation. However, as they were getting ready to lift off, Ka-kui was called off by Bill and Raymond (who were re-recruiting him) and the plane took off without him. He unfortunately also had May's passport so she was sent right back to Hong Kong. May was really upset, feeling that she abandoned and then broke up with Ka-kui.
May was later kidnapped by the gang and the gang had taunted May and Ka-kui with the farewell letter she had written him, which was supposed to make them re-realize their love for each other.
In the end, Ka-kui took down the gang members and saved May and saved the day.
Ka-kui is so much of a hero fantasy I wanted to roll my eyes. He was always right because taking down the bad guys was always the most important. He was always so selfless. When he made that speech about wanting to get hurt himself instead of hurting other people I rolled my eyes so hard. So yeah, nothing about the story was special.
Production
The draw here was the action and it was fine. I wouldn't say that Jackie Chan is a GREAT action director, he still excels more in front of the camera behind it. I say that because I just generally don't find his action directing always the most satisfying. There are some decisions that are a little odd to me.
Otherwise the actors did what they could with the script they were given.
Characters
Chan Ka-kui
Ka-kui is our self-righteous hero fantasy. I have nothing good to say about him. He only cares about saving the day and the people around him only affirm his actions.
May
I love Maggie Cheung but unfortunately May is the accessory in this movie. She was just there to spice up Ka-kui's personal life and to give a reason for him to work with the gang for a period of time. Maggie Cheung is always so cute though <3
Bill
Bill was an inspector at the police department. He was generally seen as more sympathetic to Ka-kui.
Raymond
Raymond was the Chief inspector of the police department. He was stricter and more harsh on Ka-kui because he had to report to the higher ups.
Overall
Like I said, I watched this for the action and for the bit of classic Hong Kong cinema feel.