Despite the daunting task of topping Police Story, Jackie Chan makes a valiant effort to continue the story of Chan Ka Kui’s life after he apprehends the first film’s troublesome drug dealer. In Police Story 2, Brigitte Lin is out of the picture and the spotlight rests on Maggie Cheung’s May and her continuing relationship with Chan. Our protagonist struggles with Spider-man esque situations where his job and duty as a cop consistently get in the way of his relationship and villains exploit his loved ones as means of getting under the officer’s skin. In theory, this is to provide an electrifying and vengeful charge to Chan’s mission, but on-screen, it lacks a certain emotion and only comes across as a bit contrived. Coupled with a reduction of comedy, fans of the first may find themselves slightly underwhelmed with this sequel.
Still, the action remains the center-piece and the actual hand-to-hand combat has managed to improve with the understated camera and editing work that allow the sheer wonder of the lightning quick choreography shine. The location choices of a restaurant, playground and explosive warehouse provide seamless environment interaction into fights you can only find in a Chan film. While the film does not surpass its predecessor, it still retains many of the key elements that made the first so successful and that is more than enough for a fun martial arts experience.
Reviewed by Tarun
