One of the wonderful things about doing these particular reviews is all of the versions that these films went under. Take for example today, our subject Police Story 2. Today, we will be looking over the 122 minute Japanese version of this film. But there are certainly other versions including a Hong Kong version (provided as a bonus feature on the Criterion disc) that runs 105 minutes and an even shorter version that was primarily intended for the UK and European territories clocking in at a mere 95 minutes. Usually what is stripped away from these films especially when it comes to action is any exposition or any chance to develop characters whether they be the protagonists or the villains. Basically, a shorter plot. Let’s take a look and see what we can shake out of this one.
We get a good ole fashioned recap as we open this movie. Last time on Police Story (movie man voice), okay we don’t get the dramatic narrator but I kinda wish we did. We get a very uplifting song that’s liable to be stuck in your head for days though. It’s a rather long recap too, going well over 3 minutes. This isn’t a 30 second last time on Transformers, that’s for sure. Shortly after the recap, our hero, Ka-Kui (played by Jackie Chan) is called into the Superintendent’s office to get a grilling from Raymond Li (played by Lam Kwok-Hung) and Inspector Chou (played by Bill Tung). Yes, the Sergeant succeeded on many fronts including bringing down the criminals but he did it by wrecking a whole bunch of stuff. I’m paraphrasing of course. So, Ka-Kui is not being fired but he is going to be demoted a bit. He’s going to be a traffic cop.
Well, one person is very happy about Ka-Kui being a traffic cop, and that’s his girlfriend May (played by Maggie Cheung). She is glad that he is no longer taking dangerous assignments and even brings him a meal here and there. Ka-Kui puts on a happy face but between writing tickets and directing traffic, this isn’t quite what he envisioned a life of law enforcement to be. However, imagine his surprise one day when John Ko (played by Charlie Cho) and Chu Tao (played by Yuen Chor) show up in the middle of traffic to harass Ka-Kui. Apparently, Chu only has three months to live but he intends on making our hero’s life a living hell in the mean time.
Ka-Kui quickly tells May to go to her Aunt (played by Lisa Chiao Chiao) and stay with her until this blows over. After another altercation with this gang, Ka-Kui decides to do the only thing he can and that is to quit the force. May is very happy with this as well and the two decide to go to Bali on a vacation and get some much deserved rest. They even buy the tickets and start to make plans together. But deep inside our hearts, we know that this is not going to last long.
A bomb threat is called in to the police station and the only person they can depend on with how to deal with such a thing is in fact Ka-Kui. Even though he has a vacation to Bali, he decides to help consult with the police. I don’t think May is going to be too happy.
Of course, what starts out as a simple assignment leads to one thing after another. This bomb threat turns out to be the real deal and the mysterious perpetrator wants 10 million. The police again need help. But hey, Ka-Kui and May are boarding the plane to Maui. Let’s see what we can do to get Ka-Kui off the plane. Turbulence? No, they aren’t in the air. Alien on the wing? No, no that was Twilight Zone. I know, let’s create a passport problem. That one always works, and soon our protagonist is off the plane. But May is still on the plane and it’s taking off. Uh-oh.
Even though the police department uses some dirty tactics to get him off the plane, Ka-Kui is convinced to stay and help with the investigation. May finally makes her way back and yep, she’s not happy. If she just to went Bali by herself then that might not have been too big of an issue but Ka-Kui took her passport too. She was detained for hours, and she’s pissed off. May after some yelling does something she probably should have done in the first Police Story, she dumps him.
By the way, the playground is a darn good action scene, I certainly recommend watching it a couple of times. Ka-Kui is put in charge of a special surveillance team. This leads to a clever and funny scene where Ka-Kui dons a disguise complete with glasses and a mustache. Despite the silly getup and hilarious gags, our hero is able to catch his guy. This leads to quite the event, an all-women interrogation sequence. I will let your mind wander on that one wherever it cares to.
At this time in the picture, I want to take this time to tell you how much I hate circle drives. There is this one in Houston that is near the zoo that is complete nightmare fuel. It makes a four way stop look pedestrian. As we watch Jackie Chan’s character, it is very natural to watch him lead this surveillance team. This will certainly become apparent in future films, but there is grace to how he handles being in charge. I’m sure someone will let me know, but has there ever been a Jackie Chan movie where he acts as the Tommy Lee Jones character from the Fugitive films? I might be in the minority but I would very much like to see that.
Back to the action, but more bombs are blowing and this movie is taking on a very serious tone. Any slapstick is completely gone at this point and it’s becoming dare I say brutal. May is kidnapped and we get a new villain to be introduced as we find out that Chu Tao nor John Ko are the source of the bombs at the shopping mall. Despite the breakup, this leads to a tender moment shared between May and Ka-Kui. Side note here as it popped into my head, Jackie Chan would make a heck of an interesting villain if done correctly. I know he is beloved by almost all, but it’s almost a Robin Williams dynamic and it’s a shame it will never come to pass most likely.
Eventually we get to a long warehouse scene which is similar to the shopping mall scene at the end of the original Police Story. Plenty of action, kung fu and wonderful stunt scenes. That fall down the shelf was particularly brutal. But one cannot go past this sequence and not mention the creepy as hell performance from Benny Chai who plays the deaf/mute criminal and pulls out some of the more amazing feats during this film. He is certainly someone not to be messed with when it comes to action but the vibe he gives off is completely unnerving. Also, whoever thought of giant snap bangs should be given a raise. Remember when the small size ones were sold to kids openly (and not just at a fireworks stand)? My parents actually bought them for me and left me unsupervised. Different times, different times.
The ending is an absolutely brilliant and wonderful explosion with Ka-Kui and May making their escape. Too many times in action movies, we get 5-10 more minutes of wrapping things up. Why? People don’t go to action movies because they are tidy, they go because they want to watch things blow up. So simple, explosion, heroes escape and credits. In this case, we of course get the standard Jackie Chan style credits where we get a recap of some of the mishaps and funny moments from the film. Who knew that large snap bangs could potentially cause blindness when it comes in contact with the eyes? This guy did. That’s cause I read the warnings on the box. Yes, I was that kid.
Also of note is the bus jump into a glass window. This by itself doesn’t sound all that bad especially when compared to all of the things going on in any Police Story movie. Except if Jackie actually hits the wrong piece of glass and not the breakaway kind. The credits show the crew actually picking out shards of glass from Jackie’s head. As somehow who has had a few shards of glass picked from his hand, I don’t even want to imagine the head (and didn’t have to I guess).
Another excellent Police Story movie in the books. Police Story 2 has more of a serious tone especially after halfway into the movie, it’s not even close to being as silly as the first film. Not to say it’s all gripping tension, but it’s certainly there. This movie did not do quite as well as the first film in theaters, probably because of the different tone or what they were used to seeing Jackie as. It’s a fine film though and on some levels could be considered the best Police Story film. However, I will save my final ratings until I’m done with all of the films. Sure I know in my head what will probably get first place, but I’m trying to leave the door open to consider all of the films equally. Enjoy.
