“Police Story 2” Japanese DVD Cover
AKA: Police Force 2
Director: Jackie Chan
Cast: Jackie Chan, Maggie Cheung, Lam Gwok Hung, Bill Tung Biu, Benny Lai, John Cheung, Ben Lam Kwok Bun, Mars, Charlie Cho Cha Lei, Chu Yuan
Running Time: 100 min.
By Ro
I liked this movie even more than the first. The plot and characters are more developed than in Part I, and the humor is less broad. Jackie’s been demoted (due to his extreme measures in capturing the bad guys in Part I) and the goons (from Part I) start harassing and threatening May, his girlfriend. He quits the force just as a new group of bad guys extort some businessmen with bomb threats. So he’s back on the job and in charge of the investigation. I also liked the integration of other police officers into the scenes, especially the way they covered for him after he punches out a bad guy in the squad room and the unorthodox interrogation of a suspect. You go, girls!
There are lots of thrilling fights and stunts. I loved the one in the playground and the final one in the warehouse was typically spectacular (isn’t that an oxymoron?), with the added attraction of the bad guy bomb expert with great legs! Wow! How does he stay in the air long enough to kick Jackie 3 times?!?! In the version I saw, Jackie’s voice was dubbed by some anonymous Chinese guy. It sounded better than other dubbed voices I’ve heard, but it’s still not Jackie. P.S. I counted more head wounds in this movie’s outtakes than any other I’ve seen yet, including poor Maggie Cheung (May) who needed stitches.
Ro’s Rating: 8.5/10 (Subtract a star if you really like malls, he trashed another one in this movie!)
By Marcia
I have to disagree with the majority of the other reviewers here and say that this is better than the original (blasphemy!). The opening sequence was a nicely crafted piece of cinema, and it gets better from there. It seemed to me that the plot was somewhat smoother than PS, too — no sudden change into an over-the-edge psycho for our hero, for example. One of the best features of this film for me, though, was the fact that Maggie Cheung actually had a (gasp!) _dramatic role_! (I don’t think anyone can blame me for pooh-pooh’ing her acting abilities at the point in time when the only thing I’d seen her in was the dubbed version of Supercop…) You actually feel that there’s a connection between the lead characters — they are actually in love, instead of being in a sort of relationship of convenience. All in all, this film felt more “real” to me. Glowing comments in the other reviews about the fight scenes (and Maggie’s butt, if your preferences run that way, I guess) apply to my opinion, too, so go read the redundant stuff elsewhere.
Marcia’s Rating: 10/10
By Numskull
This isn’t a funny review, but you will find it hilarious by comparison after:
– Having an enema with boiling hot water
– Receiving a Friday the 13th-style sex change
– Watching Dennis Miller’s TV show
– Supervising four dozen twelve-year-olds at a Hanson concert
Police Story 2 is the second installment in the Police Story film series. It takes place after Police Story 1 and before Police Story 3. The Police Story sequence is Jackie Chan’s most successful series of films. AND YOU’D BETTER RECOGNIZE, MAGGOT. Jackie’s character in these films is a nice guy who, when he’s not on duty, lives by a simple code of conduct. DO UNTO OTHERS AS YOU WOULD HAVE THEM DO UNTO YOU. However, the element that Jackie deals on a professional level often requires a more hard-nosed standard of behavior. DO UNTO OTHERS AS THEY DO UNTO YOU. And, worst of all, the crime world of Hong Kong with which Jackie has to contend does not play very nicely at all. DO UNTO OTHERS, THEN RUN. In the first of the Police Story films, Jackie endangered some innocent people, so, as of the beginning of Police Story 2, he has been chewed out by his superiors. WHAT IS YOUR MAJOR MALFUNCTION, DETECTIVE CHAN? From there, we are treated to a fast-paced action exhibition in which the threats made towards Jackie’s girlfriend May figure prominently. ONLY MONGOLOID AMOEBAE DON’T KNOW THAT MAY IS THE FIFTH MONTH OF THE CALENDAR YEAR.
There’s a fight in a restaurant, which is super; a fight in a playground, which is dandy; and a fight in a warehouse, which is totally neat-o. REMEMBER KIDS, FIGHTING NEVER SOLVES ANYTHING. WHEN SOMEONE INCESSANTLY PUSHES YOU AROUND, CALLS YOU NAMES, GIVES YOU WEDGIES, AND STEALS YOUR LUNCH MONEY, YOU SHOULD SHAKE THEIR HAND AND BECOME GOOD FRIENDS. All of the action sequences in this movie are good…so good, in fact, that you might work up a sweat and stink up the room just watching them. IF YOU WISH, YOU MAY USE THE PINK TRANSLUCENT SUBSTANCE THAT SMELLS LIKE BUBBLE GUM, SO THAT THERE WILL BE SUDS AND FUN FOR EVERYONE. I believe that the first Police Story is a better film than this one, although it isn’t as disappointing a sequel as was Project A Part II. NOW GET OFF THIS SUBVERSIVE PROPAGANDA SITE AND DO SOMETHING USEFUL LIKE MIXING WHITEWASH, YOU SON OF A MOTHERLESS GOAT.
Numskull’s Rating: 8/10
By Dan-O
Okay, let’s get the basics out of the way first: It wasn’t as good as the first flick, but we knew that, right?, and how many sequels are (besides The Godfather II, Aliens, and Drunken Master II)? And so what if the characters look and feel like walking talking cardboard cutouts, or if the story gave no real insight into anything. It wasn’t meant to, because, say it with me; “This Is A Jackie Chan Picture!”. What else can I say that has not yet been said? Well, how ’bout this little observation….. are ya ready?: THOSE BASTARDS SPED UP THE FIGHT SCENES AGAIN!! Dammit, who the hell is responsible for pulling this crap?!?! Oh man, I HOPE it ain’t Jackie, or I will be SORELY disappointed! I hope the original film wasn’t butchered in this way (side note: I’m reviewing the re-edited, English dubbed North American version. I have no clue just how different the original Cantonese version is)! Now I realize to some this may seem like a minor quibble, a ripple in a toilet bowl, not even worth wasting words on, but they, and you if you feel this way, are wrong. It’s okay, I’m sure you’ve been wrong more than once, so this is nothing new. Y’see, when they speed up the fights (THE reason we watch these kinds of movies, other than the stunts and such), they completely obliterate all sense of grace, fluidity, and timing in a ham-handed attempt to make the film more “exciting”, which of course is a total crock. I don’t care if Jackie IS “the Buster Keaton of our generation”, I don’t wanna feel as if I’m actually WATCHING a Buster Keaton film, where everything moves at twice normal earthly speed! I had to rewind a few of the fight scenes and watch ’em at least 3 times while squinting before I could make out what the hell was goin’ on!
Okay, now that I’m done ranting my ass clean off, let’s focus now on what went RIGHT with this movie: You do get a few fantastic shots of Maggie Cheung’s butt in tight fitting pants; that’s a definite plus (and it’s what I think Jeff was alluding to in his review)! The deaf-mute character really creeped me out. Maybe it was that voice over that made him sound like Fazzie Bear having an orgasm (I am NOT making this up!). Uh, lessee, what else…. Oh, the theme song at the end was catchier than the original, and the outtakes were more entertaining. So Dan-O, What’s the BOTTOM LINE?: Don’t fuck with the Hearing Impaired!
Dan-O’s Rating: 7 out of some number less than 11 but a wee bit higher than 9
By Vic Nguyen
This is the film that many, including me, have been waiting for, the sequel to one of Jackie Chan’s greatest films of all time, but when I saw it, I was mildly disappointed. This film isn’t as good as part 3 and a far cry from part 1, but is better than 4. Jackie again plays Kevin Chan, cop demoted to traffic control after the destorying lots of property and glass in the first film. Little does Kevin know is that Ku is after him again, and is also threatened I with terrorist’s. This film lacks the enjoyment of the first film, but it still had it’s moments, both in comedy and action. For comedy, I liked it when May( Maggie Cheung) storms into the police shower and bathroom in order to comfront Kevin, going into a stall in which Uncle Bill is occupying it, and for action, the fight in the resteraunt, the playground, and the finale. The outtakes were pretty good too. Overall, Jackie fans should check it out everywhere, but don’t expect the Police Story that we all know and love.
By Vic Nguyen’s Rating: 8/10
