Cold War II

寒战II

Hong Kong/China, 2016, colour, 2.35:1, 3-D (China only), 109 mins.

Directors: Liang Lemin 梁乐民 [Longman Leung], Lu Jianqing 陆剑青 [Sunny Luk].

Rating: 6/10.

Lame sequel is light on action and doesn’t compensate with memorable plotting or dialogue.

STORY

Hong Kong, the present day. Following Operation Cold War against a so-called terrorist group, Liu Jiehui (Guo Fucheng), formerly deputy commissioner (management), has become the territory’s youngest police commissioner; his onetime rival, Li Wenbin (Liang Jiahui), formerly deputy commissioner (operations), is on “pre-retirement leave”. The hijacked Emergency Unit van no. 71 is still missing, but Li Jiajun (Peng Yuyan) – Li Wenbin’s son, who was involved in the incident – has been arrested. Liu Jiehui’s wife (Ma Yili) is kidnapped and he receives a call to release Li Jiajun, or else. Against all the rules, Liu Jiehui decides to co-operate and personally takes Li Jiajun to the handover; however, during the chaos of a bomb in the MTR, Li Jiajun escapes. Later, former police officer Cai Yuanqi (Zhang Guozhu), who was behind the escape, tells Li Wenbin that he wants to see him reinstated and made police commissioner, as Liu Jiehui is “not one of us”. Hong Kong’s Legislative Council votes to investigate ethical violations by Liu Jiehui during Operation Cold War that could result in him facing criminal charges and losing his pension. On the first day, veteran lawyer Jian Aowei (Zhou Runfa) questions him about a conversation with Li Jiajun en route to the handover, during which Li Jiajun claimed he had already given Liu Jiehui HK$50 million in bribes. Later, both Liu Jiehui and Jian Aowei separately realise there’s a high-level conspiracy to get rid of Liu Jiehui, and Jian Aowei is especially annoyed at having been made use of. Meanwhile, Liu Jiehui has secretly set up a “clean” team of investigators, led by young ICAC officer Zhang Guobiao (Li Zhiting), to look into the case. Cai Yuanqi makes a direct appeal to Li Wenbin’s ambition but receives mixed signals. However, when an assassination attempt on Liu Jiehui in the Chengmen [Shing Mun] Tunnels goes wrong, and Li Jiajun dies, Li Wenbin decides to fully commit to the planned political putsch. Among those whom the conspirators try to get on their side are police public relations head Liang Ziwei (Yang Caini), a loyal supporter of Liu Jiehui.

REVIEW

There are moments during the first hour of Cold War II 寒战II when it looks like returning writers-directors Liang Lemin 梁乐民 [Longman Leung] and Lu Jianqing 陆剑青 [Sunny Luk] are going for a (very) slow burn, trading on the good will towards this sequel to the 2012 hit by gradually building to a finale of epic proportions. But as the dialogue fails to ignite, and there’s little of the personal rivalry that fuelled the first half of the original film, it becomes more and more obvious that Liang (a former art director) and Lu (assistant director) are simply out of their depth. With a brief but excitingly staged tunnel shootout at the 60-minute mark, hopes rise that the drama will now shift up a gear; instead, like most things in this lame follow-up, it just sits there as a setpiece before the script veers off in another direction.

The original film was hardly as good as many local supporters made out, but did at least have a gripping first half and was way above the level of most other locally-funded Hong Kong action-dramas nowadays. However, when Liang and Luk re-teamed with the throwaway terrorist thriller Helios 赤道 (2015), their weaknesses, especially on the writing side, became more visible. In CWII, despite the addition to the team of Wu Weilun 吴炜伦 [Jack Ng], regular scriptwriter for director Lin Chaoxian 林超贤 [Dante Lam], their shortcomings are even more exposed: the political-conspiracy writing is simplistic and often borderline risible, and the dialogue, on which so much of the action-lite film depends, is thick with Hong Kong cliches. There’s simply no sense of threat beyond what the characters talk about, and no sense of any dramatic arc in the writing or direction. The film also makes no concessions to viewers with less than perfect memories of the first film.

With the notable exception of Liu Dehua 刘德华 [Andy Lau], Lin Jiadong 林家栋 [Gordon Lam] and Wang Minde 王敏德 [Michael Wong], most of the old cast are back, though with their importance shuffled. Definitively leading the movie this time is Guo Fucheng 郭富城 [Aaron Kwok], as the ice-cool, procedural and incorruptible police commissioner who’s targeted by a high-level conspiracy. It’s a role that, unlike so many Guo undertakes, plays to his strengths rather than his weaknesses and, with a little bit of greying round the temples, the 50-year-old actor even looks the part now. He’s more impressive this time round than Liang Jiahui 梁家辉 [Tony Leung Ka-fai] as his departmental nemesis: the 58-year-old veteran looks tired here, his role is severely under-written, and there’s none of the gripping electricity between the two that was a highlight of the first movie. (It’s symptomatic that one scene, where they do let rip at each other in simultaneous dialogue, plays more like a send-up.)

Liu’s role is referred to but the actor never appears this time – probably for the best, as it was never his finest hour. One who does re-appear is Yang Caini 杨采妮 [Charlie Young], in one of the few female roles as the police’s PR chief; but apart from a couple of short scenes in which she shows her loyalty to Guo’s character, it’s again a nothing part. Among other returnees, Yin Ziwei 尹子维 [Terence Yin], action director Qian Jiale 钱嘉乐 [Chin Ka-lok] and the younger Li Zhiting 李治廷 [Aarif Lee] pop up only briefly this time, while Taiwan’s Peng Yuyan 彭于晏 [Eddie Peng], not very convincing as the psycho son of Liang’s character, gets a sizeable role in the first half. Boosting the spot-the-star line-up, Zhou Runfa 周润发 [Chow Yun-fat] makes the strongest impression, in an extended cameo as a veteran LegCo lawyer whose ego is abused by the bad guys.

The largely same tech crew does an OK job – especially d.p. Guan Zhiyao 关智耀 [Jason Kwan] and p.d Mo Shaozong 莫少宗 [Alex Mok] – though there a consistently less noir-ish and atmospheric feel to the whole movie, not helped by the lazy scoring of composer Jin Peida 金培达 [Peter Kam] that’s more vamp-till-ready than his rousing music for the original. Visual effects are just OK, notably in the container-terminal finale.

As in the original film – and especially following Helios – it’s difficult to tell whether Liang and Lu are quietly sending up the territory as “Asia’s safest city” (Singapore, surely?) with the HKPD slogan of “we serve with pride and care” and all the mirthless talk of “God bless our homeland” and “the rule of law”. Amazingly, considering its shortage of action and the absence of Mainland stars, CWII grossed a hot RMB677 million on 3-D release in China, two-and-a-half times the original’s hawl there (RMB253 million). Not surprisingly, a third film is in the works.

CREDITS

Presented by China Film (CN), Irresistible Beta Films (HK), Edko (Beijing) Films (CN), Shanghai Tencent Penguin Pictures (CN). Produced by Irresistible Films Productions (Hong Kong) (HK), Homeland Pictures (HK).

Script: Wu Weilun [Jack Ng], Liang Lemin [Longman Leung], Lu Jianqing [Sunny Luk]. Photography: Guan Zhiyao [Jason Kwan]. Editing: Jordan Goldman, Chen Zhongming. Music: Jin Peida [Peter Kam]. Production design: Mo Shaozong [Alex Mok]. Costume design: Huang Jiabao [Stephanie Wong]. Sound: Tan Derong, Zeng Jingxiang [Kinson Tsang]. Action: Qian Jiale [Chin Ka-lok]. Visual effects: Yu Guoliang, Liang Weimin (Free D Workshop).

Cast: Guo Fucheng [Aaron Kwok] (Liu Jiehui/Sean), Liang Jiahui [Tony Leung Ka-fai] (Li Wenbin/M.B.), Yang Caini [Charlie Young] (Liang Ziwei/Phoenix), Wen Yongshan [Janice Man] (Ou Yongen/Isabel), Peng Yuyan [Eddie Peng] (Li Jiajun/Joe), Li Zhiting [Aarif Lee] (Zhang Guobiao/Billy), Yang Youning (He Guozheng/Roy), Zhang Guozhu (Cai Yuanqi/Peter), Wu Yue (Hu Tianwen), Fan Zhibo (Ma Huiling), Ma Yili (Chen Xue’er/Michelle, Liu Jiehui’s wife), Zhou Bichang (Pan Jing’en/Alice), Zhou Runfa [Chow Yun-fat] (Jian Aowei/Oswald), Xu Jiajie (Mai Qiwen), Zeng Jiang [Kenneth Tsang] (Li Shutang), Chen Jiajun (He Qifeng), Lin Wenlong (Ou Haolin), Jiang Zhiguang (Mo Jinquan), Li Zixiong [Waise Lee] (Li Yonglian/Edward), Lin Jinggang (Fu Zhanpeng), Huang Wenbiao (Ma Guoqiang), Luo Yingjun (Ma Zhuoxian), Liang Huasheng (Li Shusheng), He Qi’nan (Huang Yongkang), He Weiye (Guo Weiming), Chen Ying (Chen Shaozhen), Tang Yi (Li Xiuying), Li Kaixian [Brian Siswojo] (Pan Zhuguo), Yin Ziwei [Terence Yin] (Du Wen), Tang Ning (female hostage).

Premiere: Shanghai Film Festival (Opening Film), 11 Jun 2016.

Release: Hong Kong, 8 Jul 2016; China, 8 Jul 2016.