[yasr_overall_rating]
Picking up some time after the events in the first movie, Sean Lau is now the Commissioner of Police after the successful rescue operation. However, things turn bad when his wife and daughter are kidnapped. Sean has to seek help from former rival and retired DCP, Waise Lee, to return to his job to help save Sean`s wife and child.
I have always felt that a successful sequel means not having to have seen the previous film in order to understand what is going on. “Cold War 2” accomplishes this feat by simply having a few lines of expositional dialogue interspersed throughout the movie so if you haven’t seen the preceding film, the events of that story are explained herein, thus, allowing you to sit back and enjoy this action-packed thriller. In “Cold War,” the Hong Kong police force was compromised when hijackers kidnapped five highly trained officers, gradually exposing a mole within the force. As “Cold War 2” begins, Sean Lau (Aaron Kwok) is now the Commissioner of Police, after successfully initiating the rescue of the aforementioned five kidnapped police officers. Everything seems to be going fine until Sean receives a phone call from a former nemesis, asking for the release of Joe Lee (Eddie Peng), one of the kidnappers arrested.
Naturally, Sean refuses but quickly changes his tune when it is revealed that his wife has been kidnapped and is being held at gunpoint, with mention of his young daughter being the next victim if the demands are not met. He ignores the standard procedure for situations like this as the city’s policy states that they do not negotiate with terrorists and agrees to their demands. When Sean drives Joe to the drop-off location specified, Joe manages to escape, with the help of his fellow colleagues but in the ensuing chase, which culminates at a train station, a bomb is set off, injuring several people and critically wounding a bomb disposal expert. Later criticized for his actions by the media and the people of the city, a public inquiry is instituted. When M.B. Waise Lee (Tony Leung), a deputy police commissioner who is on the verge of retiring, is contacted by Joe, his son, it is brought to his attention that Peter Choi (Chang Kuo-chu), a former commissioner that M.B. knew, is actually the man responsible for all of the recent events, including that of the five kidnapped police officers. He is a very powerful man, capable of pulling the strings of anybody within the city and when he announces that he wants Sean eliminated because he is too self-righteous and will not fit within his inner circle, he offers M.B. Sean’s job, if he successfully takes him out of the equation. And so begins a battle of wits between good and bad, cop vs. cop, where only one man can remain standing.
“Cold War 2” has some spectacular action set pieces throughout but its reliance on tension and intrigue is what elevates it above the norm. While many Chinese movies depend too much on the action element, very few of them put their faith in the often-overlooked aspect of tautness and emotion, and in many ways, that is their own fault, as over the years Chinese and Asian movies in general, have typically been associated with an overabundance of action and martial arts. The acting overall by the entire cast is authentic and there are several moments where friends are revealed to be enemies and you feel for the person(s) being betrayed. The film is outstanding on every level, from the action and tension to the acting and musical score, everything within is top-notch and it rivals that of its predecessor. If this epic is anything to go by, I cannot wait for “Cold War 3.”
Available on Blu-ray & DVD Tuesday, March 7th
