Review: Like the first movie, this complex storyline has enough elements to keep it interesting throughout and the gun action from Chow Yun-Fat was great. The showdown at the end was impressive and John Woo added some emotional scenes which will touch people who enjoyed the first movie. On the down side, there is a lack of action and it does look a bit dated but apart from that, it's an enjoyable ride. In this sequel Sung Tse-Ho (Ti Lung), is offered early parole to spy on his former boss, Lung Sei (Dean Shek) who is suspected of heading a counterfeiting money operation. When Ho finds out that his younger brother, Kit (Leslie Cheung) is working undercover on the same case, Ho agrees to go undercover so his brother can be with his pregnant wife. When Ho meets up with Kit, they agree to work together on the case. After a heated alteration with a crime boss, Lung is framed for his murder and he seeks help from Ho to escape to New York. While Lung is in hiding, he receives news about his daughters murder which makes him have a psychotic breakdown and eventually gets put into a mental institution. Ho then finds out that his old partner in crime, Mark Lee (Chow Yun-Fat), has a twin brother, Ken, who was a former gang member and decided to go legitimate by opening his own restaurant in New York. When Ho gets in touch with Ken, he asks for his help to nurse Lung back to good health. Ken is also being hunted down by American gangsters who want protection money for his restaurant, so he goes into hiding with Lung and tries to keep him safe from the assassins who want him dead in Hong Kong. After a massive shootout at there apartment, Lung gains his sanity when he sees Ken in trouble and he saves Ken's life by taking out the last of the hit men. They then go back to Hong Kong and link up with Ho and Kit to find out who is trying to murder Lung. He soon realises that his former employee, Ko Ying-Pui (Kwan Shan), has taken over the organisation and is responsible for his daughters death and the attempts on his life, so they put together a plan to take him out. Although Ho tells his brother, Kit, to be with his wife, he goes of on a mission to destroy Ko which goes completely wrong and takes his life. After Kit's funeral, Ho, Ken & Lung gather all the ammunition that they can, to kill Ko and his many henchmen. I'm glad that I watched these movies back to back because I didn't like the fact that they killed off Chow Yun-Fat in the first movie. His twin brother is exactly the same and has the same mannerisms as Mark, so I'm glad that they wrote him back in. Without him, the movie wouldn't have been anywhere as good as the first movie but as soon as his character is introduced, the film really does pick up. Both movies seem basically about Kit dragging his brother back into the criminal world, so I would like to see what happens in the third movie in this franchise, if I can get my hands on it. Anyway, I did enjoy this film because of the detailed storyline and Chow Yun-Fat's character but it did drag in parts. Watchable!
Round-Up: Whilst making this movie, John Woo and producer Tsui Hark had constant disagreements about the focus of this film which led to them both editing the final cut. Tsui wanted the film to be based around Lung's character, who has the mental breakdown but Woo decided to focus on Ho. After making this film, John Woo decided not to make the 3rd instalment, which was finally made by Tsui Hark and was not in the same league as the previous movies in this franchise. John Woo went on to make the Killer with Chow Yun-Fat, which got rave reviews and became popular hit around the globe. That just shows you how unique John Woo's vision is.
I recommend this movie to people who are into their action/crime/drama's starring Chow Yun-Fat, Lung Ti, Leslie Cheung, Dean Shek and Shan Kwan. 4/10
Round-Up: Whilst making this movie, John Woo and producer Tsui Hark had constant disagreements about the focus of this film which led to them both editing the final cut. Tsui wanted the film to be based around Lung's character, who has the mental breakdown but Woo decided to focus on Ho. After making this film, John Woo decided not to make the 3rd instalment, which was finally made by Tsui Hark and was not in the same league as the previous movies in this franchise. John Woo went on to make the Killer with Chow Yun-Fat, which got rave reviews and became popular hit around the globe. That just shows you how unique John Woo's vision is.
I recommend this movie to people who are into their action/crime/drama's starring Chow Yun-Fat, Lung Ti, Leslie Cheung, Dean Shek and Shan Kwan. 4/10