Cold War 2
Director:
Longmund Leong Lok-man/ Sunny Luk Kim-ching
Year:
2016
Rating:
7.5
Cold War (2012) swept nearly everything in sight
at the Hong Kong Film Awards. A sequel seemed inevitable and the last scene
in the film certainly hinted at it. It took four years for the sequel to
make it to the screen and this one too ends on a note suggesting that another
sequel was on the way. But as far as I can tell, it never did. Between
covid and the political uncertainties in Hong Kong, it kept getting postponed.
After this last one it was hard to see where it could go but it would have
been worth following it. These are two of the most intriguing films to come
out of Hong Kong in years. They have a feel of both Internal Affairs and
some of the Johnny To films as they deal with internal struggles in the police
force. Unusual for a film about the police, there are no criminals or triads
involved. Well, criminals in the traditional sense. Slick, fast moving, smart
and digging into territory that no other Hong Kong film has that I can think
of. The film feels like it has more characters than War and Peace and it
is easy to get lost in who they all are and what side they are on, but it
is worth paying attention. This takes up right where Cold War ended but it
has a much bigger playing field for all the twists, machinations and intrigue
to come.
I will try to be careful in order not to
give spoilers for the first film. It begins with a police funeral for one
of the cops from the first one. Sean Lau (Aaron Kwok) has been appointed
to be the Commissioner. M.B. Lee (Tony Leung Ka-fai) has gone into semi-retirement.
At the funeral Lau has this to say in English "We are public servants. And
public trust forms the very bedrock of our authority. The moment we take
up the mantle of law enforcement, our duty is to serve the community. As
police officers we are committed to protect citizens with courage, to defend
the vulnerable with compassion and to uphold justice without fear or favor."
How things have changed in seven years. Even back then it must have gotten
some rolled eyeballs in the audience but now it would certainly get laughs
in Hong Kong if shown. The police in Hong Kong have become the oppressors.
That is how dictatorships work.
I expect the changing face of Hong Kong
has a lot to do with there being no sequel. I doubt this film would pass
the censors unscathed as things are. One of the main plotlines of the film
is that a core of politicians, businessmen and police are conspiring to take
power and get rid of the current government. Basically, a coup. Not through
violence per se but through political maneuvering and creating a crisis.
But it never makes clear why? Is it simply a power grab for money and ambition
or do they represent the Mainland wanting to stomp out the rights of the
citizens. It is hard to say and I imagine the two directors Longmund Leong
Lok-man and Sunny Luk intended that. Even seven years ago, you had to be
careful. This cabal are everywhere having penetrated the government
and the police force at every level. It is up to Lau - who they badly want
removed - to ferret them out but who can he trust. Seeing the bigger picture
in this film actually gives the first film more substance. Now you realize
what was really going on.
Many of the actors are back from the first
film other than those who didn't make it to the end - Kwok, Tony Leung Ka-fai,
Charlie Yeung, Eddie Peng - but they add one big name. Chow Yun-fat. And
his protégé played by Janice Man Wing-san. The very wealthy
Kan (Chow Yun-fat) with a house that overlooks the city from the heights
plays a member of the legislature. He is invited into the cabal from our
old friend Waise Lee - nice seeing them together again. Waise still plays
a sleaze quite well. Kan refuses and begins his own investigation into what
is going on and it eventually intersects with Sean Lau's. The film moves
like being on ice skates - going back and forth between the cabal, Lau and
Kan at breakneck speed as they all try to stay a step ahead. It stops off
for a couple good action scenes choreographed by Chin Ka-lok - the set-piece
in the Tunnel is rather astonishing as it turns into a shooting gallery.
At the time this broke the box office record. So, for there not to be a sequel
says a lot.
