The original Police Story was a slam-bang action movie that was high on stunts, but low on plot. Still, the movie had some of the greatest action sequences ever put on film along with a strong cast and a winning performance by Jackie Chan, so quibbles about plot are pretty much beside the point.
     Police Story 2 picks up right where the first one left off. Despite all his Herculean efforts to apprehend the bad guys in the first film, super detective Kevin Chan Ka-Kui (Jackie Chan) earns nothing but a stern reprimand from his superiors and a humiliating demotion to traffic duty. Constantly hounded by the creeps from the first film, Chan decides that he and his long-suffering girlfriend May (Maggie Cheung) deserve a nice, relaxing vacation from all the gangland drama. But when mad bombers threaten his home turf, Chan has no choice but to stay behind and help the police, much to the disappointment of his pouting girlfriend. So for the rest of the movie, Chan has to shoulder the hefty responsibility of locating and capturing the terrorists while at the same time trying to salvage what he can of his crumbling relationship with May. But when she becomes the target of the bombers' extortion plan, Chan must face her kidnappers alone in the (literally!) explosive finale.
     Overall, Police Story 2 is standard Jackie Chan fare, and that's not a bad thing. Chan is always an engaging presence, giving the audience topnotch stuntwork, intricate fight scenes, and a touch of comedy here and there. Interestingly enough, one of his best stunts in the film is done with a complete air of nonchalance. While crossing an intersection, Chan gets hit full-force by a car (the stunt-driver miscalculated) and is sent hurtling off screen!
     Plot-wise, Police Story 2 is lacking and, to be honest, pretty boring, but the actors are charming enough. Maggie Cheung is her normal appealing self, as is Bill Tung in his ever ubiquitous role as Uncle Bill (randomly pick a handful of Jackie Chan films, and you'll see what I mean). But nobody comes to a Jackie Chan flick expecting Hamlet. Believe me, when the action heats up, Police Story 2 delivers. (Sanjuro 2002)

image courtesy of Mega Star Video Distribution, Ltd.