Search - Police Story 2 (Special Collector's Edition) on DVD

Dragon Dynasty's release of Police Story 2

morgoth | omaha, NE | 02/14/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Police Story 2 was made to be the sequel to Police Story 1. Jackie directs this (and PS 1) and keeps the same type of serious tone but adds in more humor. The story is not as tight or gripping as the first but most Jackie fans will enjoy this.



Unlike PS 1, this is sort of a mindless movie. It starts out with the bad guy who Jackie sends to jail at the end of PS 1 (famous Shaw Brothers director Yuen Chor) out for revenge now that he is out of jail. He hires a guy to constantly harass Jackie and get into fights with him. It gets more complex than that and there is a real plot but the movie drags along too much before the fantastic ending sequence finally comes.



It was cool to see old school star John Cheung ('Snake in the Monkey's Shadow' and 'Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story') in a major role as one of the bad guys. Ben Lam ('Legend of the Wolf') also has a major part. Even one of Jackie's very best stuntmen Benny Lai is given a big role as the deaf mute. Benny Lai is a little guy but his kicking abilities are spectacular. I think the movie could have been a lot better but Maggie Cheung is even more enjoyable than she was in part 1 and it is a very fun film. Michael Chow and Lau Ching Wan also have cameos as cops. Both being fairly new to the movie scene at this time. And of course it is always great to see Bill Tung playing Uncle Bill and Mars as one of Jackie's cop buddies. You have to love Uncle Bill.



Akin to Jackie Chan's other movies, expect the best of the best stuntwork from Jackie and his team. Very inventive as always. I can't even imagine how much it would hurt trying to lay down every night during the shooting of this. In PS 1, Jackie came up with his own type of action choreography. He went away from long matches where each opponent throws hundreds of punches and kicks with 1 person barely coming out alive at the end. Jackie tried to give the fights more realism since it is a modern day film. Combine the amazing stuntwork with the real type of fighting and it is just a pure joy to watch. I actually like Jackie's old school kung fu movies better, but the new style of action that he developed has been featured in his movies ever since PS 1 and he hasn't done too bad for himself. There is nothing like watching Jackie in action, and his skills are on full display in this classic.



Dragon Dynasty releases this in widescreen with almost perfect picture quality. It has 5.1 sound in Cantonese and English. It also has the original mono track which I prefer. They still can't figure out how to fit the subtitles into the black bar on the bottom of the screen, but this is minor and really the only fault of the DVD. The Japanese 122 minute cut is used which I have heard is inferior to the shorter Hong Kong cut. I always choose the uncut version no matter what but I suppose this could have been trimmed down a bit.



If you liked the special features for PS 1 then you will love this special edition. There is another full length audio commentary from Hong Kong film expert Bey Logan and 'Rush Hour' director Brett Ratner. I don't like rating commentaries but this was not quite as enjoyable as PS 1. There are a few good topics brought up.



Special features include a 34 minute tribute to Jackie Chan and his team's stuntwork on the movie. This is even better than the similar tribute on PS 1 and of course this is the best special feature. It has interviews with 6 stuntmen (and woman) including Mars and Benny Lai discussing their experiences on the set and the extreme amount of work that went into the making of this.



There is an alternate version of the closing credits which shows Maggie Cheung getting a HUGE gash on her head.



'Police Story 2 Location Guide' gives a look at all of the locations where the movie was shot with Bey Logan explaining the scenes and giving info on actors. 12 minutes long



'Celebrating the Sequel' is an 8 minute interview with Ratner and Logan. I didn't get this. What was the commentary for? Did they just need 8 more minutes to talk? So basically, there is 2 hours and 10 minutes of commentary. That is the only way I can try to explain this special feature."

Chan fans shouldn't miss this one

A Reader | St. Peters, MO United States | 02/25/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Like most sequels, there is some lack of originality. Jackie is fighting mostly the same gang of criminals although they are a bit more comical than in the first movie. There are some very funny scenes with his super and his girlfriend, although if you don't appreciate bathroom humor you may not think it's all that funny. Of course, there are great fight scenes and stunts as we have come to expect from any Jackie Chan movie. As with the Dragon Dynasty release of the first movie, the second has an English sound track with generic American accents, which does seem a little weird. Fortunately, the dvd also has the original Chinese sound track with English subtitles."

Decent action film but far from Jackies best...

D. Wilson | NY by way of Cali | 09/12/2007

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Police Story 2 follows the first film in many aspects, characters, tone, romance, and comedy, but what it leaves out is most of the fantastic fights and great stunts (although in typical fashion the finale is something to behold!). Most of the same cast is back and it's always fun watching Jackie Chan and Maggie Cheung hamming it up as a dysfunctional yet loving couple. The villians are as despicable as you would expect a group of terrorist bombers to be and you'll definately be looking forward to them getting there heads kicked in by the end. All that being said, sequels are suppossed to up the ante and be bigger and better... that doesn't happen here, but how could it? The first film is a masterpiece while this is merely good (I feel the same about The Drunken Master and it's sequel). Fans of the usual American action films should be blown away... but for those already familiar with Hong Kong film-making this is an enjoyable movie, just don't go in expecting anything too special."

BRILLIANT

D. Wilson | 10/24/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This has to be one of Jackie's best movies to date. The plot is very good and the story carries on from where the first Police Story ended. Again the fight scenes are incredible, especialy the one in the play ground. The stunts are top notch. I recommend this to any one who enjoys Jackie's films."