Cold War II Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		1.5
Overall		3.0

Cold War II Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman March 6, 2017

Western viewers of Cold War II (and/or Cold War 2, depending on how it’s “spelled”) may be at a distinct disadvantage for a couple of reasons. The first is that the film’s progenitor, Cold War, has not had a domestic Blu-ray release, this despite the fact that it was one of the hugest hits in the annals of recent Asian cinema. (The film has had some international Blu-ray releases, for those with region free players who may want to check it out: Cold War, Cold War and Cold War.) That means unless you’ve seen the original Cold War either theatrically or courtesy of one of its home video releases, you’re most likely going to be somewhat confounded by not only basic plot points in Cold War II, but also some of the interrelationships that are on display. While the basic narrative of this sequel isn’t that hard to follow, there are moments of at least minor confusion that accrue since “little” items like the fact that one of the police investigators at the core of the story is the father of one of the chief bad guys is presented as a “given”, since it’s evidently assumed that everyone has in fact seen the first Cold War. The second element which may present at least a moment or two of hesitation in understanding is this film’s rather labyrinthine presentation of the intersection between Hong Kong’s political and law enforcement establishments, a relationship that is offered to the public as nearly picture perfect but which (in this film’s thesis, anyway) is riddled with corruption, back stabbing and other dark dealings. That particular situation is almost intentionally ironic in a way, since Cold War II makes the case (at least in terms of lip service) that Hong Kong is a Utopian haven that is supposedly exempt from the traumas that regularly afflict other major urban centers.

In the late sixties, two huge best sellers appeared which featured amazingly similar plots. Rod Serling’s little brother Robert J. Serling enjoyed his one trip to the best seller charts with The President’s Plane is Missing, while “regular visitor” Fletcher Knebel (Seven Days in May) was back on them with Vanished. Both books posited the baffling disappearance of either the President of the United States (in the case of The President’s Plane is Missing) or one of his chief aides (in the case of Vanished), and both books offered denouements which featured plot points concerning deals surrounding nuclear disarmament. The very title of Cold War might hint that the first film in this now nascent franchise may have had something similar on its mind, but while the film did in fact have a mysterious disappearance, it was of a more “mundane” variety, concerning a van full of policemen, part of Hong Kong’s Emergency Unit, which seems to simply have been transported into some alternate dimension. Of course, there’s a rational explanation for it all, which turns out to involve terrorists, leading Deputy Commissioner M.B. Lee (Tony Ka Fai Leung) to institute a counter terrorism operation he dubs “Cold War”.

The culprit behind the disappearance turns out to be Lee’s own son Joe (Eddie Peng), who is brought to justice, though his father is forced into an early retirement due to the scandal that has ensued. All of this is either parsed or not dealt with in any substantial way as Cold War II gets underway, leaving interested viewers to either ferret out the details themselves or do a bit of background research to clarify matters. The upshot is that Joe is in prison and Commissioner Sean Lau (Aaron Kwok) is now (ostensibly) in charge. That seeming control is ephemeral, to say the least, for within minutes of this film’s opening, Joe is on a rampage, evidently well connected enough despite his confinement to arrange for the kidnapping of Lau’s wife, leading to a hostage crisis which in turn (in a none too surprising development) leads to Joe’s escape from stir.

There’s another scandal simmering when Lau’s attempts to deal with Joe lead to a huge bomb scare in one of Hong Kong’s subway systems, but that’s not the only problem confronting the police as Cold War II’s probably overstuffed plot starts adding elements. A “hidden” culprit turns out to be behind even Joe’s machinations, and that person wants Joe’s Dad to reclaim his prominent status in the police force, albeit as a puppet of the bad guys. Meanwhile, a councilman named Oswald Kan (Chow Yun-fat, actually looking weirdly thin in this film) gets wrapped up in this conspiracy, though he’s smart enough to realize at least some of what’s going on. That leads him to involve muckraking “barrister” (as she’s identified in one of this film’s unending title cards defining who’s whom) Bella Au (Janice Man) to help with the investigation.

The baseline narrative of Cold War II perhaps suffer from what might be termed “inside baseball syndrome”, with the political machinations understandable but probably not as resonant for Western viewers as they may be for those who live in Hong Kong or who at least have a better comprehension for how that society’s government functions. The police procedural elements are probably more accessible from the get go, though there’s that aforementioned (intentional?) irony that Hong Kong is repeatedly referred to as one of the safest places on the planet while events continually show that not to be the case.

Maybe just a little strangely for a perceived action adventure thriller, Cold War II is surprisingly light on set pieces. There’s a fantastic chase scene which ultimately involves a calamitous collision inside a tunnel (one which leads to the demise of a central character), but otherwise this is a pretty relentlessly talky feature. That actually gives Cold War II at least a surface sheen of intelligence that tends to tangentially hint at tearing the scab off of what might be self delusional tendencies on the part of Hong Kong’s elite that they’ve created a modern paradise.

Cold War II Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Cold War II is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Well Go USA with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.39:1. The IMDb lists this as having been shot with the Arri Alexa XT and finished at a 2K DI. Aside from some minor and transitory instability in terms of slight aliasing and/or shimmer in some of the aerial shots (they must have gotten a deal on a helicopter for this film, as evidenced by the ubiquity of overhead material), this is by and large a really sharp and satisfying viewing experience. While there are the typical thriller color grading choices, often to hues in the appropriately cool blue or slate gray end of the spectrum, detail and fine detail levels are consistently commendable. A couple of SFX sequences look slightly soft, at least when compared to the bulk of the presentation. When not skewed, the palette looks natural and is often well saturated, though as can be seen in some of the screenshots accompanying this review, there are also selected sequences that have a slightly blanched look to them.

Cold War II Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Cold War II features separate Cantonese and Mandarin tracks in either DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 or Dolby Digital 2.0. As evidenced by a cursory look at lip movements and the two languages, it seems like at least some actors are dubbed no matter which language is chosen. Both of the surround tracks offer some really bombastic effects, albeit perhaps a bit more sporadically than might be expected for a "typical" action adventure flick. The big bomb sequence in the subway and, later, the car chase through the tunnel offer some of the most convincing lower end and immersive capabilities. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and with good prioritization in both language options.

Cold War II Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Behind the Scenes

  A Powerhouse Cast (1080i; 1:50)

  The Story (1080i; 2:11)

  The Three Powers (1080i; 2:18)

  VFX and Action (1080i; 2:47)

• Teaser (1080p; 1:27)


• Trailer (1080p; 1:32)

Note: As tends to be the case with Well Go USA releases, the supplements have been authored to follow each other automatically. After the Trailer plays, the disc then moves on automatically to trailers for other Well Go USA releases.

Cold War II Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I personally had to spend at least a little time reading up on Cold War after having watched Cold War II in order to make complete sense of it all. Those interested in this sequel might want to spend that time before watching this film, though even then some of the more arcane political and police elements may seem a bit odd. This is a rather peculiar offering in terms of traditional action adventure films. It seems to have more on its mind than many of its genre kin, but it also maybe wants to have its cake and eat it, too, as evidenced by some of the tangents the film takes in order to stuff in the requisite set pieces. One way or the other, my hunch is the Hong Kong Tourists Association probably won't want to be using Cold War II as a marketing tour. With caveats duly noted, Cold War II comes Recommended.