Police Story 2 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		5.0
Overall		3.5

Police Story 2 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov September 13, 2022

Jackie Chan's "Police Story 2" (1988) arrives on 4K Blu-ray courtesy of Eureka Entertainment. The supplemental features on the release include exclusive new audio commentary by critics Mike Leeder and Arne Venema; exclusive new audio commentary by critics Frank Djeng and F.J. DeSanto; original theatrical Hong Kong version of the film; alternate and deleted scenes; vintage promotional materials; and more. In Cantonese or English, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

The second film in Jackie Chan's Police Story trilogy begins exactly where the first one ended -- after his clash with Chu Tao's men, Chan Ka-Kui (Chan) is demoted to a traffic cop; May (Maggie Cheung, Days of Being Wild) has forgiven him and this is all that matters to him. Hoping to further improve their relationship and finally spend some time alone, the two decide to leave the hustle and bustle of Hong Kong for a few weeks.

Before Ka-Kui and May manage to leave, however, Chu Tao's goons appear and begin harassing them. Later on, they also humiliate May's mother. Ka-Kui decides that enough is enough and openly confronts them. After a violent scuffle with Tao's men, he is summoned by his bosses (Lam Kwok-Hung and Bill Tung), and ordered to forget about them.

Things become complicated again when Ka-Kui is asked to assist with a serious blackmail case, and May ends up alone and without a passport on a plane to Bali. Later on, the two are kidnapped, and Ka-Kui is nearly killed after a serious altercation with a group of traffickers. May finally decides to part ways with Ka-Kui, realizing that he is never going to change.

If you liked the original Police Story then you would love Police Story II. Though not as charming as Police Story, this film has double the amount of action seen in the first film, while Chan looks a lot more relaxed in front of the camera. As expected, though, its story is rather straightforward.

The success of Police Story guaranteed that its sequel would have a decent budget, and Chan and his team certainly took advantage of it -- in Police Story II the explosions are bigger, the stunts a lot more complex and the camerawork better. Even the supporting cast is of a higher caliber.

Still, a lot of the same issues from the original film that bothered the critics are again on display here -- the character development is unsatisfactory, the editing problematic, and the soundtrack incongruous with the film's tone. Nowadays, Police Story II also looks dated, but it is certainly not as charming as the original film.

This may not matter much to Chan fans, however, as they have never held him to the same standards the critics have. As long as he delivered more of the same breathtaking action that made him a star, success was guaranteed. Unsurprisingly, this is exactly the type of film Police Story II is -- a more elaborate, and expensive, version of the original film meant to please Chan's fans.

Cheung's contribution to Police Story II is a lot more impressive. She is awarded substantially more time in front of the camera and even asked to do a couple of very challenging stunts resulting in her suffering a major head injury (see the outtakes at the end of the film). Like Chan, she also appears a lot more relaxed.

Benny Lai (The Legendary Tai Fei), a longtime member of Chan's stunt team, gives a surprisingly nuanced and memorable performance as a deaf criminal with exceptional fighting skills. The final scene where he faces Ka-Kui at the large warehouse is amongst the best in the film.

Police Story 2 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1 and encoded with HEVC / H.265, Police Story 2 arrives on 4K Blu-ray courtesy of Eureka Entertainment.

Please note that some of the screencaptures that appear with this article are taken from the 4K Blu-ray and are downscaled to 1080p. Therefore, they do not accurately reflect the quality of the 4K content on the 4K Blu-ray disc, including the actual color values of this content.

Screencaptures 1-27: are taken from the 4K Blu-ray.
Screencaptures 29-40: are from the remastered Hong Kong Theatrical Cut, which is offered as a bonus feature in 1080p.

This release is sourced from the same 4K master that was used to produce this Blu-ray release in 2018. For the purpose of this article, I viewed the entire film with HDR.

I could copy ninety percent of the comments from our review of the 4K Blu-ray release of Police Story since they describe pretty well how I feel about this release. The only major addition would be that on Police Story 2 the overall color balance is even more unconvincing. The main issue -- which was extremely easy to recognize in 1080p as well -- is that virtually all whites are effectively replaced by the creamy yellowish tint, which does all sorts of different things that flatten various visuals. HDR makes this anomaly impossible to ignore because the dynamic range of these visuals isn't right. Also, the original cinematography of Police Story 2 handles various highlights in a slightly unusual way -- they appear softer and more condensed -- and the creamy yellowish tint essentially begins to flatten them. (The footage from the mall offers numerous examples). On top of this, there is that quite annoying digital flatness that emerges in areas with more prominent blacks, essentially leaving the impression that there is filtering mixed with crushing. (You can see an obvious example at 0:30.31). Needless to say, all of this is extremely disappointing because the 4K master is superb. Density levels and fluidity are at or around 'reference' levels and the surface of the visuals is spotless. My score is 3.25/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-Free 4K Blu-ray release).

Hong Kong Theatrical Cut

This version of the film has been remastered and is presented in 1080p. Clearly, someone attempted to bring it much closer to the original theatrical appearance of the film. It is not perfect, but it is vastly superior to the current "restored" version of the film. I attempted to match some screencaptures with the ones we used in our review of the original Blu-ray release of the film from 2018. They should give you a pretty good idea about the various issues that were introduced during the grading of the 4K master. Pay close attention to the dynamic range of the 1080p visuals, which is much, much better, and how delineation, clarity, and depth suddenly become a lot more impressive. These 1080p visuals all-around better organic appearance, and while still not perfect, look even better than the native 4K visuals with HDR.

Police Story 2 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are three standard audio tracks on this release: Cantonese: LPCM Mono, Cantonese: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, and English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. Optional English, subtitles are provided for the main feature. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.

These are the same audio options that were present on the previous Blu-ray release of Police Story 2, so this time I used plenty of the English dub track. Well, it is predictably wooden and often a bit flat, but this isn't exactly surprising. The important point that needs to be underscored is that is very healthy, so clearly if there were any age-related anomalies before, and most likely there were, they have been eliminated. The music sounded great.

Police Story 2 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary One - this exclusive new audio commentary was recorded by critics Frank Djeng and F.J. DeSanto. Predictably, there is plenty of information about the production history of Police Story 2 and the main two cuts (the Hong Kong theatrical cut is shorter), the different locations that are seen throughout the film, the chemistry between Jackie Chan and Maggie Cheung, the film's sense of humor and how it is preserved in the English dub, etc.

• Commentary Two - this exclusive new audio commentary was recorded by critics Mike Leeder and Arne Venema. It is another very enthusiastic commentary from this famous couple with various observations about the film's style and tone (for example, it is pointed out that while Police Story was a pure action film, Police Story 2 is more of a crime drama, which is true), how Hong Kong is depicted in the film and how it has changed, the various supporting actors and their careers, the action choreography, etc. I prefer this commentary.

• Commentary Three - this vintage audio commentary was recorded by film critic Miles Wood and stuntman and film critic Jude Poyer for the original theatrical Hong Kong cut of Police Story 2. Most viewers who own older home video releases of the film are almost certainly familiar with the commentary. The two critics deconstruct the film very nicely and, in the process, offer a wealth of information about its production history, Jackie Chan's career, and the Hong Kong film industry.

• Original Theatrical Hong Kong Cut of Police Story 2 - presented here is the slightly shorter original theatrical Hong Kong cut of Police Story 2. It is fully remastered and can be viewed with Cantonese Dolby Digital 1.0 or English Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks in 1080p. With English subtitles that appear inside the image frame. (106 min).

• Export Cut - presented here is a shorter export cut of Police Story 2. It can be viewed with English Dolby Digital 1.0 and Cantonese Dolby Digital 1.0 tracks. The opening credits are in standard definition, but the rest of the film is fully remastered and presented in 1080p. (96 min).

• Jackie Chan: Son of The Incredibly Strange Film Show - presented here is an archival episode of Son of The Incredibly Strange Film Show, which was shot during the production of Miracles - Mr. Canton and Lady Rose. The main topic is Jackie Chan's extraordinary athleticism and the qualities of his films. The episode is offered with the kind assistance of Jonathan Ross. In English, not subtitled. (42 min).

• Interview with Benny Lai - in this archival interview, martial arts specialist Benny Lai discusses his background and involvement with Police Story II. In Cantonese, with optional English subtitles. (16 min).

• Outtakes - a collection of hilarious but also quite dangerous and painful outtakes. With music. (6 min).

• Original Hong Kong Trailer - presented here is a vintage trailer for Police Story 2. With music. (4 min).

• Original Export Trailer - presented here is a vintage trailer for Police Story 2. In English. (3 min).

• Book - 100-page perfect bound collector's book featuring essays by James Oliver on each film, as well as archival materials, imagery, and ephemera.

• Cover - reversible sleeve artwork by R.P. "Kung Fu Bob" O'Brien.

• Case - limited edition hardcase featuring new artwork by R.P. "Kung Fu Bob" O'Brien.

Police Story 2 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I think that the current 4K restoration of Police Story 2 is problematic. However, on this 4K Blu-ray release, you can see a remastered presentation of the shorter Theatrical Hong Kong Cut of the film which is quite good. It brings the film much, much closer to where it needs to be, so you will see what could have been if the 4K restoration was graded right. For my money, while imperfect, this shorter version is the best looking presentation of the film that you can get on a home video release. The 4K Blu-ray release is included in this three-disc set, which will be out in a couple of weeks.