7.2 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Having been demoted to a lowly traffic cop for his, unorthodox policing methods, officer Ka-Kui quits the force in protest. But it isn't long before he's back in action, racing the clock to stop a band of serial bombers and win back his much-put-upon girlfriend May.
Starring: Jackie Chan, Maggie Cheung, Kwok-Hung Lam, Bill Tung, John CheungForeign | 100% |
Martial arts | 33% |
Crime | 23% |
Comedy | Insignificant |
Action | Insignificant |
Thriller | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Cantonese: LPCM Mono
Cantonese: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps)
Cantonese: Dolby Digital Mono
English
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 4.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Jackie Chan's "Police Story 2" (1988) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the disc include an original trailer; new remaster of the Hong Kong Version of the film; archival program featuring martial arts specialist Benny Lai; new interview with author Grady Hendrix; and additional archival footage. In Cantonese or English, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".
Traffic cop
Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Jackie Chan's Police Story arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.
The following text appears inside the leaflet that is provided with this Blu-ray release:
"These 4K digital restorations (for Police Story and Police Story II) were undertaken by Fortune Star Media Limited at L'Immagine Ritrovata in Bologna, Italy. New digital transfers were created from the 35mm original camera negatives on an ARRISCAN film scanner.
Police Story's monaural soundtrack was restored from the original soundtrack negative, and its mix was confirmed against an out-of-print DVD track provided by Irongod2112 and sourced from a Japanese laserdisc release. The alternate English-dubbed soundtrack for Police Story is a fan-preferred monaural dub featuring original voice performances from the 1980s and was also provided by Irongod2112 from a Dutch VHS. The 5.1 surround soundtracks for both films were provided by Fortune Star Media Limited.
A new digital transfer of the Hong Kong-release version of Police Story 2 was created in 2K resolution from a subtitled 35mm print supplied by the American Genre Film Archive. The transfer is presented with minimal restoration, leaving scratches and damaged and missing frames intact, to convey the character of the film element."
4K Restoration - Obviously, the release is sourced from the same 4K remaster that Eureka Entertainment used for this Region-B release of Police Story 2, so the basic characteristics of the presentation are the same. However, on the Region-B release the gamma levels appear slightly elevated, while here they are set differently and as a result the overall dynamic range of the visuals is better. Why is this important? Because in certain areas the adjustment minimizes some of the negative effects that were introduced during the grading process when the master was finalized, and the digital flatness for instance appears toned down (compare screencaptures #11 and 18 with the corresponding screencaptures from our review of the other release). To be clear, the color values and the overall temperature of the visuals remain the same, so the adjustment does not correct the black crush, the problematic nuances, etc. Density levels are very strong. Grain is wonderfully exposed and resolved as well. The entire film looks stable and virtually spotless. Ultimately, the density and stability of the 4K master are superb, so with a proper color grading job the end result could have been quite the revelation.
Hong Kong Version - This is a bonus presentation that only big fans of Police Story 2 will appreciate. As the quoted technical credits above reveal, old theatrical subtitles are retained and plenty of small nicks and scratches remain. However, the visuals have strong organic qualities and on a larger screen actually look rather impressive. Density levels, in particular, are surprisingly consistent. Screencaptures #27-36 are from this version of the film. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).
There are three standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: Cantonese: LPCM Mono, Cantonese: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit), English: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps). Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame. The Hong Kong Version has a Cantonese Dolby Digital 1.0 track. It also comes with printed theatrical English subtitles.
The lossless Cantonese Mono track sounds great. Clarity, depth, and overall balance are solid, and there isn't even a whiff of any age-related anomalies. (I usually pay attention to the upper register because this is the area where older soundtracks usually become vulnerable, but all is well here). If you are not a purist, you should also experiment with the lossless 5.1 track it has improved separation and dynamic fields that make some of the action sound quite a bit more intense.
This new release of Police Story 2 is sourced from the same 4K remaster that was initially used for this Region-B release from 2018. I find the technical presentation of the film slightly better here, but my opinion of the 4K restoration remains unchanged. On the other hand, fans of the film will be pleased to hear that the release features a new presentation of the Hong Kong Version, which comes from a fresh 2K remaster. Police Story and Police Story 2 are gathered in this two-disc set.
Ging chaat goo si juk jaap
1988
Police Story II / Ging chaat goo si juk jaap
1988
(Still not reliable for this title)
警察故事 / Ging chaat goo si
1985
'A' gai wak juk jaap / 'A' ji hua xu ji / A計劃續集
1987
The Way of the Dragon | 猛龍過江 | Collector's Edition
1972
Armour of God II: Operation Condor / Fei jing gai wak / Project Eagle
1991
警察故事3超級警察 / Gíng chaat gu sih sāam: Chīu kāp gíng chaat | Standard Edition
1992
Sing si lip yan / Chéng shì liè rén / 城市獵人
1993
Fuk sing go jiu / Fu xing gao zhao / 福星高照
1985
Serbuan Maut
2011
Zui quan
1978
The Big Boss | 唐山大兄 | Collector's Edition
1971
红番区 / Hung fan kui / Hóng Fān Qū
1995
The Armour of God / Lung hing foo dai
1986
太極張三豐 / Twin Warriors
1993
Sai hak chin / Xi hei qian / 洗黑錢
1990
Shuang long hui
1992
The Legend of Drunken Master / 醉拳 II / Jui kuen II / Warner Archive Collection
1994
Gekitotsu! Satsujin ken / 激突!殺人拳
1974
Fai can che / Kuài cān chē / 快餐車
1984
一個好人 / Yat goh ho yan / Warner Archive Collection
1997
The Raid 2: Berandal
2014