Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.5
Overall		3.5

Police Story 2 Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov May 4, 2019

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

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 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

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).

Police Story 2 Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

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.

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

• Hong Kong Version - presented here is a Hong Kong Version of the film, with a slightly shorter plot, that was newly remastered in 2K from a 35mm theatrical print. For additional comments on the quality of the presentation, please see the video section of our review. In Cantonese, with printed theatrical English subtitles. (Cantonese 1.0/106 min./1080p).

• Trailer - original trailer for Police Story 2. With music. (4 min, 1080p).

• 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. Included in it are clips from interviews with the superstar, manager Willie Chan, critic Rick Myers, and actress Maggie Cheung, amongst others. There is plenty of fascinating raw footage from various stunts that went terribly wrong, including the one that left Maggie Cheung with seventeen stitches on her head during the shooting of Police Story 2. The episode was broadcast on September 22, 1989. In English and Cantonese, with optional English subtitles.
  
  1. Hard work
  2. Not Bruce Lee
  3. Spectacular Stunts
  4. Fans

• Reinventing Action - in this new video program, Grady Hendrix, author and co-founder of the New York Asian Film Festival, discusses the martial arts film scene in Hong Kong before Jackie Chan's international success and the evolution of his work until Police Story and Police Story 2. There is also interesting information about the actor's business elationship with Golden Harvest. The program was created in 2019. In English, not subtitled. (21 min, 1080p).

• 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, 1080i).

• "L'opera de Pekin a Paris" - presented here is an archival episode of the French television program Edition speiale which focuses on the training work that performers of Bejing opera were required to do, which Jackie Chan likely did in the early stages of his career as well. The episode was broadcast on February 22, 1964. In Mandarin, with optional English subtitles. (12 min, 1080p).

• Stunt Reel - a collection of bloopers and behind-the-scenes footage from various risky stunts featuring Jackie Chan and members of his team. With music. (5 min. 1080i).

• Leaflet/Poster - featuring critic Nick Pinkerton's essay "Law and Disorder" and technical credits.

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

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.