Summary
This sequel in name only the retro cross-generational appeal of the first film, not to mention that funky bass-slapping soundtrack, there’s still a slick series of set-pieces that make up an ultimately satisfying action thriller.
Given the period setting of Chasing the Dragon, it is little surprise that CHASING THE DRAGON 2: WILD WILD BUNCH (追龍II: 賊王) is a throwback in every sense of the word. Set just before the 1997 handover in Hong Kong, this old-school thriller brings back another great tradition: sequels with no discernible connection to their predecessor.
Criminal kingpin Logan (Tony Leung Ka-Fai) – based on the notorious Cheung Tze-keung – takes advantage of Britain’s benign neglect of pre-Handover Hong Kong, staging a series of high-profile kidnappings of the sons of Hong Kong regals. Detective Sky He (Louis Koo) goes undercover to infiltrate the gang.
Veteran writer/director Wong Jing re-teams with cinematographer/co-director Jason Kwan on this follow-up to the 2017 Donnie Yen/Andy Lau vehicle. Where that film was a era-spanning tale about cops and robbers on the frontier, and a remake of the award-winning 1991 film To Be Number One, this “sequel” is more of a thematic continuation of Hong Kong’s true crime stories. That said, aside from the backdrop of a real series of crimes, Wong and Kwan craft their own narrative.
Gone is the grainy retro aesthetic and funky gangsters (not to mention any trace of Donny Hathway’s ‘The Ghetto’). Instead Wong and Kwan adopt the action stylings that have served the Hong Kong industry well for the last few decades: a slick series of montages of criminal activities culminating in a ridiculously tense series of high-speed car chases, shoot-outs, and literal ticking time bombs. Indeed, it’s the latter trio strung together that makes up the film’s climax, and it’s a cracker.
While it’s not quite the mega-pairing of Andy Lau and Donnie Yen, the union of of Tony Leung Ka-Fai and Louis Khoo makes for a charismatic duo. It unfortunate that one of the few female characters, Sky’s handler Bunny (Sabrina Qiu Yinong), is used primarily as eye candy in a series of skimpy outfits. She does, however, get to face-off against Sky in an early car chase that’s reminiscent of early Bond.
WILD WILD BUNCH‘s focus on a single era sets it apart from the first film in what could rapidly become an anthology series, kind of a Chinese version of American Crime Story. While some of Cheung’s antics have been alternatively sensationalised for the cameras and sanitised for the censors, there’s a solid crime thriller in here that should satisfy fans of retro fun.
2019 | Hong Kong | DIRECTOR: Wong Jing, Jason Kwan | WRITERS: Wong Jing, Lui Koon Nam, Chan Kin Hung | CAST: Tony Leung Ka-Fai, Louis Koo, Sabrina Qiu | DISTRIBUTOR: China Lion| RUNNING TIME: 110 minutes | RELEASE DATE: 13 June 2019 (AUS)
