Long Arm of the Law 2 (省港旗兵續集) (1987)


	Long Arm of the Law 2		Return to Review Archive - L
	Chinese:	省港旗兵續集	Tsui Kam-Kong
	Year:	1987
	Director:	Michael Mak Tong-Kit
	Writer:	Philip Chan Yan-Kin
	Cast:	Alex Man Chi-Leung, Pauline Wong Siu-Fung, Tsui Kam-Kong, Lam Kwok-Bun, Kirk Wong Chi-Keung, Chan Ging
	The Skinny:	Like the first film, this unrelated sequel uses reality and ambiguity to affect and entertain. However, it's nowhere near as good.

	Review by Kozo:	This unrelated sequel can't live up to the original Long Arm of the Law. While the first film used realism to affect, entertain and disturb, this sequel resorts to clichés and contrived plot devices to further the story. The plot here is about the efforts of the HK Police to stop a rise in violent crime by illegal immigrants from China. Suspecting that a mastermind is behind the sudden crime wave, the Royal Hong Kong Police Force sends in three undercover cops to bust the crime ring. Like the first film, we learn about facets of police and criminal life in a starkly realistic fashion. And, the ultimate lesson is that being an undercover cop basically sucks. The film provides some brutal action and the darkness portrayed feels remarkably refreshing compared to the super happy endings Western cop films provide. Still, the final product pales in comparison to the first film, which was an exacting, affecting vision. This sequel is still involving and even gripping, but it's not the rollercoaster ride of the first one. (Kozo 2000)

	Availability:	DVD (Hong Kong) Region 0 NTSC Joy Sales 16x9 Anamorphic Widescreen Cantonese and Mandarin Language Tracks Dolby Digital 5.1 / DTS 5.1 Removable English and Chinese Subtitles *Also Available on Blu-ray Disc

		image courtesy of Mega Star Video Distribution, Ltd.
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