Project A 2 (1987)

(Directed by Jackie Chan)

"A sturdy followup to a classic!"- Signed by MartialHorror. 

Plot: The hero of the previous film is assigned to head the police force is Sai Wan, but finds himself having to fight off corrupt policemen, revolutionaries, agents of the government, gangsters and the remaining pirates of the group he defeated in the last film. Also known as "A' gai wak juk jap".

Review:

“Project A 2” is a movie that could be argued as either good or bad, and I believe there wouldn't be a 'correct' answer. The script is an absolute mess, but that's not really what works against it. The problem is that it's a sequel to “Project A”, which I (and many) consider to be up there with Jackie Chan's finest movies. At the absolute least, it probably contains some of his best stunts, which could not be topped. So how would “Project A 2” stand a chance against it? Simply, it doesn't. But despite being an utter mess as a movie, it does provide a lot of what we love about Jackie. In some ways, it might be a quintessential Jackie Chan movie. It's sloppy, but not in the ways that matter.

 

Dragon Mao (Jackie Chan) is transferred to Sai Wan to replace the previous Police Chief. This sort of confused me, as Mao was in the navy (they even say it; often), but whatever. The previous guy was Chun (David Lam) who was revealed to be a fraud when he tried to stage a robbery that he would stop and take the glory. Instantly Mao feels opposition. The police officers in the area range from useless to corrupt, and crime runs rampant. Soon, he finds himself at odds with them and the local gangsters. To make matters worse, the remaining pirates from the first film want revenge. To make matters even MORE worse, he gets caught up in a revolutionary scheme. To make matters EVEN MORE WORSE THAN BEFORE, Chun wants his old spot back and is scheming to take Dragon Mao out.

Um, convoluted much?

Seriously, way too much is going on in this movie. It sometimes feels like they were writing it as they filmed it. The film begins as a 'cop must win the respect of his underlings so they can kick gangster ass' film to a 'cop must choose between corrupt government and noble revolutionary sides' movie to a 'cop must kick corrupt cop ass' movie. The only reason I don't mention the pirates is that the film never really gives them much to do. "Project A 2" has no idea who it wants to focus on. It keeps changing its antagonists and even the other protagonists tend to drift in and out of the movie. Jackie's vanish early on, which is jarring as one is set up to be rather important. Characters are constantly introduced, but there's no real reason to care for them. They are often plot devices who are there to fill in the holes of the script, except even they can't plug it up. Everything about this script is messy, but at least the writer makes lots of room for action, which is what we want.

Indeed, the film redeems itself by having lots of action sequences. No, the stunts aren't as epic as before, but they're smooth and enjoyable. While often small scale (for Jackie), Jackie makes it look so easy to pull off. It's as if Jackie has nothing to prove here, so it somehow makes him seem more badass. The fights aren't the best that Jackie's choreographed, but they are very good. There are plenty of amusing scenarios involving them too. My favorite scene is when Jackie finds himself handcuffed to Chun and they have to escape a bunch of pirates. Although granted, I'm not sure why Chun suddenly forgets how to fight right there, but it's pretty exhilarating Stuff. “Projact A 2” is pretty funny and intense too, and I never felt the funnier parts were out of place. It's a fully enjoyable movie, if a bit forgettable compared to its predecessor.

Once the third act rolls around and the story practically implodes on itself, then things become a bit more memorable. The stunts become bigger and more dangerous. Once again, they're not as epic as "Police Story" and "Project A", but I'm not going to hold it against him for simply not being suicidal. Those films are gems that will never be topped for what they are, and "Project A 2" aims to be exciting while being less risky. But the finale contains epic stunt after stunt and the fights become sharper and more ambitious. It's not Jackie's best work, but it is very good work. Personally, I believe the films success is in its desire to entertain, not in its desire to surpass the original. I stress this because I felt the pacing was a bit tighter. "Project A" had some of Jackie's finest moments, but it also had some downtime too. While "Project A 2" takes some time to get moving, once it starts it rarely stops. 

That's really all I have to say. If you don't like kung fu movies, then you're going to be constantly eying the bad script. You're going to dislike its broken storyline and...actually, that's really the only major fault. But it is generally a HUGE fault. In general, detractors of Jackie or the genre itself tend to dislike his brand of humor, the weak plot, the bad acting (confused with the dubbing) and the static characters. While this film has all of that, if you watch it knowing you won't like it, then it's your fault and not the movies. If you're a kung fu fan, you might acknowledge the problems, but you'll hopefully forgive them. We watch Jackie Chan movies for the stunts and fight choreography, and while "Project A 2" might seem like a step down compared to its predecessor, it's only because its predecessor was just that amazing. "Project A 2" still delivers everything that we want out of a Jackie Chan movie: Lots of action, detailed fight choreography, acrobatic yet believable stunts, goofball humor and hopefully all of the above rolled up in one. It's the quintessential Jackie Chan movie because it has everything that we love about his films, while having everything bad about his films. Enjoying "Project A 2" really comes down to what you think of Jackie himself.

P.S: Obviously I don't speak for everyone though, so don't take that claim too seriously. This is just what "I" feel. 

Violence: PG-13 worthy. It can be fairly brutal at times.

Nudity: None. 

Overall: "Project A 2" isn't a good movie, but it is a very enjoyable movie and I would recommend it to fans of the original (which I'd recommend to...everyone).

 

3/4 Stars