InCinemas SG

Opening Date

11 Jul 2019

Rating

NC16 Drug Use & Violence

Runtime

90 mins

Language

Mandarin with English & Chinese subtitles

Genre

Action, Crime

Director

Herman Yau

Cast

Andy Lau, Louis Koo, Michael Miu, Karena Lam, Cherrie Ying

Synopsis

There is an iron rule in the Ching Hung Gang: No drug dealing. The gang leader, Yu Nam, has two right-hand men, Yu Shun-Tin, smart and sober adherent of principles and loyalty; the other is Jizo, a cold-blooded but wise man who secretly keeps running drug business without Nam’s knowledge.

Years ago, a police couple, Fung and his wife, was inspecting Jizo’s nightclub, and the wife was killed in the operation. On the same night, ordered by the top leader, Tin taught Jizo a lesson by cutting off one of his fingers and expelled him from the gang. Meanwhile, due to Tin’s dangerous lifestyle, his girlfriend vanished without a trace. After that, Tin swore to change sides.

15 years later, the local drug market is now quadripartite. Jizo becomes the biggest drug dealer in Hong Kong, while Tin has now changed into a financial tycoon and a philanthropist. Tin is offering a 100 million bounty to eliminate the #1 drug dealer in Hong Kong. It causes a stir in the society and underworld. Inevitably, a battle between the two will ignite!

Reviews

By Jason Lin 11 Jul 2019

With an entirely different story as a standalone film despite its title, The White Storm 2 – Drug Lords showcases the brutal effects of narcotics and the detrimental impact they have on societies.

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With an entirely different story as a standalone film despite its title, The White Storm 2 – Drug Lords showcases the brutal effects of narcotics and the detrimental impact they have on societies. Helmed by Hong Kong filmmaker Herman Yau, the film examines the complexity of the drug syndicate industry as well as its interface with the authorities.

Casting two of Hong Kong’s biggest actors in this film, Andy Lau (who also produces the film) plays Yu Shun-Tin who used to be in the triads but eventually quit to become a successful and influential figure and philanthropist. Having suffered and lost loved ones to drugs, Tin seeks to support the war against drugs. Having infuriated his triad brother-in-arms Jizo (Louis Koo) who was accused of meddling with drugs, he became the exact opposite – one of the biggest drug lords in Hong Kong.

Caught in the middle is anti-narcotics officer Fung (Michael Miu Kiu-wai) who finds himself having to police both figures by the law. Yau invests in his core characters by developing both Tin and Jizo exponentially into two powerful and bipolar forces. A convoluted drug war ensues where it becomes difficult to tell who is responsible for the sabotages.

Yau takes the opportunity to demonstrate scale and skills as impressive crime action set pieces to explode on the silver screen to grip and entertain. Some of the best scenes include a car chase inside a crowded underground metro station in Hong Kong.

Stakes are also heightened as Yau devises a heavy dosage of action and drama that allows the audience to sink in. This is highly driven by the determined performances by Lau and Koo that lure viewers to become invested in the plot and characters where emotions soar to greater heights with every minute.

Returning to the film’s theme, the core issue is a rather complex one that cannot be simply resolved by a linear solution. While the blame is mostly cast upon the drug lords, it is after a booming business of supply and demand. Despite the authorities’ painstaking effort to clamp down narcotics, new players will always emerge and enter as long as there is demand. This might just be a point made to the Philippines’ strategy towards tackling drugs in their country, which is also briefly referred to in Yau’s film.

At the end of it all, many might be expecting an eventual winner emerging from the drug war. Whether one decides to go all out or to go by the books, the war against drugs will transit into various states of outcomes depending on the dynamic shift of power, politics and resources invested. Yau pitted two powerful characters against each other who are slowly worn out in the process.

No matter what outcome is established, everyone loses in the end.

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The White Storm 2 Drug Lords
掃毒2 天地對決

Opening Date

Rating

Runtime

Language

Genre

Director

Cast

Synopsis

Reviews

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Everything Else

Get Showtimes

The White Storm 2 Drug Lords掃毒2 天地對決

Opening Date

Rating

Runtime

Language

Genre

Director

Cast

Synopsis

Reviews

Trailers / Videos

Everything Else

The White Storm 2 Drug Lords
掃毒2 天地對決