Rating	PG13 Some Violence
Language	Mandarinwith English & Chinese subtitles
Genre	Action, Crime, Thriller
Director	Sunny Luk, Longman Leung
Cast	Chow Yun Fat, Aaron Kwok, Tony Leung Ka-Fai, Eddie Peng, Charlie Young, Janice Man, Aarif Rahman, Yo Yang, Fan Zhibo, Wu Yue
Synopsis	“Cold War”, the codename for the rescue operation of the five kidnapped police officers, is deemed a partial success. Despite the political outcry, the risky rescue led by Acting Police Commissioner Sean Lau (Aaron Kwok) gains him promotion to the highest rank in the police force, yet causes Deputy Police Commissioner M.B. Lee (Tony Leung Ka Fai) his reputable career. Joe Lee (Eddie Peng), son of M.B. and the sole suspect of the kidnapping, is captured and taken into custody. The case remains an unsolved mystery, and Sean is hell-bent on uncovering the details. Sean’s family gets in crossfire, forcing him to make the toughest decision of his life: exchange Joe’s freedom for his family’s safety. With his career now on the line, Sean faces an impeachment proceeding that includes Oswald Kan (Chow Yun Fat), an influential senior counsel and an independent member of the judicial council. He becomes the key figure in determining Sean’s fate, and it is unknown whether he is friend or foe. Sean’s adversaries within the police force, in an attempt to bring down his career, are desperate to get Oswald on their side. With enemies moving from the street and into the political arena, the real kingpin, who’s been lurking in the dark all along, is slowly bringing his masterplan into play.

REVIEWS

By Jason Lin 07 Jul 2016

Cold War 2 may be too much for an already sophisticated screenplay, but definitely a good premise for another sequel that is highly likely given the film’s suggestive ending.

read more

After a massive sweeping of awards at the 32nd Hong Kong Film Awards, 2012’s Cold War ticked the boxes of several major artistic and technical excellences. It clearly proved to be an all-rounded competent film – including directing, scripting, sound design and original film scoring. Cold War 2 reflects a similarly strong ambition to outperform its predecessor.

Led by co-directors and co-screenwriters Longman Leung and Sunny Luk, Cold War 2 continues from the cliffhanger that concluded the first film with another complex storyline of political strife in an attempt to manipulate Hong Kong’s political structure.

This power play by some high-level mastermind(s) involves multi-layered ploys to allow the legislative system to influence authority by appointing pre-deployed candidates. Such is the level of deceit that is needed in order to go undetected, which appears to be supported by countless senior representatives from the police, legislative council, business sectors and other institutions.

“I will not be allowed to be played as a pawn in their game”, says Hong Kong superstar Chow Yun Fat who plays a senior legal council Oswald Kan when he smells something amiss. Chow makes one of the film’s most magnetic screen presences, one that is much required by his character of old-school principles navigating a convoluted society today.

Chow’s character makes one of the new major additions to the film, which are seen as necessary upgrades to reflect higher stakes at hand in a grander scheme. Bright and passionate junior legal practitioner Au (Janice Man) is juxtaposed against that of crime terrorist and ex-police officer Joe Lee (Eddie Peng). Both are brought up by fatherly figures of great influence and stature in society, which provides food for thought towards these two examples of youth in society today.

The main protagonist of the first two films undergoes stress as Hong Kong Police Commissioner Sean Lau (Aaron Kwok) loses part of his logical cool (a personality signature trait seen in the first film) this time as his enemies go all out to torment and break him. Subjecting him to the same plight that ex-Deputy Police Commissioner MB Lee (Tony Leung) went through in the first film, Cold War 2 allows us to see if Lau will similarly abuse authority and violate protocols given the involvement of his wife and daughter’s safety.

Through Lau’s onscreen performance under stressful situations, the film has hinted at how legislation is but a tool wielded by human factors. As long as one upholds strong and firm beliefs in the right principles and values, extreme measures may be exercised with discretion to neutralise national threats.

However, the judicial system is introduced for the very purpose of providing a mechanism of check and balance in a civil society. One should be reminded that accountability comes before authority, as it is very easy to lose sight of the core mission and values (interesting, the Hong Kong Police Vision “We serve with pride and care” appeared a number of times in the film throughout the 119-minute running time).

Along with quality technical excellence in sound and visual effects, Cold War 2 is a proficient dramatisation of current-day politics with thrilling action. An elaborate shooting scene in an underground road tunnel provides much to enjoy.

It only falls short of referencing possible Chinese involvement as masterminds given the current “one country, two systems” political tension. It may be too much for an already sophisticated screenplay, but definitely a good premise for another sequel that is highly likely given the film’s suggestive ending.
read less

TRAILERS

Get Showtimes

Cold War 2

Golden Village - Vivocity