While I
haven’t quite decided how I think it compares to Tokyo Raiders, I really enjoyed this movie. It’s a lot of fun to see Tony Leung Chiu-wai
as Lam again, and sure, the plot is pretty popcorn-flick, but I could watch
those action scenes all day.
When Lam
comes across a multi-million-dollar McGuffin – the “Avenger” Plate, for anyone
who cares to know – he steals it from the crooks who stole it in the first
place and attempts to return it for the reward money, only to be double-crossed
by the intelligence agents he was liaising with. He’s then recruited to tail the crooked agent
to South Korea and recover the plate before it can be sold to a notorious
gangster. Along the way, he acquires a
partner/rival in the form of J.J., a hungry young thief who’s eager to improve
her circumstances.
At first,
I found myself missing Macy and Yung from the first movie, as I hadn’t realized
that only Lam was carrying over.
Although I’d easily call Lam the franchise’s best asset, I did enjoy the
makeshift team-up vibe of the first film and had been expecting to see those
relationships continue. As the film went
on, however, I got invested enough in Lam’s dynamic with J.J. and Owen, the
agent who stole the plate, that I didn’t miss the old crew as much. And while the characters are different, I
enjoy the fact that Lam apparently has “an entourage of cute girls” he can
enlist to help him in any country, who are all devoted, resourceful, and
scrappy.
As in the
first film, the action scenes are the biggest selling point for me. You can certainly find greater skill/mastery
in other films, but the fights here have so much style and personality, enough
that you don’t really mind that the story is little more than an excuse to
string one fight scene after another together.
We’ve got fights in bath houses and subway cars, fights on escalators,
and fights involving dinner plates.
They’re endlessly fun and watchable and, for me, never feel repetitive.
With
Leung back as Lam, the film is anchored by his entertaining, charismatic
performance. It’s essentially just more
of the same from the first film, but I don’t mind that. They obviously aren’t
the kind of movies, and this isn’t the kind of character, where you expect
dramatic personal growth. You’re in it
to see Lam be smooth and cocky while simiultaneously a little ridiculous, and
the movie delivers handily on that front.
In
addition to the excellent fights, I like Leung’s breezy, mildly-adversarial
chemistry with Qi Shu, who plays J.J., and I love the offbeat notes of
humor. In particular, I like Lam’s
moment of pettiness with Owen on the subway, a ludricously-held pose in one of
the fights, and Leung’s 100% dedication to delivering the line, “There’s
nowhere to run with a naked butt.” Ha!
Recommend?
In
General
– I would. It’s not hight art, but it’s
hugely entertaining.
Tony
Leung Chiu-wai
– Yeah. While it’s nothing new from Tokyo Raiders, I love watching Leung in
this role.
Warnings
Lots of
violence, language, drinking, and thematic elements.
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