When it comes to sequels, there are those that standout as being equal if not better than the original. Some of the more obvious choices would be The Godfather Part II (1974), Aliens (1986) and Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991).
Personally I have my own favourites. Recently I was re-watching the Mission Impossible series and realised I much prefer John Woo’s Mission Impossible 2 (2000) than Brian De Palma’s first movie. Now some may laugh as it's not a classic, but the visual flair Woo brought to the actin accompanied with Tom Cruise’s willingness to put himself in harm's way impressed me much more than De Palma’s dialogue heavy original.
There are also the likes of Hong Kong action classics Tiger Cage 2 (1990) and Long Arm of the Law 2: Part 2 (1987), both of which take what was good about the original and improve upon them.
I can now add Herman Yau’s Shock Wave 2 (2020) to this list, which improves upon the already impressive original. With its mixture of morally complex characters and exciting action scenes, Shock Wave 2 takes everything that was good about the original film and ramps it up to 11.
Those who watched Yau’s original may be surprised that Shock Wave (2017) even has a sequel as the climax of that film was pretty finite. Like many HK film classics, such as the aforementioned Long Arm of the Law 2: Part 2, Shock Wave 2 is a thematic sequel, containing many of the same themes and elements as the original but featuring an altogether new cast of characters and plot.
Herman Yau and Andy Lau had done something similar the previous year with White Storm 2: The Drug Lords (2019), which had nothing to do with Benny Chan’s original The White Storm (2013) other than terrific action scenes and featuring one of its cast members..
At least with Shock Wave 2 it shares the same star and director in Andy Lau and Herman Yau. Speaking of The White Storm, Shock Wave 2 even brings along that film's leading man Lau Ching-wan a.k.a. Sean Lau, giving the film even more star power than the original.
Sometimes the idea of a thematic sequel is preferable to a direct continuation, as the filmmakers aren’t bogged down with trying to follow what has come before and are free to take the plot in unexpected directions.
Here Andy Lau once again plays a bomb disposal officer, although his character Poon Sing-fung is quite different from the first film's Cheung Choi-san. Extremely bitter after losing his leg during an operation five years ago, Poon feels that the Hong Kong Police have thrown him aside in order to retain their image.
With his rage increasing he seemingly joins terrorist organisation “Vendetta” who he feels will assist him in making the Hong Kong Police answer for what he perceives as their betrayal. He tries to place a bomb at a high end hotel but is spotted by security guards. In the ensuing fight Poon ends up injured in his own bomb’s explosion, with it resulting in him suffering from amnesia.
From here Poon’s true motives become unclear, with there being more to his motives than meets the eye. Has he truly become a terrorist or are there other factors in play. Old friend and fellow bomb disposal officer Tung Cheuk-man (Lau Ching-wan) finds it hard to fathom that his friend could become a cold blooded killer and tries to support him, whereas Poon’s ex girlfriend Pong Ling (Ni Ni) has other ideas, devising a plan to use Poon to stop Vendetta and catch its mysterious leader “ Maverick” (Tse Kwan-ho).
Now Poon must try to recover his memories and piece them together in order to find out the truth. As his memories start to come back it becomes a race against time to stop “Vendetta” from completing their mission.
Shock Wave 2 was produced back in 2019, with its intended release being mid 2020. Surprise surprise, the Covid-19 pandemic put a stop to that, with it finally securing its release in China in December 2020 although it was still a few months after before it could open in Hong Kong.
Even with its scattered release, Shock Wave 2 still became the highest grossing Hong Kong movie to ever be released in China as well as being the highest grossing domestic film of 2020 in Hong Kong.
Upon viewing the movie it isn’t hard to see why it has done so well. Of course the star power of Andy Lau obviously has something to do with it, with the perpetually youthful actor throwing himself into the part. The morally complex Poon gives the veteran star a lot to play with, with it not always being clear what his motives are.
Through some flashbacks we get to see his frustration at his disability, with him pushing his friends away. He isn’t exactly likeable in these scenes, with his treatment of girlfriend Pong being especially cruel. Still, even then I was still wanting to see him succeed and hoped that he wasn’t the villain that he was being painted as.
Lau doesn’t let the fact that his character only has one leg slow him down, with him putting in an extremely energetic show. Lau is constantly running, jumping and fighting and puts men half his age to shame. His most memorable action scene is his escape from hospital where members of “Vendetta” show up to free him.
Unsure of who he can trust, Lau fights against whoever gets in his way, while at the same time trying to make it to the Physio department so he can replace his false leg. Featuring a mixture of hand to hand combat, dangerous stunt work and expertly choreographed gunplay it is probably the film's most impressive action scene.
This isn’t to say there aren’t other standouts. There are a handful of exciting chases and tense standoffs before we reach the hair-raising climax, where our heroes race towards Hong Kong’s MTR and International Finance Centre to stop “Maverick”.
Nicky Li Chung-Chi takes over the action choreography from the first movie’s Dion Lam Dik-On. It’s no surprise the action is first rate with his involvement, with his work on earlier classic SPL 2: A Time of Consequences (2015) being a prime example of his talent. Only the use of some digital blood lets things down slightly but it is thankfully not too obtrusive.
Written once again by director Herman Yau and screenwriter Erica Li (alongside Eric Lee), Shock Wave 2’s moral ambiguity around its lead character is what sets this entry apart from the original film and makes for a more interesting experience. Out of the three films Lau and Yau have recently collaborated on, I personally found Shock Wave 2 the most satisfying.
Clearly Yau has developed a script which includes some of his own views of the State and how its citizens are treated but has smartly been able to weave these into a mainstream actioner. Now I'm not saying that he has included some political diatribe here, just that he has been able to add some depth into what could have otherwise been a brainless blockbuster.
Saying all this, Shock Wave 2 isn’t perfect and does have some shortcomings. Lau Ching-wan is underused in his supporting role, although he still gives the role his all as Poon’s best friend, loyally sticking by him even when it looks like he could possibly be a villain.
The same is true of Philip Keung who returns from the first film albeit in a different role. As the dogged cop on Poon’s trail, I would have liked to have seen more of him, especially considering he was one of the most enjoyable aspects of the first film. Keung even won best supporting actor at the Hong Kong Film Awards for his role in the first movie. Still, like Lau Ching-wan, Keung commands attention whenever on screen even if its isn’t as much as I would have liked.
Ni Ni gets a somewhat meatier role as Poon’s conflicted ex, who isn’t sure if she is doing the right thing but can see no other way in stopping “Vendetta”. There is quite the age gap between the 31 year old Ni Ni and that of Lau, who at the time of production would have been 58. However this never becomes an issue or even apparent which is to the credit of the actors. Or maybe it's to do with Andy Lau not ageing. Either way their relationship is believable.
I must say, the lead villain does come across as somewhat weak. This has nothing to do with actor Tse Kwan-ho, just that “Maverick” never appears as much of a threat as I felt he should, although his numerous henchmen certainly make up for it.
Shock Wave 2 is certainly one of the better action films of the year. Perhaps I am giving the film more credit due to being disappointed by a number of more high profile releases but audiences will certainly enjoy the mixture of large scale action and quality acting on show.
Unsurprisingly a Shock Wave 3 has already been announced, once again to star Andy Lau. I swear this man doesn’t sleep, with him having numerous films currently on the go, with the upcoming Once Upon a Time in Hong Kong (2021) being a clear highlight. Reteaming him with Infernal Affairs (2002) co star Tony Leung Chiu-wai and written and directed by Infernal affairs’ Felix Chong it is surely one of the most anticipated crime thrillers of the year.
It is unclear of when it is due for release, and it may face a name change as this year already has another Once Upon a Time In Hong Kong, funny enough starring the other Tony Leung, Tony Leung Ka-fai.
Rating: 4/5
Disclaimer: I wrote this review back in 2021 for another web site. At that time it had yet to be released in the UK. Since then it has been released by Cine Asia under the title Shock Wave: Hong Kong destruction. Other than the unnecessary title change its is an otherwise quality release. Additionally, there are some films I speak of that were upcoming in 2021 which unfortunately haven't seen the light of day.
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