Kill Zone 2: Sometimes the wrong things happen at the right time.
This is a sequel in name only to the Hong Kong produced film
SPL, which was renamed Kill Zone in America. The sequel’s title
in Hong Kong is SPL II: A Time for
Consequences. The original featured martial arts legends Donnie Yen and
Sammo Hung as the main characters. The only returning actors are Jing Wu and
Simon Yam, but in different roles as in the first film. The storyline is also completely
new and introduces cast members Tony Jaa and Zhang Jin.
The narrative is a complex crime triangle that involves
human organ trafficking, an undercover Hong Kong cop (Jing Wu) who ends up in a
Thai prison, and a Thai prison guard (Tony Jaa) who is working to cover medical
expenses for his sick daughter. All of the people involved are unknowingly
connected to each other somehow.
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| Why do you stray from smelling my foot? |
This is simply an outstanding movie. It combines the serious
crime and drama elements of Infernal
Affairs with the bone-crunching action of the original Kill Zone and The Raid 2.
The script is solid, the acting is excellent, the production values and
location scenery are great and stylish, the camera angles and editing are
superb, the action is intense and visceral, and the score is brilliant.
This has to be by far Jing Wu’s best performance. He shines
in the first Kill Zone in his one spectacular
knife fight scene, as a villain against Donnie Yen. In this, he plays one of
the main roles and shows both his dramatic and martial arts skills. The same
could be said for Tony Jaa, who has not impressed lately with the disappointing
Tom Yum Goong 3 and a minor
appearance in Fast and Furious 3.
While his martial arts abilities are not on the same level as when he first
broke out in Ong Bak, he delivers on
the acting side with some emotional scenes involving his sick child. Simon Yam
once again gives a dependable performance as usual, having been credited in
over 200 pictures now. Jin Zhang is awesome as the ultimate villain and easily
out-badasses most of the movie comic villains of recent memory.
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| Let's dance, motha f#@$ahhhh!!! |
The multiple action sequences truly deliver and kick loads
of butt. They may not be on the same level as the original, or the likes of The Raid, but they are pretty close. If
anything, this easily has the best action scenes of the year so far. Yes, they
are better than any of the ones that the big comic movies have delivered so
far. There are several major fights, including a gun battle that occurs in an airport
and a long prison riot involving a phone and one long continuous take. This all
builds to a totally epic final one, involving Jaa and Wu taking on multiple bad
guys in a stylish white building while a beautiful orchestral score is playing by
the China Philharmonic. There is use of some wire work throughout that
personally I would have rather not seen used, but it doesn’t detract from the
action.
Bottom line, this is hands-down the best action that you’re
going to see so far this year. This gives me hope that the Hong Kong motion
picture industry is on the upswing and that we will start seeing some more high
quality productions coming from them.
Score
-Raul VanTassle