Movie Review: Project A 2 (1987) directed by Jackie Chan
Sergeant “Dragon” Ma (Jackie Chan) may have smashed the pirate fleet menacing Hong Kong a few weeks ago, but a policeman’s lot is not a happy one. It seems that Superintendant Chun (David Lam)is suspected of being heavily corrupt. Organized crime in his district operates freely, and periodic spectacular arrests by Chun have done little to stem the tide. Indeed, a planned arrest goes wrong when a civilian accidentally dies and Chun is forced to gun down the arrestees in the street to keep them from talking. This raises questions, and Ma is sent into the district to try and get the goods on the superintendent.
Sure enough, Ma and his handpicked squad discover that the local cops are raking in bribes and ignoring real crime while harassing flower girls. Only one officer at the precinct house proves to be honest. With a little help from his old Coast Guard buddies, Ma is able to arrest the district’s top gambling czar. This raises Chun’s ire, and the crooked cop schemes against his unwanted underling.
Multiple factions come into play: crooked cops, honest cops, gangsters, revolutionaries (one of whom is Maggie Cheung), imperial agents hunting the revolutionaries…and the last few survivors of the pirates, who have sworn vengeance against Ma. Can the Dragon unravel this twisted knot of fate and bring justice back to Hong Kong?
This sequel to the very popular Project A film is missing Sammo Hung and his character, who is never mentioned, but manages to be a lot of fun anyway. There’s a good mix of action and comedy. A long section in the middle is about too many people trying to hide from each other in a small house, there’s a pretty hilarious chase scene where Ma and Chun are handcuffed together while pirates attack, and then a very long fight scene that involves several innovative environments is the big climax.
Don’t miss Jackie Chan singing the theme song over the closing credits while the bloopers play!
Content note: In addition to the expected martial arts violence, there are a few scenes of women in fin de sicle undergarments, which is racy in context. The female characters are otherwise treated as competent, especially Maggie Cheung as an idealistic revolutionary.
Topical: Sergeant Ma makes a case for the necessity of the police being apolitical; Maggie’s character points out that she’s known very few police officers that actually live up to his principles. (And indeed, we see what normally happens to good cops that try to expose bad cops.)
Overall, a fun martial arts film for Jackie Chan fans.
