Despite his one-man effort in nabbing the bad guys in the first film, all Ka-Kui earns is a humiliating demotion to traffic duty, not to mention constant harassment from the vengeful mobster he puts out of business. He decides to take a vacation with his girlfriend May (Maggie Cheung). However, when terrorists threaten Hong Kong, he has to abort his vacation plans and track down the suspects. During the process, May becomes their kidnap target. Ka-Kui confronts his adversaries to save his girl--and the day.

"Police Story 2" gives the audience top-notch stunt work, intricate fight scenes, and a touch of comedy here and there. Again, Chan is magic on the screen. Another gem for Hong Kong cinephiles and action lovers addicted to Chan's charm and screen gymnastics.

In a fit of pique at this lack of support, Ka-kui resigns from the force - only to find that his unique skills are sorely needed when a mad bomber strikes at soft targets like a shopping centre, resulting in mass panic. Episodic this certainly is, but standout fight sequences - such as the frenetic gangster rumble in a kiddies' playground park, demonstrate how director and star Chan uses the environment as an integral part of his choreography for some dynamic but knockabout stunt routines. Cheapo slapstick humour is well to the fore in other scenes where the often-hapless hero adopts a disguise (an obviously false moustache, and 'Clark Kent' style glasses) for undercover work.

Maggie Cheung (so good in Irma Vep) reprises her role as Ka-kui's neglected girlfriend, May - here kidnapped by the villains, so she's another excellent reason to see this. However, I should warn you that, as with a few other Asian movies, there are blatant product placement shots (Mitsubishi, Canon, etc) displayed on locations, and this intrusive form of advertising is likely to mar your enjoyment of the film...

Since the first movie was a huge success, it was only inevitable that there would be a sequel. Thankfully, it's about as good as the original. The pacing is very tight (again losing a little steam during the romantic bits) and the comedy (mostly supplied by veteran actor "Uncle" Bill Tung) is damn funny most of the time. Police Story 2 also differentiates itself from its predecessor by taking a darker tone. While it's not Crime Story, there's definitely an "edge" to PS2, especially during an extended torture scene. The action scenes are just as over-the-top as the first movie, ranking among some of the best of Chan's "mature" phase -- including one where Chan fights a deaf/mute pyrotechnics/martial arts expert (Bee), which results in a very explosive finale.

Keep a look out for cameos from many notable HK stars such as Ken Lo, Lau Ching-Wan and Michael Chan.