Shock Wave 2- An entertaining action movie

In short: A nice movie, with an original script, plenty of surprises, the right dose of love, and a slightly exaggerated dose of violence, but nothing excessive for what is fashionable nowadays.

The year 2020 seems to have been for Andy Lau the year of amnesias, as in no less than two films he plays a character who loses his memory. In both cases, more so in Endgame, it is a good resource to bring all his acting resources into play, but both films share another characteristic, being part of a cinema made in China (and Hong Kong) that moving away from the clichés to which viewers have become accustomed about oriental films, introduce a measure of normality in their cinematographies, aimed at satisfying both local and global audiences as part of a natural and unstoppable trend towards the internationalization of Chinese cinema.

Initially presented as just another crime film, a genre in which Hong Kong directors have achieved a certain mastery, almost completely ignored by Western audiences, the action becomes progressively more complicated. The film begins by introducing the Hong Kong police bomb squad, and within it, the policeman Poon Shing-Fung (Andy Lau), who in the second of the operations falls victim to a booby trap and loses one of his legs. Putting all his willpower into recovery, he manages to reach the highest physical levels with his prosthetic leg, but it is not enough to reinstate him in his post, being assigned instead to a back-office position. Not satisfied with the course of events, he makes a public protest, eventually leaving the police service.

Three years later, we see him planting an explosive device, which ends up exploding in a luxury hotel during a social event. He himself is found in a coma at the site of the attack, but when he wakes up he remembers absolutely nothing because of the trauma, he can’t even remember his own identity. While some of the police want to put him in jail for his perpetration, others in command suggest that he is in the middle of an undercover operation. Detective Poon manages to escape from the hospital in a spectacular one-footed getaway, and as he tries to find out who he really is and what has become of his life, both the police and a group of terrorists have made him a key player in carrying out their plans.

The discovery of his true identity completes the mysteries of a film that is characterized by its original approaches and the development of a somewhat original action.

Neither will it leave the viewer with his mouth open nor will it make him leave the screen convinced of having unraveled the meaning of existence, but he will leave the theater happy for having enjoyed a couple of hours of action cinema.

Original title 拆弹专家 2 – Explosives Specialist 2

Year: 2020

Duration 2 h.

Directed by: Herman Yau

Screenplay by: Herman Yau, Erika Li.

Cast:

Andy Lau as Poon Shing Fung

Ching Wan Lau as his partner Tung Cheuk Man

Ni Ni as Poon Ling, his girlfriend and later boss.