Cold War 2 (film)
Cold War 2 is a 2016 Hong Kong-Chinese crime thriller film written and directed by Longman Leung and Sunny Luk. The film is a sequel to the 2012 box office hit, Cold War, and stars returning cast members Aaron Kwok, Tony Leung, Charlie Young, Eddie Peng, Aarif Rahman and Ma Yili, joined by new cast members Chow Yun-fat, Janice Man, Tony Yang and Bibi Zhou. Cold War 2 was released on 8 July 2016 in 2D, 3D and IMAX 3D.[2][3]
| Cold War 2 | |
|---|---|
 Official film poster | |
| Traditional | 寒戰II |
| Simplified | 寒战II |
| Mandarin | Hán Zhàn Èr |
| Cantonese | Hon4 Zin3 Ji6 |
| Directed by | Longman Leung Sunny Luk |
| Produced by | William Kong Ivy Ho Jiang Ping Zhao Haicheng Fan Kim-hung |
| Written by | Jack Ng Longman Leung Sunny Luk |
| Starring | Aaron Kwok Tony Leung Chow Yun-fat Charlie Young Janice Man Eddie Peng Aarif Rahman Tony Yang Chang Kuo-chu Wu Yue Fan Zhibo Ma Yili Bibi Zhou |
| Music by | Peter Kam |
| Cinematography | Jason Kwan |
| Edited by | Jordan Goldman Ron Chan |
Production company | Irresistible Films Edko Films EDKO (Beijing) Distribution Shanghai Tencent Penguin Pictures China Film Co. Homeland Pictures |
| Distributed by | Edko Films |
Release date |
|
Running time | 110 minutes |
| Country | Hong Kong China |
| Language | Cantonese English |
| Box office | US$115 million[1] |
Plot
The Hong Kong Police Force holds a funeral for two superintendents killed during the previous film. Shortly after, the commissioner Sean Lau (Aaron Kwok) receives a call from one of the culprits behind the theft of the police van. He is told that his wife has been kidnapped and that he must release Joe Lee (Eddie Peng) for her to survive. Lau overrides standard procedure to transfer Joe out of prison, and is told by the kidnapper to bring Joe to the metro station. There, Joe is able to escape with the aid of several accomplices, one of whom sets off a bomb. The culprits leave Lau's wife alive at the station.
Lau's actions are criticized by the media and by numerous politicians, leading to a public inquiry. Fearing that the police have been infiltrated, Lau privately requests Billy Cheung (Aarif Rahman), an ICAC agent who assisted him in the previous movie, to form a separate squad independent of the police, so they can track down the culprits. Meanwhile, MB Lee (Tony Leung), a deputy police commissioner who is about to retire, who is also the father of Joe, is confronted by his fugitive son along with Peter Choi (Chang Kuo-chu), a former commissioner who is now manipulating politics behind the scenes. Choi is revealed as the mastermind behind the troubles of the previous film, and his current goal is to remove Lau, who is not a member of his ring, and to place his own followers into positions of power during the next election. Choi has formed a militant band consisting of former police officers who were expelled or faked their own deaths. He promises Lee not only the position of commissioner, but also of security secretary later on, upon which Lee gives into temptation.
A legislator named Oswald Kan (Chow Yun-fat) is convinced by his old friend Lai (Waise Lee), the secretary of justice, to participate in the public inquiry into Lau, but is taken aback when Lee openly criticizes Lau, rather than defending him, which he was supposed to do initially . Kan deduces that Lee is being controlled, and tells his pupils to investigate, one of whom, Bella Au (Janice Man), decides to secretly follow Lee, and later Choi whom Lee confers with. Realizing that they are being followed, Choi orders a subordinate to crash into Au's car, causing a chain collision in which Au is killed, and Choi's car is trapped. Lau arrives to investigate, and a shoot-out occurs, in which Joe is shot and severely injured by Lau, but Choi escapes. Kan finds a photograph taken by Au of Choi and Lee together.
Lau's independent squad finds the location of Choi's remaining henchmen and the stolen police van. Lee, meanwhile, convinces or bribes several senior police officers to sign a petition for Lau's removal. In the final hours before Lau steps down, he launches a raid on the henchmen, and requests that Lee take command, noting that, since the henchmen are renegade police officers formerly under Lee, Lee would best know their strategies. Lee accepts, knowing that he cannot refuse without looking weak, but since he is secretly close friends with those henchmen, killing them taxes him emotionally. The operation is a success, with all suspects killed, and Kan and Lau report Lee's and Choi's crimes to the chief executive, who decides to grant amnesty to Lee and Choi, since they are too important to arrest without destabilizing society. Lee is forced into retirement, and Choi is permanently exiled from Hong Kong, but otherwise, their exact crimes are never disclosed to the public. Lau retains his office as commissioner, and Lee visits his son, who is in custody, and lying in a bed at the hospital.
Cast
- Aaron Kwok as Sean Lau (劉傑輝), Commissioner of Police
- Tony Leung Ka-fai as M.B. Lee (李文彬), Ex-deputy Commissioner of Police
- Chow Yun-fat as Oswald Kan (簡奧偉), Ex-judge, Court of First Instance of High Court / Senior Counsel / Legislator
- Charlie Young as Phoenix Leung (梁紫薇), Senior Assistance Commissioner (Management Service)
- Janice Man as Isabel Au (歐詠恩), Barrister
- Eddie Peng as Joe Lee (李家俊), Ex-police constable
- Aarif Rahman as Billy Cheung (張國標), ICAC Principal Investigator
- Tony Yang as Roy Ho, Ex-Senior Police Constable
- Chang Kuo-chu as Peter Choi (蔡元祺), Ex-Commissioner of Police
- Wu Yue as Wu Tin-man, Ex-Senior Inspector of Police
- Fan Zhibo as Rachel Ma, S.I.P. (VIP Protection Unit)
- Ma Yili as Michelle Lau (陳雪兒), wife of Sean Lau
- Bibi Zhou as Alice Poon, Barrister
- Alex Tsui as Matthew Mak (麥啟文), ICAC Head of Operations
- Frankie Lam as Alan Au, D.C.P. (Management)
- Kenny Wong as Stephen Han, D.C.P. (Operations)
- Ram Chiang as David Mok, Senior Assistant Commissioner, Director of Crime & Security
- Waise Lee as Edward Lai (黎永廉), Secretary of Justice
- King Kong Lam as Gary Fu, Ex-Senior Inspector of Police
- Lam Wai as Neo Chan, Ex-Senior Inspector of Police
- Wong Man-piu as Eric Ma, Ex-Senior Inspector of Police
- Wong Chak-fung as Mark Cheng, Ex-Senior Inspector of Police
- Felix Lok as C.Y. Ma, Member of the Legislative Council / Chairman of Security Panel
- Terence Yin as To Man, Chief Superintendent, Director of IT
- Jeannie Chan as Nicole Chan, ICAC Assistant Investigation
- Kathy Yuen as Cecilia Lai, Probationary Inspector of Police
- Dexter Young as Senior Inspectors of Police, Technology Crime Division
- Queenie Chu as Amber Tsui, owner of cigar bar
- Leila Tong as Karen Tang, hostage
Production
Due to the critical and commercial success Cold War, a sequel was first announced in February 2013, where Chow Yun-fat was reported to join the sequel as the film's main antagonist. At that time, co-director Sunny Luk also confirmed that the script for Cold War 2 was being written and was due to start production by the end of 2013.[4] Production for Cold War 2 began in September 2015[5] and wrapped in December of the same year.[6] The film was released on 8 July 2016.
Reception
Cold War 2 has grossed US$115 million worldwide.[1]
In Hong Kong, the film has grossed a total of HK$66,244,171, breaking the record as the highest-grossing domestic film in Hong Kong, and was also the third highest-grossing film of 2016 in the territory.[7]
Awards and nominations
| Award ceremony | Category | Recipient(s) | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 36th Hong Kong Film Awards | Best Film | Cold War 2 | Nominated | [8] |
| Best Screenplay | Longman Leung, Sunny Luk, Jack Ng | Nominated | ||
| Best Actor | Tony Leung | Nominated | ||
| Best Supporting Actress | Janice Man | Nominated | ||
| Best Cinematography | Jason Kwan | Nominated | ||
| Best Film Editing | Jordan Goldman, Ron Chan | Nominated | ||
| Best Action Choreography | Chin Ka-lok | Nominated | ||
| Best Original Film Score | Peter Kam | Nominated | ||
| Best Sound Design | Kinson Tsang, George Lee | Won | ||
| Best Visual Effects | Yee Kwok-leung, Raymond Leung | Nominated | ||
| 53rd Golden Horse Awards | Best Actor | Tony Leung | Nominated | |
| Best Visual Effects | Yee Kwok-leung, Raymond Leung | Nominated | ||
| Best Action Choreography | Chin Ka-lok | Nominated | ||
| 11th Asian Film Awards | Best Sound Design | Kinson Tsang, George Lee | Nominated | |
| 24th Beijing College Student Film Festival | Best Visual Effects | Yee Kwok-leung, Raymond Leung | Nominated | |
References
- Frater, Patrick (July 31, 2016). "'Cold War 2' Claims Hong Kong Box Office Record". Variety. Retrieved August 1, 2016.
- "寒战2". Gewara (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 2017-01-16. Retrieved 2016-06-29.
- "寒战2（2016）". cbooo.cn (in Chinese).
- "Chow Yun Fat to Star in "Cold War 2"?".
- "Chow Yun Fat joins Cold War 2 cast". Archived from the original on 2015-12-22.
- "COLD WAR 2 WRAPS UP PRODUCTION".
- "2016 年香港票房十大公佈 《寒戰 2》《美國隊長 3》居中外電影榜首".
- "Nomination and Awardees List of The 36th Hong Kong Film Awards".