Project A 2
Review
Format: Dubbed VHS
Stars: Jackie Chan, Lam Wai, many others

Dragon Mao has returned, and Project A is back in effect. But this time, they're not dealing with pirates, but corrupt folks inside the HK Police Force.

I'll leave the story at that. At least it's not an Opium plot. When I bought this movie over a year ago, I don't remember liking it. It's probably because it's not a martial arts movie in entirety. It's like the first Project A, some fighting, but mostly awesome stunts. Well, this one doesn't disappoint. I forgot how good it really was. I swear, when I just watched this, every 30 seconds I would say, "Wow" because maybe Jackie was falling down stairs or Tiger fell off the balcony and landed on a vase that broke, and he landed on his shoulders after falling THROUGH THE VASE (that's a clip I'll have to put up).

Many MANY stunts abound. And there's humor too. There's that good Jackie slapstick all over the middle of the movie to keep it interesting. So yes, it's very entertaining in all. One of the stunts is groundbreaking and hasn't been done as well as Buster Keaton's barn-window stunt done over 70 years ago. Jackie is standing on solid ground with an 80 foot tall wall falling downward, only to break over his head in just the right spot so he doesn't get nailed by a bamboo cross beam or something. He also runs down one of those things WHILE it's falling.

Not to mention all the falls onto roofs, hay bales, solid ground, and the jump that Jackie does onto a ladder 40 feet high, which falls over to a roof across from him, springs back, and he slides down, doing a somersault half way down. There were some fights, but nothing exceptional. It's kind of like the Project A fights. They're mainly kickboxing. The one inside Tiger's lair is especially good, though. It involves many people, probably around 20, and there are some falls and hits that can't be replicated on American cinema. No one does this kind of stuff. No one will WILLINGLY fall off a balcony and break a vase vertically in America. And this place has wooden floors, so don't expect any suspiciously soft dirt (with mattresses or cardboard underneath) here. Actually it didn't seem like there was any of this stuff, and that the stunts were entirely authentic. Though there were some doubles for some of the other characters, it's still amazing what they will do.





Jackie's stunts really get wild at the end. There are a few fights, which are actually pretty good. Now that I think of it the martial arts weren't so bad. But anyways, since they didn't have FAKE chili peppers, Jackie stuffed his mouth with real chili peppers. There's a reason he did this too, mainly to blind the opponents by either spitting in their faces or putting the burning saliva on his hands and wiping them on their eyes. It's pretty funny. Plus, this has outtakes (the Tai Seng version), so you get to see this stuff for yourself.



And I might as well add that the scenery was excellent. Not entirely like Project A. PA2 has lots of scaffoldings and run down houses and buildings, and it all fits the mood very well, just like Project A did. The dubbing could have been tweaked a little because some of the people tried too hard to get a Chinese accent, while Jackie's accent was completely English (olde english). I didn't really like that, but it's ok. The picture was of great quality for a Tai Seng video. It was slightly dark and faded, which is how Pedicab Driver was. I almost like it that way, and I'm sure it's very close to the original.



So, Project A 2 matches it's prequel. I think that I didn't like it as much as the prequel before because it didn't have Sammo and Biao in it, but now that I've watched it again I really like this one and will probably get it on DVD some day to add it to my REAL collection of HK films. And I will happily add this to the Top 10 list as well.

10/10

Again, if I'm sounding generous, remember that I haven't watched many of the films that I've heard are "ok" or "not so good". Usually the films I rate as below 8 are ones I've either tripped on or ones that people like for some reason I can't figure out (like Tai Chi 2). And this movie is suitable for all ages.

UPDATE 10/9 - Rating System Change

5/5 - Lots of good stunts.

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