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THUNDER
COPS II (1989)
A.K.A.
- Thundercops; Thunder Cops 2
Reviewed
by Phil Mills
Stephen
Chow Sing Chi may be listed amongst the credits for 'Thunder
Cops II' but this is a far cry from the comic capers that we
normally associate him with. Instead, this is a dramatic
take on the 'Battling Babes' genre with Sandra Ng taking the
lead opposite fan favourite Shing Fui On whilst Chow's
appearance is limited to little more than an extended cameo.
Nam
Tse (Ng) is a bumbling beat cop who is an embarrassment to the
force and her father who just so happens to be a senior
officer. When her father is killed in the line of duty
it turns her life upside down, giving her the resolve to train
harder so that she can avenge her father's murder.
Months later and Tse has established herself as a respectable
Police woman so the time is right for her to muscle in on the
case connected to her father's killer. Blocked by
her seniors, Tse's only option is to utilise her links to the
underground who reveal that the ruthless gangster Feistat (Fui
On) is the closest man to the murderer. Sadly, this
information comes at a price that sees people close to Tse get
hurt but not before they point her in the direction of
Feistat's crippled brother (Chow) who appears to be the weak
link. However, will he be willing to turn on his brother and
do what is right or will it just be another dead end for Tse?
Unlike
similar attempts into the dramatic foray, 'Thunder Cops II' is
a far darker film than you would expect and opts for the shock
factor rather than a meaningful story. The characters
are shallow with no distinct personas so the main focus is
clearly on creating scenes that butcher or injure as many
innocents as possible but this approach only succeeds in
creating an instant air of dislike around the whole film
because it all seems so unnecessary. This is not helped
by Ng's portrayal of the heroine that comes across as arrogant
and self absorbed which is particularly ironic when she is
often responsible for her own predicaments. Chow and
Shing Fui On make all too brief appearances and do lift the
film to a certain degree but their roles are so limited that
not even the most accomplished actor could raise the bar on
this production. The action is the one feature that does
stand out and Yuen Cheung Yan crafts an impressive bout
featuring Ann Bridgewater along with some well produced
gunfights but even these are spoilt by the director's bizarre
vision. Apart from the usual problems with undercranking,
director Lau shoots most of these sequences in a slow motion
haze that contains swirling camera angles which only induce
sea sickness as opposed to any kind of excitement.
'Thunder
Cops II' is a highly depressing film and one that I found
difficult to enjoy especially with the unnecessary violence
and dislikeable characters/scenarios. Stephen Chow's
star status is now a handy way to market the DVD but don't be
fooled by his name on the packaging as this is not his film
and is probably one he would rather leave off his filmography.
Rating:
 
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