Plot: What’s it about?
Dragon Mao (Jackie Chan) was able to overtake the dreaded Pirate Lo, but his adventures are far from over. He is taken off the high seas and put back on solid land, where he is assigned work as a police officer. His mission isn’t to watch for common crooks or small crimes however, instead he is charged to clean up corruption. The area is bathed in crooked cops, which means justice has become twisted and that has to come to an end. The police have turned against the innocent citizens, which allows the criminals to run wild and cause all sorts of chaos. So crime has risen to immense levels and that means Dragon Mao has his hands full, since its up to him to crack the dirty officers and taper off the crime levels. Of course, those on the wrong side of the law have no desire to see him succeed, since that would end their business. Some of Pirate Lo’s men have survived and seek to exact some revenge, which means Dragon Mao has to face off with pirates, gangsters, and corrupt officers of the law. But he won’t be alone against these odds however, as he meets and falls in with some local rebels. His war on crime is soon halted though, as he finds himself framed for a robbery and running low on options. Can Dragon Mao clear his own name, track down the real culprits, and still have time to clean up the streets?
The original Project A was a classic, an action packed adventure that never slowed down in terms of entertainment. It still stands as one of international superstar Jackie Chan’s greatest efforts, which says a lot about good the movie was. This sequel is also quite good, but it fails to match the original’s constant blend of action and comic moments. Chan returns as star & director, but costars Yuen Biao and Sammo Hung don’t return, though Maggie Cheung steps in to add more potent star power. The action scenes are wild and excellent, as Chan tops each one with the next and builds toward a fantastic finale. This movie was made when Chan was in his prime, which means tons of outrageous stunts, complex fight sequences, and insane risks, the trademarks that he became a global icon with. So while Project A 2 isn’t as great as the original, it still rocks and Chan’s fans should be satisfied. As fun as the movie is, Dimension has once again given us a poor treatment, one which has no real allure to fans. This disc has no extras, an inconsistent visual presentation, and no option for the original source language, a trio of defects which is more than enough reason to leave this clunker on the shelves. So if you’re interested, this movie is well worth a look, but try to nab an import version, as Dimension’s disc just plain sucks.
Video: How does it look?
Project A 2 is presented in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen. I guess I’ve been spoiled by the excellent Hong Kong Legends series, as I found Dimension’s treatment here to be weak and inconsistent. This isn’t bad compared to VHS releases, but the print is spotty and when stacked up against HKL’s pristine work, it simply can’t compete. I wish Dimension could put a little more effort into these Asian pictures, as this looks like it was a rushed treatment, just to get another movie shoved out on DVD. So if you have no other resources to see Project A 2, then this looks watchable, but it should have looked much better than this.
Audio: How does it sound?
As per usual, Dimension has decided that the original source language is unimportant and as such, we have only an English language track here. This is a serious disappointment, as the dubbed soundtrack is poor and really detracts from the experience. Some scenes have comic presence that is unwanted and as often happens, the voice talent used is mostly terrible. Chan sometimes dubs in his own voice, but even that’s not the case with this track. As far as technical merits, the track is a decent one, but has minimal surround presence. Even with a full Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack, there isn’t much power or dynamic elements to be heard. Not a bad overall experience, especially on a slanted Hong Kong scale. But without an option to hear the original soundtrack, this one is doomed and fans will be quite let down by Dimension’s poor decision. This disc also includes English subtitles, should you need those.
Supplements: What are the extras?
This disc includes no bonus materials.
