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2016 Hong Kong film From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Cold War 2 is a 2016 Hong Kong-Chinese police procedural action 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 | |||||||||||
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Chinese name | |||||||||||
Traditional Chinese | 寒戰II 寒戦II | ||||||||||
Simplified Chinese | 寒战II | ||||||||||
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Directed by | Longman Leung Sunny Luk | ||||||||||
Written by | Jack Ng Longman Leung Sunny Luk | ||||||||||
Produced by | William Kong Ivy Ho Jiang Ping Zhao Haicheng Fan Kim-hung | ||||||||||
Starring | Aaron Kwok Tony Leung Chow Yun-fat Charlie Young Janice Man Eddie Peng Aarif Rahman Tony Yang Chang Kuo-chu Wu Yue Ma Yili Bibi Zhou | ||||||||||
Cinematography | Jason Kwan | ||||||||||
Edited by | Jordan Goldman Ron Chan | ||||||||||
Music by | Peter Kam | ||||||||||
Production companies | Irresistible Films Edko Films EDKO (Beijing) Distribution Shanghai Tencent Penguin Pictures China Film Co. Homeland Pictures | ||||||||||
Distributed by | Edko Films | ||||||||||
Release date |
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Running time | 110 minutes | ||||||||||
Countries | Hong Kong China | ||||||||||
Languages | Cantonese English | ||||||||||
Box office | US$115 million[1] |
The Hong Kong Police Force holds a funeral for two Senior Assistant Commissioners killed during the previous film. Shortly after, 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 Principal Investigator 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, is confronted by his fugitive son along with Peter Choi (Chang Kuo-chu), a former police commissioner and MB Lee's mentor 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 and help his son.
A legislator named Oswald Kan (Chow Yun-fat) is convinced by his old friend and junior Edward Lai (Waise Lee), the current 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. Lee chastises Lau for failing to keep his promise of Joe's safety and almost get into a fight before Kan interferes. Afterwards, 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 and bribes several senior police officers to sign a petition for Lau's removal, to which some comply. In the final hours before Lau steps down, he launches a raid on the henchmen, and requests that Lee take command, noting that the henchmen were former renegade police officers who previously worked under Lee would best know their strategies. Lee accepts, knowing that he cannot refuse without looking weak. The operation is a success, with all suspects killed. However, with Choi's henchmen dead, this taxes Lee emotionally, due to his close friendships. Kan and Lau report Lee's and Choi's crimes to the chief executive, who decides to grant pardon to both men since they are too important to arrest without destabilizing society. Lee is forced into retirement, and Choi is permanently exiled from Hong Kong, with their exact crimes not disclosed to the public. Lau retains his office as commissioner, and Lee visits his son, unconscious and in custody at a hospital bed.
Elsewhere, Lai continues his campaign to be elected as the future Chief Executive of Hong Kong, hoping to control the government's politics, leaving more mysteries unsolved.
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.
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]
Award ceremony | Category | Recipient(s) | Result | Ref. |
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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 | [citation needed] |
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 | [citation needed] |
24th Beijing College Student Film Festival | Best Visual Effects | Yee Kwok-leung, Raymond Leung | Nominated | [citation needed] |
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