Review | Shock Wave 2 movie review: Andy Lau plays another bomb disposal expert in Herman Yau’s explosive action sequel
- Andy Lau plays an ex bomb disposal expert who becomes a suspect in an explosion
- The plot is patchy, but there’s no shortage of action, up to the nuclear bombing of Hong Kong International Airport
3.5/5 stars
The movie revolves around Poon Shing-fung (Lau), who had been an elite member of the Hong Kong Police Force’s Explosive Ordnance Disposal Bureau alongside his buddy Tung Cheuk-man (Lau Ching-wan) until five years ago. It all changed when the bomb disposal expert lost his left leg in a mission, was denied reinstatement to his frontline position, and became a social outcast harbouring extremist views.
Fast-forward to the present, and the city is gripped by a new wave of lone-wolf bombings that are all seemingly linked to Vendetta, an underground terrorist group led by the anarchist Ma Sai-kwan (Tse Kwan-ho). When Poon is found at the scene of the latest attack, he becomes the prime suspect. The fact that Vendetta swiftly sends its armed soldiers to free him from custody appears to confirm the suspicion.
Just when the entire police force is out to catch the fugitive, however, Pong Ling (Ni Ni), Fung’s ex-girlfriend and chief inspector of the police’s Counter Terrorism Response Unit, shows up to convince Poon that he is instead an undercover policeman on a secret mission to halt Vendetta’s plans of mass destruction. And so Poon, suffering from memory loss caused by the latest explosion, listens to her.
