[Review] Shock Wave 2 (6.5/10)

 

Title - Shock Wave 2
Studio - Alibaba Pictures, Universe Films Distribution Company
Starring - Andy Lau, Sean Lau, Ni Ni, Philip Keung, Tse Kwan Ho, Ron Ng, 
Writer - Herman Yau, Erica Li
Director - Herman Yau
Release - 24 December 2020

It's not a sequel in the traditional sense; just taking the concept and a few actors in a different story / universe. 

But what worked well here elevated the film from the original movie. And what worked here were the lead actors and their performances (Andy Lau, Sean Lau, Ni Ni), as well as the drama between their characters.

There were a few revelations in the middle that came in a staggered format, which I thought was a mistake. While I appreciated Herman Yau trying to do something that is not in the usual trope, like having a big twist revealed in the end of the movie, he threw that into our faces in the middle so that we can focus on the rest of the story. It was worth a try, but there's a reason why twists should stay in the last act.

There were a couple of scenes with the characters of Andy Lau and Sean Lau, and Andy Lau and Ni Ni, just talking with a lot of emotions. And if you have great actors, like this movie had, those scenes were elevated to the next level even in this heavy CGI-driven movie.

But like the first movie, there were still one or two sequences that were just random and slipped in just to play with the emotions of the audience. But really served no weight to the storyline of the movie.

And the ending sequence, it was filled with logical problems. It was so heavy with technical details and lack of clarity that you had to just switch off your brain and go with it.

Still, the journey to the ending was interesting enough with those revelations in the middle to keep things interesting.