SPL 2: A Time of Consequences (2015)

Wu Jing is an undercover cop embedded in a gang that is suspected of being involved with black market organ harvesting. When a sting operation goes wrong his identity is exposed and the gang lock him up in a Thai prison run by a corrupt associate (Max Zhang). Tony Jaa is a prison guard whose young daughter needs a bone marrow transplant but has a very rare blood type, with the only potential donor they've found being somebody in Hong Kong. Simon Yam is Wu Jing's handler, who refuses to allow his ward to be a sacrifice to the case.

Their stars are in alignment.

In retrospect, SPL marked a rebirth for Hong Kong martial arts films. The territory had largely stopped making them in the new millennium, partly because of talent flight to Hollywood, partly because local audiences had stopped caring and the industry's attempts to develop more international appeal had been largely unsuccessful. Eventually other countries stepped up to fill the void, with Thailand's Ong Bak in particular showing that hard-hitting fight scenes featuring talented martial artists could still find an audience.

SPL was Hong Kong's answer to ONG BAK, bringing the legend that is Sammo Hung back to Hong Kong screens and inviting Donnie Yen to choreograph action scenes using all the diverse influences he had accumulated over the years to produce a new style of action. Wu shu prodigy Wu Jing was brought in to give the action authenticity, and the result was some of the most thrilling and hard-hitting action Hong Kong had produced in a decade.

As a "we're back, baby" SPL proved to be a success, re-establishing Hong Kong as the centre of excellence for martial arts cinema and paving the way for Donnie Yen to finally become the megastar he always thought he was.

SPL was not exactly begging for a sequel, having a rather low survival rate for its main characters, and indeed it never got one - SPL 2 is not a sequel, except perhaps thematically. Simon Yam and Wu Jing return but as different characters, and the only narrative commonality is that Yam once again crosses a line when law and justice come into conflict.

If SPL was a response to ONG BAK then SPL 2 is perhaps paying respect by casting Tony Jaa as one of the main characters and filming largely in Thailand. Jaa's career ran into the rocks after his self-directed sequels to the film that made his name resulted in something of a meltdown and taking a break from the industry. SPL 2 proved that he had lost none of his power, and he takes the opportunity to demonstrate his abilities by going up against both Wu Jing and Max Zhang with ferocity.

All three martial artists clearly enjoy having talented partners to work with, and throw themselves into the action with glee. This is obviously their passion, and action director Nicky Li Chung-Chi takes full advantage of their skills to produce some spectacular fight sequences, including one of the most impressive single shot fight scenes I've ever seen.

SPL 2 doesn't fare quite as well as the film it takes its name from in the dramatic department, with the plot being a bit too full of cliché, but it's not un-entertaining and has some moments that work. SPL got a lot of its gravitas from a towering performance by Sammo Hung as the villain, ruthless and violent but also very human. Obviously Louis Koo is no Sammo but he does manage to make his character interesting, or at least quirky.

Ken Lo gives his character a lot of heart with not a lot of screen time - I was quite surprised to see him speaking fluent Thai, apparently he lived in Thailand when he was younger. The real soul of the film is the young actress that plays his niece (Jaa's daughter) though - unlike most kids she actually does act, and is suitably sympathetic and adorable.

It's always a pleasure to watch a cast of talented screen fighters being given a chance to demonstrate their skills, though it's a little worrying that the three main stars are all in their 40's at this point. Where is the next generation's Wu Jing or Tony Jaa? Iko Uwais can't be in everything (unfortunately). Frankie Zhang Chi's knife-wielding assassin is obviously a nod to Wu Jing's character in SPL, but if the intent was to pitch him as the next big thing they didn't give him enough character to leave an impression of "I want to see more of that guy, make him a star", despite some impressive moves.

As a reminder that Hong Kong knows how to make a kick ass action film SPL 2 is a success, but it doesn't have the same sort of forward-looking vision of its predecessor, it's gaze is mostly directed at the past (with maybe a bit of side-eye directed at The Raid: Redemption). That doesn't make the film itself worse, but it does mean there is still a space for the next film to come along and give us a vision of what martial arts cinema might look like going forward.