Pros:
1.) The movie gives an interesting dilemma that I have not seen much in crime dramas: how far will a person go to stop crime, particularly anything related to drugs? It brings up moral dilemmas such as the police being forced to protect the very people that they are chasing after, or how desperate criminals will go if they are being threatened. Many events of the movie answer some of those dilemmas and leave open others, but it is nice to explore these areas nonetheless.
2.) One of the main characters has an intriguing character arc. Being a former Triad, Yu Shun-tin is a financial tycoon wanting to rid drugs in Hong Kong (and possibly the world), but his encounters with his old Triad brother and drug lord, Jizo challenges him. His arc puts him into a downward spiral that will make Yu does some desperate actions. Out of all the main characters in the movie, Yu Shun-tin has a great character arc that has a satisfying closure (at least to me…you may not agree if you see it).
3.) The action scenes are brutal. For one, the sound effects are loud and effective to make you feel every gunshot and body fall. However, the greatest action scene is shown in the climax. Everything goes slightly over-the-top, but not to the point where it is unbelievable. The last act alone is enough to see the movie, just for that last action scene.
Cons:
1.) It is kind of hard to follow what is happening in the first act, because the pacing is kind of fast. I eventually got used to that pacing throughout the rest of the movie, but the biggest problem I saw in the first act is that the movie introduces these characters in the middle of their dilemmas, and it did not really give much reason to care for them. It picks up later, but the first act is easily the weakest part.
2.) Some moments that are supposed to be dramatically or emotionally impactful lack any of its meaning. The fast pacing does not really help, but the biggest problem with it is the lack of screen time. Some characters and deaths were given a bit of screen time, but due to lack of knowledge of who they are, none of it seems to have much influence to the movie even they were meant to be impactful…
3.) …The biggest guilty party with that impact problem is between two police officers. These two are apparently love interests that are seen in the background, but get two scenes; one in the second act and the other in the third act. When something happens to one of those officers in the third act, the movie lingers on it for a while. As mentioned before, the two barely had any screen time, so if they were removed, the movie would not have suffered for it.
Overall:
I have never seen the previous White Storm, but from what I have gathered, both movies have nothing to do with each other except they both dealt with the theme of drugs. Regardless if I have not seen the previous movie or not, I found the sequel to be quite enjoyable. While it did not have a good start, the rest of the movie makes up for it with an intriguing moral dilemma, an interesting main character going through a downward spiral, and a climax with an awesome action scene. If Crawl and Stuber do not really interest you, this Chinese action-crime drama may serve your interest.
7/10
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