Dragon Ma (Jackie Chan) is back as a H.K. Water Police. He is assigned to clean up corruption and lawlessness. They catch a couple of thieves stealing a money box from Yesan (Maggie Cheung) collecting for the Nationalist cause. Yesan runs away fearing the corrupt cops. The cops promptly release their client thieves and try to beat up on Dragon. Dragon takes over the precinct to take on crime lord Wolf. Dragon faces off against many-headed corruption while the Empress's men are after the rebels.

This is not as comedic as the original. Jackie handcuffed to the inspector is fun. The various people hiding in Yesan's room isn't as funny as it should be. There are lots of fight action stunts. There are a ton of jaw dropping stunts. Jackie doesn't do anything too risky in this one but he does do a Buster Keaton bit with a facade falling on top of him. The story is pretty messy that has multiply interconnected villains and some that go both ways. I love the fighting stunts but the story is too twisty. This one does have the final extra clips with the closing credits.

It is curious to me that it is not the first film that is not in the 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die, it is this sequel, but I suppose I can agree with that in part, from star and director Jackie Chan. Basically it continues where the previous film left off, where the pirate Captain (Sam Pou) was killed by marine police officer Dragon Mao (Chan),and the rest of the bad guys want to get revenge. Dragon himself meanwhile has been transferred to Sai Wan to take over from Superintendent Chun (David Lam),but of course he has a good record. Later they meet flower selling Yesan (Maggie Cheung),with her cousin Beattie/Carina (Carina Lau) who is a member of the Chinese revolutionaries headed by Dr Sun Yat-sen. I just know that there is some kind of thing involving police accepting bribes, gangsters and more pirates, Imperial agents, and Dragon in the middle of it not making the Police Commissioner (Bill Tung) very happy with his occasional mistakes. The pirates, and possibly the gangsters with them, do manage to catch Dragon a few times and try to get rid of him, but his fighting skills obviously help him to escape and save the day in the end. Also starring Rosamund Kwan as Miss Pak, Sam Lui as Mr. Man, Regina Kent as Regina, Governor's Daughter, Yao Lin 'Charlie' Chen as Awesome Wolf, Kenny Ho as Shi King, Mars as Jaws, Ben Lam as Brawns and Mickey as Cobra. Chan is again fantastically skilled in the action sequences, filled with great Kung Fu moves and surprising stunts, you even see the repeated best bits of the previous film and ending outtakes, I may not have understood the story, but for the fights and comedy, this was a fun martial arts adventure. Jackie Chan was number 41 on The 100 Greatest Movie Stars. Good!

For me, this sits happily as the ultimate Jackie Chan movie: a super-fast paced journey of mad cap martial arts, hilarious humour, all mixed together in a fine comedy-cum-adventure concoction with plenty going on to keep the entertainment value high. Indeed, this film is so relentless and high-octane that I barely found time to breathe while watching it; every second brings something fresh and exciting to the screen, every plot point seems original and intriguing. At this stage in his career, Jackie knew exactly what the audience wanted and reached his cinematic peak of perfection with differing projects that all retained the same winning formula: comedy, action and danger, rolled into a fast and frenetic combination.

The ultra-complex storyline drags in a corrupt police official who plans to have Chan killed, an underground rebel cause who plan to overthrow the government, vengeful pirates, and of course the vicious crime element in the city. The script is witty and Jackie Chan is at the top of his game, whether it be with the endless magic stunt work, the genuinely funny comedy (the chilli-eating moment is something to be seen) or the exciting chases, which invariably see Jackie perform some superhuman manoeuvre - shinnying up a wall, running across a suspended horizontal pole - as if it were the norm for him.

PROJECT A PART II has plenty of memorable moments, not least being the raid on the hotel which mixes in suspense, drama, comedy, and plenty of action, as well as real danger. Then there's the finale at the building site, which lasts for ages but remains exciting and watchable for every single second, and the hilarious comedy set piece in which a succession of people attempt to hide inside Maggie Cheung's apartment and interact in various ways. Other great moments are too numerous to mention, but the handcuff chase is a real crowd pleaser anyway you look at it. Underneath the non-stop on screen action, the plot is rather thin and lurches from one set-piece to the next, but the formula is so stable and successful that I couldn't care one bit.

Supporting the ever-excellent Chan are a number of quality actors giving fine performances, namely Wai Lam as the corrupt and sinister 'Chun' and Wai-Man Chan as the genuinely threatening 'Tiger'. Plus there are the welcome returning bit players, including Mars and Jaws, and also Maggie Cheung and Bill Tung, two friends returning from POLICE STORY, along with a little-seen Rosamund Kwan. Tung in particular gets some fine comic interplay as he finds himself mending a leaky tap and getting handcuffed to a sofa! The martial arts come thick and fast and never lets up, and you'll need your eyes glued to the screen to keep track of all the super-quick kicks and lightning punches which roll across the screen in nicely choreographed punch-ups with plenty of prop destruction and choreographed chaos to keep them watchable and funny. A definitive and outstanding film. And okay, it hurts that Sammo and Yuen don't come back, but to be honest you won't miss them when the film's this good.