A successful sequel to the 1985 hit finds Chan following much of the same formula as in the first film and much of his '90s work. It's a cop thriller packed with emotion, comedy, plot thrills, and some mind-boggling action. Although the film does lack the freshness and originality of its predecessor there's still a lot to like here, whether it be in the comic interplay between Chan and his superiors - still excellent - or in the action sequences which are even bigger and more explosive than in the original. Chan's stunts are just as over-the-top and dangerous here, as he jumps on top of moving vehicles and through sheets of sugar glass like a madman. The martial arts mayhem is expertly choreographed and a delight to watch, especially in the fight in the children's play area or in the finale, a battle in an abandoned warehouse which makes excellent use of its location for a change and incorporates plenty of madcap thrills and spills.

The bad guys this time around are a gang of terrorist bombers who hold a large corporation to ransom. They also kidnap Chan's girlfriend, prompting him to sail into action once more. The film successfully provides a link to the original with many returning characters appearing. John Ko and his glasses-wearing assistant are back, although for comic relief rather than a major threat this time around. One new enemy is a deaf mute who enjoys lobbing home-made explosives on to Chan until he gets the tables turned on him in the final reel. Plenty of laughs mix in with the action to make an enjoyable experience with Chan as good as he ever was, and Maggie Cheung, Kwok-Hung Lam, and Bill Tung returning as his girlfriend and superiors respectively. Once again a winning combination of great action, super stunts and a fast-paced story from the reliable Chan man.

In this sequel to POLICE STORY, everyone is back. Jackie Chan is getting a dressing-down for catching the bad guys.... so expensively. He's busted to traffic cop, but when the bad guys show up to threaten him and girl friend Maggie Cheung, he busts some glasses. This gets him more lecturing from fatuous squad chief Kwok-Hung Lam, so Jackie quits and heads off to Bali with Maggie.

However, some guys have planted a bomb, destroying a mall, and promise more unless the real estate company pays a huge ransom. The police don't know what to do about this, so they talk Jackie back onto the force.

In terms of story-telling, this is not a well-constructed story, since with three stories -- revenge story by the bad guys from the previous movie; rocky relationship with Miss Cheung; and bomber -- a lot winds up abandoned; even though Criterion has restored this to pretty much the original length, it's apparent that a lot was lost in editing somewhere. Still, one does not watch a Jackie Chan movie for its exquisite story-telling, but for funny stuff -- Bill Tung gets gassy at one point -- and the funny, chaotic, acrobatic gags that Jackie Chan provides to his fans. He offers them here, even though they are not as madly funny as they would become over the next five years.

It's important to note that, as director and co-writer, Chan is not a glory hog. The funniest sequence is the one where the young female officers are investigating a creep they want to turn. All in all, while Jackie Chan's movies would continue to improve because his popularity with audiences gave him greater scope, this is a lot of fun.

The Hong Kong super-cop (Jackie Chan) must stop a group of blackmailing bombers at the same time that the villains of the first Police Story are out for revenge.

As much as I enjoyed this movie -- the humor, the explosions, the fast kicks to the face -- it has to be said that it never quite lives up to the first film. This should not come as a surprise to anyone, as sequels very rarely are as good as the original (though some select few do tend to be better).

We still had awesome kicks, a humor that was a bit more crude, and we had way more explosions in this one (not surprising, given the villains are bombers). But we do not get to see as much glass break, and I think the overall destruction is never quite as high. How do you top the destruction of an entire village from part one?