I seldom, if ever, review a movie twice. That said, this won’t be a traditional review in that sense. I will say, however, that I was a different type of critic in 2015 when Soi Cheang’s S.P.L. 2: A Time For Consequences was made available to me courtesy of one of its producers (the film wasn’t released in the U.S. until the following May under its westernized title, Kill Zone 2, in succession from the first film’s US release by Dragon Dynasty in 2006 as Kill Zone, a.k.a. S.P.L.).
I had certain tastes, and with the inaugural hit, the casting of Donnie Yen, Sammo Hung, Simon Yam, and Wu Jing, along with Wilson Yip’s keen directing, gave Hong Kong cinema the jolt it needed during this period, and ultimately breathed an extension of life into Yen’s own perpetuity as an action star under Yip for years to come; Yen’s choreography and action direction, shaped well into a screen career spanning more than twenty years, massively helped shape modern action in the new millenium. Additionally, doing so by way of a concept based on the titular three stars in Chinese astrology certainly enhanced the film into something a little more than a potboiler cop procedural with martial arts.
It wouldn’t be until a decade later that we would get to see what a sequel to these events would look like in some capacity, and who would have thought that Tony Jaa would be in the mix? You can imagine that the malleability of the film industry made space to hope to see the likes of Jaa and Wu in a film together, but you wouldn’t have really known unless you saw photos first hand.
I was real pleased to be able to connect with Jaa’s people at the time and share some exclusives in my own coverage of Jaa’s career progression here, and I couldn’t wait to see what was gonna be brought to the table. A year later, I was able to see the film and provide my own review, and I think I’d only seen it maybe once or twice after that. I did show it to my mom in recent years and she enjoyed it as well.
I think one discernible aspect to the sequel’s appeal was its more fulgent touch compared to the first film’s brooding noir and tragic hero allure. There are also more moving pieces spread across a broader canvas between Hong Kong and Thailand, and with a script that hinges on narrow misses and close calls for its suspenful inflection points. The biggest applicator here is the language barrier, and the off chance that a fisherman’s interest in a missing phone he fished out of the water would prove essential to our key characters as they end up finding their way to one another.
The action is a non-stop spectacle of kinetic beats and high-flying feats. Jaa and Wu each get their moments to shine from early on in their first 1v1 to an explosive prison uprising in which Max Zhang’s character reveals his villainous caliber, to the excess of Louis Koo’s character as the head of an intricate kidnapping/organ smuggling operation, and his lethal, knife-wielding adjutant, played by Babyjohn Choi. The final fight scene explodes at the top of a medical high-rise in Thailand that pits Jaa and Wu against Zhang, whose character proves to be the deadliest in the S.P.L. franchise thusfar.
My only concern there regarding Nicky Li’s choreography was the editing of the action, as someone who’s seen his work in Invisible Target and weighing the finales of both films. I still prefer the former, although Cheang’s 2v1 in his film still delivers the goods to say the least. To that end, Kill Zone 2 brings the needed balance to the franchise prior to Paradox which sort of reverts it back to its somewhat darker roots to a degree.
And, what a great way to celebrate the film’s posterity than the timely arrival of the Big Bad Film Fest for a decennary rewatch? Tangential to my work on this platform, I love that this film has become a part of my history, both for the film, as well as the people involved. If you got to see this film with a crowd, I trust you were in great company.
As for Wu and Jaa, I don’t know if or when we’ll ever see these two back together. I imagine that for all the battle scars they earned on that set, they enjoyed working together. Here’s hoping for another. Cheers, fellas!
Lead image: Well Go USA