Brothers Quarrel in “The White Storm 2”

Release Date：Jul/12/2019
Genre：Action
Director：Herman Yau
Cast：Andy Lau、Louis Koo、Karena Lam、Kiu Wai Miu

Viola's Rating：6.5






Only a month apart from Louis Koo’s latest feature film “Chasing Dragon II: Wild Wild Bunch”, Koo has another film coming soon before his last one in 2019. As the only character alive in the end of “The White Storm”, Koo continues to play a part in the sequel “The White Storm 2: Drug Lords”, which is going to be released on July 12, only that the plot has nothing to do with its prequel.

Being a thematic sequel in-title-only to the 2013 flick, “The White Storm 2: Drug Lords” depicts that the Ching Hing Gang has an iron rule: No drug dealing. The gang leader, Yu Nam (Kent Cheng), has two right-hand men: one is Tin (Andy Lau), a bright and earnest adherent of loyalty and principles; the other is Jizo (Louis Koo), a cold-blooded clever man who secretly runs a drug business without Nam's knowledge. Despite their 20-year brotherhood, Tin taught Jizo a lesson by cutting off his fingers and expelled him from the gang following the order of Nam. On the same night, policeman Fung (Michael Miu)'s wife was killed in Jizo's nightclub during an operation, which triggers his determination to eliminate drug dealers.

Having three main actors already, “The White Storm 2: Drug Lords” still does an amazing job building up pictures of the other roles. Even subordinates of Fung have their own development and serve as certain bookend, and Ching-Mei, who’s a special appearance with only one scene, not only helps develop the protagonist Tin’s attributes, but also provides specific reason for him to abhor drug dealing besides his background and his past with Jizo.

Casting two award-winning actors: Koo and Lau, “The White Storm 2: Drug Lords” even pays extra attention on their hair and make-up instead of presenting them as their usual attractive self. Koo’s image as the antagonist featuring his cut fingers, prosthesis and goatee tells the audience that he’s not only the biggest drug dealer in Hong Kong, but also a madman; on the other hand, tracing back to Jizo and Tin’s memories, Lau sports a man bun as the younger Tin. The two men’s competition’s not only seen on drug dealing, but also on their fashion appearance.

As a typical Hong Kong action motion picture, “The White Storm 2: Drug Lords” features car chasing and gun shooting scenes, but it adds new elements to the adrenaline-driven plot, which are having car chasing scene “inside” the subway system seen in the trailer and not being afraid of killing characters throughout the movie. Don’t forget, Koo’s role’s the lone survivor in “The White Storm”. Watching the series, you never know who’ll die the next.

“The White Storm 2: Drug Lords” is a typical Hong Kong action picture, but it shows a not typical brother quarrel within a gang, and the adrenaline-filled scenes are one-of-a-kind. Afterall, Andy Lau and Louis Koo are always adorable to watch.

Picture Credit: atmovies