Synopsis:
When an undercover cop gets too close to revealing the mastermind of a drug syndicate, his cover is blown. Double-crossed and under a false identity, he’s thrown into a Thai prison, where a guard discovers the inmate – claiming he’s a cop – is a bone marrow match for his dying daughter … and his warden may have an even deadlier operation hidden within the prison walls.
What We Thought:
Kill Zone 2 has more story and plot than I expected, but I still liked it quite a lot. Fans of Tony Jaa films will certainly like it.
Jaa plays a prison guard in Thailand who has a daughter with Leukemia. One match that could help his daughter is Officer Kit of Hong Kong. Unfortunately he’s undercover, but does end up in Jaa’s prison. No one believes he’s an undercover cop until his uncle shows up. The corrupt prison is run by Zhang Jin who has a connection to even worse bad guys. Everyone and everything has a connection and multiple lives are at stake.
The story is very layered and interconnected and I wasn’t expecting that. I liked it a lot, but I definitely expected action without much story. The story works though and it’s shot incredibly.
The prison riot scene is practically flawless. Jaa is chasing Jing Wu who plays Kit. Kit is trying to escape the prison. Jin’s prison warden is trying to keep certain prisoners hidden while trying to stop Kit as well. The camera movement sweeps through the prison and is just brilliant.
Jaa as usual is great. He throws some of his trademark flying knees and shows no signs of slowing down. Jing Wu is pretty great as Officer Kit as well. His fight sequences in the station, the prison and the end are pretty awesome. Him and Jaa have a great sequence with Zhang Jin.
I recently watched Ip Man 3 and after seeing this, Zhang Jin should be handed his own martial arts franchise. He’s pretty awesome. He goes toe to toe with Wu and Jaa and then fights them together. I wasn’t familiar with him till recently, but now I’d watch anything he’s in.
The Blu-ray looks fantastic. There’s dark and muted colors in the prison. It’s light and airy in the hospital. Blood and action sequences really pop in HD. Audio is top notch with easy to hear dialogue and score. The Blu-ray also features Making Of, Deleted Scenes and Trailer for its bonus features.
I don’t think Kill Zone 2 has any connection to the original so if you haven’t seen that one, it’s ok to see this. I haven’t seen that one (despite it having Donnie Yen) and I don’t feel like I missed anything. Fans of Tony Jaa will like it and Zhang Jin continues to impress me. It has a lot more substance to it than I expected going into it, but there’s still some really good action sequences and a great final fight. Because of all that, it is.
RECOMMENDED!
Bonus Features:
- Making Of
- Deleted Scenes
- Trailer
Cast & Crew:
- Tony Jaa
- Zhang Jin
- Simon Yam
- Wu Jing
Recommended If You Like:
- Skin Trade
- Martial Arts Films
- Tony Jaa
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