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Film Review: The Heroic Trio 2: Executioners (1993) by Johnny To and Ching Siu Tung

Definitely an improvement on the original and even more entertaining film

Shot in the same year with the original, “Executioners” included the same cast (, , , ), and Johnny To in the director's seat, having added though, Sean Lau and in the cast, and Chin Siu Tung as co-director (action director in the previous one), thus boasting an even more impressive collection of  names. Furthermore, and although the issues with the narrative continued, the sequel seems to have toned them down significantly, while Michelle Yeoh, this time, definitely rises to the occasion.

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The story takes place in a dystopian future 10 year after the events of the first film, when a nuclear explosion has caused environmental pollution, contaminating the water, and leaving Hong Kong in chaos as the search for drinkable water is the field of battle now. Disfigured genius Mr. Kim is the head of the Clear Water Company, whose efforts of controlling the country by controlling the water supply are quite cunning, as his cooperation with the messiah-like figure of human rights activist Chong Hong has given him a completely different hypostasis than his actual one. His real plans, however, involve overthrowing the government and plunging the state in chaos, beginning by assassinating the President.

In the meantime, Wonder Woman has adapted to domestic life, in an effort to be a better wife to her husband, who has since been promoted to police chief, and her daughter, Cindy. Invisible Woman is trying to atone for the atrocities she committed under the orders of the Evil Master, having Kau, the masked henchmen of her former boss as her sidekick, controlling him with a whistle. Thief Catcher continues her “games”, stealing water from the company and selling to the highest bidder, despite the efforts of a man who always seems to somewhere close to her, Tak. The relationship of the three is quite harmonic, however, as exhibited in a sexually undertoned scene that has all three of them in the same bathtub.

However, Mr Kim's actions eventually catch up with them. Wonder Woman's husband is framed for the assassination attempt of the President and she ends up in prison, with her daughter ending up with Thief Catcher, who teams up with Tak in search of a source of clear water. Meanwhile, Invisible Woman is set on a mission to protect a look-alike of the President, so that the real head of state can recuperate from the assassination attempt, with Mr Kim's men being on their heel and a particularly strong Colonel being her most formidable adversary.

“The Executioners” works better than its predecessor in a number of levels. The script, with Susanne Chan along Sandy Saw, is probably the most obvious difference, since, although still somewhat nonsensical at times, benefits the most by the dystopian setting and the presence of Cindy, who gives an element of motherhood to all the characters essentially, highlighting their womanhood in that fashion. Furthermore, the drama is more grounded, and less prone to sentimentalist efforts, with the tragedies that hit the protagonists actually adding to the narrative. Lastly, the political undertones, even if not completely realized, add some depth to a script that is definitely less shallow than the original's.

As mentioned in the prologue, Michelle Yeoh is much better here, with the fact adding much to the overall quality of the production, although her “reward” is having her character being more brutally beaten than all the rest together. Her desperate efforts to protect the President against foes that are stronger than her is one of the best aspects of the film, with particularly her fights with the Colonel being among the most intense and agonizing. Anita Mui also shines, as both a mother and a “mad” vigilante, with her escape from prison (carrying two rifles, one in each hand) being rather impressive. Lastly, Maggie Cheung as Thief Cather looks more beautiful and even sexier than the first, while her interactions with Tak, which begin in fighting and end up in actual romance, is one of the best parts of the narrative. Sean Lau in the part is also quite good, with the chemistry of the two being excellent, while the fact that Anthony Wong has a triple part here, allowing more screen presence even under masks, is definitely a plus for the movie. Takeshi Kaneshiro on the other hand, has a small role, which mostly aims in highlighting his undeniable good looks.

Ching Siu Tung's action direction is top notch once more, although somewhat less violent than the previous film, with the exception of Michelle Yeoh's scenes. He definitely compensates with the final battle though, where mutilations and people blowing up become the rule, in rather brutal fashion. Poon Hang-Sang's cinematography is excellent, with him taking advantage of both the acting prowess and the appearance of his protagonists in the best way. Further, in combination with Chan Pui-wah and Catherine Hun's production, the dystopian setting is presented quite convincingly, as do the many different settings (prison, streets, homes, offices, underwater etc).

“The Heroic Trio 2: Executioners” is definitely an improvement on the original and even more entertaining film.

About the author

Panos Kotzathanasis

My name is Panos Kotzathanasis and I am Greek. Being a fan of Asian cinema and especially of Chinese kung fu and Japanese samurai movies since I was a little kid, I cultivated that love during my adolescence, to extend to the whole of SE Asia.

Starting from my own blog in Greek, I then moved on to write for some of the major publications in Greece, and in a number of websites dealing with (Asian) cinema, such as Taste of Cinema, Hancinema, EasternKicks, Chinese Policy Institute, and of course, Asian Movie Pulse. in which I still continue to contribute.

In the beginning of 2017, I launched my own website, Asian Film Vault, which I merged in 2018 with Asian Movie Pulse, creating the most complete website about the Asian movie industry, as it deals with almost every country from East and South Asia, and definitely all genres.

You can follow me on Facebook and Twitter.

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