In the first film, while escorting Emperor Wu's concubine Chen Yuan Yuan to safety, the Ching Ping Escort Group was attacked, and Yang Liu An, their commander, was the only surviver. Released exclusively on streaming platform Tencent Video, “The Bravest Escort Group 2: Howling Wind” sees Tao and Fan Siu Wong back on location in beautiful Guizhou to bring the viewers another adventure concerning the whereabouts of concubine Chen and sole survivor Yang.
After the annihilation of his escort agency, Yang (Fan Siu Wong) now lives in seclusion and Chen has gone missing. But thinking that they know the location of some hidden treasure, people in Wulin, the martial arts society, are still keen to locate them. Meanwhile, the Qing Dynasty is in turmoil again, as a new rival army fronted by Chong Shan (Liu Hao Jun Long) has emerged and he wants the treasure badly besides plotting to overthrow the old army lead by royal Officer Li Yan Huan (Wang Guang Hui).
This is bad news for Yang's family and during his absence, Ma Zi Qi (Wu Xin Zun), the frontman of Chong soon shows up in disguise with his ruthless henchmen and kills his poor father and almost everyone there. Interestingly, Ma, who has a huge crush on Yang's fiancee Shou Er (Peng Si Di) takes the opportunity to molest her for good measure before leaving. Yang eventually returns home but is too late to save his father, and heartbroken and devastated, he declares war on Chong Shan.
Best known for his roles in “Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky” (1991) and “Ip Man” (2008), martial artist and Hong Hong actor Louis Louis Fan Siu Wong continues to shine as Yang Liu An, the doomed leader of the escort agency. Now based in China and getting lots of work, Fan, the son of Shaw Brothers veteran Fan Mei Sheng still has it in the action department and moves really well in those demanding fight scenes. Moreover, when it comes to weapons, he is equally right at home with a sword or a spear. However, the script here requires him to cry and show deeper emotions which unfortunately doesn't sit well with him at times.
Even though Wu Xin Zun and Liu Hao Jun Long are fairly adequate as the film's villains, Wu has a much meatier role as Yang's adopted brother Ma Zi Qi who sides with the rebels. Regrettably, they don't come across as mean or threatening with their laid back performances. On the other hand, Li Mu Yun, who portrays the female double agent Guan Sai Sai sent by Officer Li to help Yang has a much memorable role. She also doubles as a love interest for Yang besides being the eye candy for the whole film. As for Peng Si Di, she has landed herself a thankless role as Chou Er, the adopted daughter of the Yang family which requires her to briefly take a bath, look sexy and just run around.
The theme of righteousness, family, good versus evil is more prominent in this sequel, as well as heroic self sacrifice. Portrayed as a chivalrous man for the country and its people, protagonist Yang is always ready to die for his course. No doubt the filmmakers are doing this to please the mainland audience and especially the film censorship department. Nonetheless, credit goes to Tao for bringing the beautiful locations of southeast Guizhao to life and treating them like real characters for his film. Those grand images of the bamboo forests, the majestic mountains and waterfalls are indeed breathtaking to behold.
This production pales in comparison to its predecessor which has a better support cast like Ray Lui, Xing Yu and Chen Zhi Hui to start with. Also choreographed by Wang Fu Cheng, the fight sequences are too wire heavy with uninspired freeze frames and slow motion which lack real impact in general. Overall “Howling Wind” looks like a strange mixture of a cheap TV wuxia movie and a nature documentary with bad dialogue.
