Kill Zone 2 is as generic as they come w/the typical 'heart on your sleeve' over sentimentality & hyper-realized fight sequences, this film goes nowhere fast. With the plot point of having dual sets of individuals needing transplants, the sheer mechanics of the story work overtime checking all the boxes that you wonder when the kitchen sink will make an appearance. Tony Jaa & Wu Jing do give their all w/the last fight which is ripe for the record books.

When I think back on Tony Jaa's movies I remember mostly "B"/"C+" movies with "A" or "A+" moments. This is his first "A" movie. A majority of his movies in the past were really bad plots that led to fights where he demonstrates his talent as a stuntman, and his fighting style, which is always really tight on his ability to cut distance and overpower his opponents using his short strikes from long distances with his ability to tough out and withstand beatings that should kill him. This fight has all that but unfortunately it seems like they traded his stunt work for CGI...go Hong Kong... they did give him a scene where he and Wu Jing get into an amazing tight out of character fight, almost like an Iko Uwais scene, just still very Jaa. There was also a lot of character development and identity in the choreography, which is nice to see. This adds to my thoughts 15 minutes in when I was thinking about the maturity in both Jaa and Wu Jing. There are no elephants or statues causing a city to get terrorized in this one, it's all about family.I agree that there were too many coincidences in the plot to consider it great, but I still found it all interesting and well done, up until the last ten minutes. At that point you could almost see the writers cutting the ribbon. None of this is as important as the work from Jaa, Wu, and Zhang.This is the first non period piece that I'm going to get my girlfriend to try to watch with me. A scene that I predicted at the beginning of the movie made me tear up, and I think that even though she's not as into the action as I am, she'll enjoy it.

I was super excited to watch this film after seeing the action packed trailer. Flying knees, elbows and shoot outs seem like a no brainer for any action fan. After the initial opening you will come to realize it isn't just any run of the mill martial arts film and you get a sense that they try to inject story behind the punches being thrown. The film itself is outstanding to watch but you cannot dismiss some of the flaws in storytelling, plot and pacing.The story follows two main characters and many sub characters. Chai works as a Thai prison guard trying to support his ailing child suffering from leukemia. Kit is an undercover cop from Hong Kong investigating a black market operation of organ theft. Their paths intertwine and eventually they uncover the importance of how they need each other's help to save Chai's daughter Sa. It seems simple but how this concept is presented is a bit confusing. During the intro they focus on Chai and then switch to Kit. As you get invested in Chai's emotional desperation to help his daughter you get pulled away and presented with Kit's story and his own battle against his inner demons. Then sub plots with sub characters get their time to shine afterwards and the story loses its focus before fully developing the main characters. To make matters worse the director uses flash back sequences and the locations of Thailand and Hong Kong randomly jumps making you confused of the language change and locale. It can also be argued that Chai's character is a bit selfish as he seems only to care about saving his daughter at the expense of others. Kit's character is generally just recovering from his drug binge so neither character has a strong hold on the viewer. As a martial arts movie I generally don't take story too highly into account since your here mainly for the action but since a huge chunk of the run time focuses on plot it cannot be ignored.The action can be brutal and some crazy wire work is involved but most of the choreography is realistic. You won't see people flying across roofs and running up walls and all the main combatants bring their A game. The fights are beautifully shot and the ending battle is one of the best I've seen. Some things that pull you away and can be quite distracting is that characters will often suffer injuries where you believe that they will be critically disabled, but those said characters will be in the next scene without any problems. It pulls away from the immersion and doesn't make sense when you knew for sure that person had died or should've died.Kill Zone 2 also suffers from pacing issues. Some areas of the story can be very slow since they are trying to flesh out the characters. You can probably tell they didn't do a superb job of it and so for the first half of the movie you get a little action and a lot of dialogue. Then the movie starts to pick up and for the ending they kind of said eff it and threw non-stop action with very little story. Kill Zone 2 has everything a martial arts fan can ask for. Story, top action stars and beautifully shot battles make it for a thrilling viewing experience. You just can't help but feel that this could've been a true classic if some the story plots were ironed out and connected you better with the main stars. The pacing may turn off action junkies for the first half but as the pace picks up it won't let you go.

Using mostly different plot and cast from the first movie SPL: Kill Zone, the sequel keeps the tradition of brooding crime drama alive. With the addition of Tony Jaa and several other imposing actors, this marks one of the darkest oriental cinemas for years. There will be no shortage of gruesome and bloody scenes as the characters trade bone crushing blows with incredibly rapid pace.Story is a bit tricky as it is presented with many perspectives. Simon Yam and Jacky Wu are investigating a crime kingpin who in dire need of heart transplant. Fate has it that the only match is his brother. As the effort to capture him turns sour, the polices are thrown into Thailand prison where Tony Jaa as a guard is inexplicably involved in the conspiracy.The plot might be relying too much on coincidences. It rehearses the medical issues a couple of times and also the undercover agent plot line is somewhat predictable. However, the actors are convincingly daunting or determined n their roles. While it may be a bit of stretch, the story conveys the gritty predicaments of these characters so well, audiences would find them relatable.The bread-and-butter of Asian mafia flick is the exquisitely savage action sequences. In this regards, SPL 2 stands amongst the top, one of the better choreography aside from The Raid. There are plenty of extraordinary scenes involving mass fight scenes while the camera changes level continuously or all-out brawl between the main cast.These instances are nothing short of spectacular. Hits are conveyed with such vigor, the impact will be translated beyond the screen. It's meticulously done with breakneck speed, shattering walls and bones alike. Furthermore, some of these scenes are captured in viscerally dangerous manner which undoubtedly requires commitment from production crews and especially the actors themselves.Physically and psychologically brutal, SPL 2 is the epitome of dark gangster thriller. One that will keep audiences glued to the screen with fight and pleads to the very end.