Project A Part II Blu-ray delivers great video and superb audio in this enjoyable Blu-ray release
Dragon Ma is back, having rid the seas of the dreaded Pirate Lo. Back on land, he is assigned to the police force, where he is to clean up corruption and crime in a local suburb. Along the way, he is caught up in the fate of several Chinese patriots attempting to secure sympathy and support for their revolutionary cause. The Chinese Manchu government is after these revolutionaries, and anyone that stands in their way is in trouble, even if they are in the police force.
For more about Project A Part II and the Project A Part II Blu-ray release, see Project A Part II Blu-ray Review published by Jeffrey Kauffman on October 12, 2024 where this Blu-ray release scored 3.0 out of 5.
Another informative and mile a minute commentary by Frank Djeng included in this set mentions how Jackie Chan wasn't quite "Jackie
Chan" yet when the Project A films came along, and in fact it was those very films which helped to finally cement Chan's very unique status
in the martial arts universe. Chan's completely distinctive blend of outrageous stunts combined with breezy comedy (both physical and verbal) found
a near perfect outlet in Project A, and the film's overwhelming success proved that Chan's sense about how he should be presented on
screen was completely correct. If there is a bit of that oft mentioned sophomore slump at play with the follow up film, the two offerings together are
great examples of how Chan managed to connect with his relatively early audiences, establishing a template of sorts that would carry him through
countless other productions. As of the writing of this review, only the first film has had a previous release on Blu-ray in Region A, but 88 Films is
bringing out two sets simultaneously, this standalone 1080 set, and another 4K release which also includes 1080 discs and some significant non disc
swag that is not included in this particular release, which may make it the default choice for some who might not even have 4K setups.
By the time Jackie Chan got around to making this sequel to Project A, his figurative star had risen considerably, partly due in fact to
the reaction the first Project A had engendered. It's therefore not surprising that this film attempts to pretty much duplicate what
made the first film such a success, though kind of interestingly it does so without contributions from Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao (aside from some
quasi "previously. . .on Project A" highlights at the opening), which might
arguably deprive the film of some comedy. Project A Part 2 attempts to slightly shift things for Dragon Ma (Jackie Chan), adding a
bit
of a "fish out of water" context for the character, as Ma has to matriculate into a new location where it may be difficult to differentiate between the
cops and the bad guys, at least based on less than honorable activities in the constabulary.
The film, while obviously completely oriented around Chan and his abilities, is in essence a rather sprawling ensemble piece that also has not one
but two featured females in the form of Yesan (Maggie Cheung) and Carina (Carina Lau), with Yesan as the intended romantic interest and Carina
helping to flesh out the film's supposed "political" subtext, carried over from the first outing. This film is probably even more vignette driven than
the first Project A, with Ma having to contend not just with the local crime lord Tiger Ow (Chan Wai-Man), a bunch of cops on the take,
and various other "official duties" like providing security for a high ranking official who's about to celebrate a birthday.
There's a slightly more slapdash quality to this second outing, though the film still provides some incredible opportunities for Chan's pretty
amazingly athletic stunts. As with the first film, there's physical comedy in abundance, to the point that some of the bits may ultimately come
across as shtick.
Project A Part II is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of 88 Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.39:1. While this is another really
pleasing looking transfer by and large, some of the color timing on this presentation struck me as being skewed a bit toward yellow tones on occasion.
There are also a few passing moments that look uncharacteristically rough when stacked up against the bulk of this transfer's generally consistent
clarity and grain resolution, with one very noticeable example being at slightly past the 22:30 mark, where the image degrades to the point that it looks
positively out of focus with much less crisp detail levels. The good news is these variances tend to be intermittent and not overly distracting, though
they certainly won't escape notice. Some of the outdoor material in
particular pops extremely well, with nicely suffused blues and some appealing clarity. As with the first film, fine detail on the fun period costumes is
also generally
excellent. With the exception of some of the above interstitial problems, grain, while very heavy at times, resolves without any major issues.
Project A Part II features another kind of gobsmacking array of audio options, though in this case they're largely limited to different versions
of a Cantonese track. There is a Dolby Atmos Cantonese track, but then several Cantonese DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono options, including
Original Mono (Hong Kong Mix), Remixed Mono (Hong Kong Mix), and just good, old fashioned Mono (Japanese Mix). A Mandarin Remixed Mono track
in DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono and (for the Export Cut) an English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono track round out the options. There are some
noticeable differences between the Cantonese Mono tracks, with, for example, the Remixed Mono having a noticeably more pronounced high end than
the Original Mono (something it shares with the Japanese option, though the Japanese may arguably have a bit more tamped down high
end). As with the first film, the Atmos track is not going to amaze any devoted audiophile, but it offers a much better overall rendering of the basic
elements of the track in terms of a well balanced presentation without a surplus of hiss or other bothersome high frequency issues. Scoring and effects
probably are the most noticeable uses of the surround channels. The dubbing in either version is almost comically at odds with lip movements at times,
and so sync as they say is definitely loose. That said, dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English subtitles are available.
As with many sequels, this follow up can't quite match the overall ebullience of the first feature, but it has some fantastic stunts and Chan as
always is never less than completely engaging. Technical merits are also probably a bit less pleasing here than in the first feature, but are still generally
solid. The supplemental material is also not as fulsome as with the first film, but is very enjoyable. With caveats noted, Recommended.
Project A 2: Other Editions
4K
1-disc
Blu-ray
1-disc
Blu-ray Bundles/Box Sets with Project A Part II (1 bundle)
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British distributors 88 Films have revealed their next batch of 4K Blu-ray and Blu-ray releases. Among them are: Shock Waves (1977), The Beast in the Cellar (1971), Gator (1976), and Evolution (2001).
Eureka Entertainment has announced that it will add seven new genre titles to its Blu-ray catalog: Jackie Chan's Project A and Project A Part II, Fred Dekker's Night of the Creeps, George A. Romero's Monkey Shines, and Troll: The Complete Collection.
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