Fridae

Johnnie To may be the best Chinese action director yet to be bought
out by Hollywood. His ability to depict crime and violence in such
gorgeously visceral terms makes him the natural successor to John
Woo, now that the latter has become too rich in Hollywood to bother
making Chinese movies.

Johnnie's latest film is a sequel to the commercial and critical
smash-hit of 2005, Election. The plot picks up a few years
from where it left off: Simon Yam still holds the top position in
the Wo Sing triad, steadily getting richer from its illegitimate
businesses. Louis Koo is trying to use the money from his successful
pirate VCD business to start a legitimate company in China. And
Nick Cheung is mostly in hiding, waiting for the right time to exact
his revenge on Simon.

A new election is coming up, and various rivalries are coming to
fore. Johnnie To carefully builds up the tension, until the moment
comes when he lets it all go to hell. The drum-tight plot, the savage
scenes of bloodshed, the fearless acting and the masterly direction
all make Election 2 the best Hong Kong film we've seen
in a while.