Despite being a sequel, Turning Point 2 has a storyline simple enough for first-time viewers to jump right in, with undercover cop protagonist Laughing (Michael Tse) doing time as a way of extracting information on a pending case. The incarceration of the movie`s antagonist – criminal psychologist and former college professor Fok Tin Yam (Francis Ng) – into the prison starts the patchy narrative on its way, with the obligatory drug dealers, car chasers and prison breaks that one would expect from such a movie.
Turning Point 2 is one of those movies that fall squarely into the category of guilty pleasure, alongside detective pulp fiction, Lady Gaga, and anything by Guy Ritchie. The movie features hammy acting, a disjointed plot that never entirely makes sense, and a slightly dated, conventional aesthetic that makes one think of melodramatic TV serials rather than big screen endeavors.
Nevertheless, the film is well-paced, the tension well-crafted, and the action scenes passably engaging. Michael Tse has an easy time portraying Laughing, a character so badly named one wonders if it is intentional, considering his entirely mirthless expression throughout the whole film, while Francis Ng plays a morally ambivalent mastermind with style, if not substance. The rest of the cast put in performances that are either nondescript or hammy to the point of actually being amusing, although honorable mention goes to Janice Man`s legs.
Despite Turning Point 2 being an action film, Herman Yau also tries to inject a greater moral theme of moral utilitarianism versus deontology, an attempt to critique legislative issues that is heavy-handed, but nonetheless applaudable, similar to his The Woman Knight of Mirror Lake (2011). Ultimately though, the film`s touch-and-go criticism of the law and the global capitalist system is more icing on the cake than substantive centre to what is an entertaining, albeit flawed cop thriller.
Summary: A cop film that wants to be Das Kapital when it grows up.
Rating: 3/5 Raphael Lim