This sequel is a barrage of colourful excitement. During the glorious finale, Jackie Chan falls down a bamboo scaffold, consumes red hot chili peppers, battles with ferocious gangsters and axe-wielding pirates. He then runs down a collapsing structure and narrowly avoids certain death in a magnificent stunt originally performed by Buster Keaton. This is Chan’s rollicking homage to his silent movie heroes. He confronts triad kingpins, revolutionaries, corrupt officials and the same pirates who survived the first film (unlike Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao, who are nowhere to be seen). The production is grand with detailed sets and immaculate costumes. The effortless way the slapstick and stunts intertwine with the narrative proves Chan’s coming-of-age as a filmmaker. This is practically as good as the first film.

AKA: Action Force 10; Jackie Chan’s Project A 2; Pirate Patrol 2; Project B