{ "id": "ep9tgvqkcz", "slug": "cold-war-2012-film", "title": "Cold War (寒战) (2012 film)", "updated": "2026-11-01", "topic_path": [ { "id": "culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture" }, { "id": "culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.crime-thriller-mystery", "label": "Crime, thriller, and mystery films (individual works)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.crime-thriller-mystery" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.crime-thriller-mystery.2010-2014-films", "label": "2010–2014 films", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.crime-thriller-mystery.2010-2014-films" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.crime-thriller-mystery.2010-2014-films.crime-films.alpha-symbols-to-l", "label": "Titles symbols to L", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.crime-thriller-mystery.2010-2014-films.crime-films.alpha-symbols-to-l" } ], "geo": [ { "id": "geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.crime-thriller-mystery", "label": "China · 2001 to 2020: Crime, thriller, and mystery films (individual works)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.crime-thriller-mystery", "path": [ { "id": "geo.chn", "label": "China", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t2001", "label": "China · 2001 to 2020", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t2001" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t2001.culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t2001.culture" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.crime-thriller-mystery", "label": "Crime, thriller, and mystery films (individual works)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.crime-thriller-mystery" } ] } ], "excerpt": "Cold War (寒戰) is a 2012 Hong Kong police thriller, the directorial debut of Longman Leung and Sunny Luk, starring Aaron Kwok and Tony Leung Ka-fai as rival deputy commissioners during a hijacked-police-van crisis; it won nine Hong Kong Film Awards and spawned Cold War 2 and the Cold War 1994 prequel.", "snippet": "Cold War (寒戰) is a 2012 Hong Kong police thriller, the directorial debut of Longman Leung and Sunny Luk, starring Aaron Kwok and Tony Leung Ka-fai as rival deputy commissioners during a hijacked-police-van crisis; it won nine Hong Kong Film Awards and spawned Cold War 2 and the Cold War 1994 prequel.", "node": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.crime-thriller-mystery.2010-2014-films.crime-films.alpha-symbols-to-l", "markdown": "# Cold War (寒战) (2012 film)\n\n**Cold War** (寒戰) is a 2012 Hong Kong police thriller directed and written by Longman Leung (梁樂民) and Sunny Luk (陸劍青) in their directorial debut, starring [Aaron Kwok](https://www.edgepedia.org/aaron-kwok), Tony Leung Ka-fai, and [Andy Lau](https://www.edgepedia.org/andy-lau). Its plot centers on the hijacking of a police van carrying five officers and high-tech equipment, and the power struggle between two rival deputy commissioners of the [Hong Kong Police Force](https://www.edgepedia.org/hong-kong-police-force) who take charge of the rescue operation.[1](https://www.goldenhorse.org.tw/film/programme/films/detail/501) • [2](https://www.filmlinc.org/films/cold-war/) The film won nine Hong Kong Film Awards in 2013, including Best Film, and spawned the sequel *Cold War 2* (2016) and the prequels *Cold War 1994* (2026) and *Cold War 1995*.[3](https://www.chinanews.com/shipin/cnstv/2013/04-14/news200446.shtml) • [4](https://wellgousa.com/films/cold-war-2)\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Directors and writers | Longman Leung and Sunny Luk, both first-time directors; Leung a veteran art director, Luk a first assistant director on more than a hundred films[1](https://www.goldenhorse.org.tw/film/programme/films/detail/501) |\n| Lead cast | Aaron Kwok as Deputy Commissioner Sean Lau (劉傑輝), Tony Leung Ka-fai as Deputy Commissioner M.B. Lee (李文彬), with Andy Lau, Charlie Young, Eddie Peng, and Aarif Lee in supporting roles[2](https://www.filmlinc.org/films/cold-war/) • [5](https://www.lovehkfilm.com/reviews_2/cold_war.html) |\n| Release | Wide release in Hong Kong, mainland China, and Malaysia on 8 November 2012; Taiwan on 16 November 2012; 102 minutes, in Cantonese[6](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Cold-War-%282012-Hong-Kong%29) • [7](https://pda.atmovies.com.tw/app2/film.cfm?action=filmdata&filmid=fczh2tt21867) |\n| Box office | US$47,657,691 worldwide, of which US$37,131,143 came from mainland China and US$5,524,539 from Hong Kong[6](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Cold-War-%282012-Hong-Kong%29) |\n| Awards | Nine prizes at the 32nd Hong Kong Film Awards (2013): Best Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Actor, Best New Performer, Best Editing, Best Sound Effects, Best Visual Effects, and Best Original Film Score[3](https://www.chinanews.com/shipin/cnstv/2013/04-14/news200446.shtml) • [8](https://media.people.com.cn/n/2013/0414/c40606-21127249.html) |\n| Festival | Opening film of the 2012 Busan International Film Festival[1](https://www.goldenhorse.org.tw/film/programme/films/detail/501) |\n| Franchise | Sequel *Cold War 2* (2016); prequels *Cold War 1994* (2026) and *Cold War 1995*[4](https://wellgousa.com/films/cold-war-2) • [9](https://www.1905.com/mdb/film/2258589/) |\n\n## Spoilers\n\n### Plot and premise\n\nThe story begins with an anonymous call to the police reporting that a front-line Emergency Unit van has been hijacked on a Hong Kong street with five officers aboard. With the Police Commissioner (Michael Wong) out of the country, command of the crisis falls to the two deputy commissioners: M.B. Lee ([Tony Leung Ka-fai](https://www.edgepedia.org/tony-leung-ka-fai)), a battle-hardened operations veteran, and Sean Lau (Aaron Kwok), a younger management-side technocrat who has never walked a beat. The operation is code-named \"Cold War\", and Lee takes initial command.[2](https://www.filmlinc.org/films/cold-war/) • [10](https://thetvdb.com/movies/cold-war-2012)\n\nWhen it emerges that Lee's son Joe ([Eddie Peng](https://www.edgepedia.org/eddie-peng)) is one of the abducted officers, Lee begins sending officers into danger to protect his family, while Lau works to take control of the operation through procedure and internal politics. The ransom exchange goes wrong, Lau's colleague Ken Szeto (Chin Kar-lok) is killed in the line of duty, and the Independent Commission Against Corruption opens an investigation into possible moles inside the force, drawing investigator Billy Cheung (Aarif Lee) into the conflict between the two camps.[2](https://www.filmlinc.org/films/cold-war/) • [11](https://m.1905.com/m/film/info/2207606.shtml) • [12](https://www.yesasia.com/global/%E5%AF%92%E6%88%B0-2012-vcd-%E9%A6%99%E6%B8%AF%E7%89%88/1034724989-0-0-0-zh_TW/info.html) The film ends with the larger conspiracy unresolved, setting up a sequel.[5](https://www.lovehkfilm.com/reviews_2/cold_war.html)\n\nThe premise was unusual for the genre. Hong Kong police films had not previously dramatized the force's top command structure and its internal politics in detail, and the film's marketing emphasized this novelty alongside its depiction of Hong Kong as a society governed by the rule of law.[7](https://pda.atmovies.com.tw/app2/film.cfm?action=filmdata&filmid=fczh2tt21867) • [12](https://www.yesasia.com/global/%E5%AF%92%E6%88%B0-2012-vcd-%E9%A6%99%E6%B8%AF%E7%89%88/1034724989-0-0-0-zh_TW/info.html)\n\n## Production\n\nLeung and Luk developed the screenplay over roughly five years, drawing on extensive research into police procedures. Luk said the idea for a story about two senior officers fighting for control came to him while watching the contest between [Barack Obama](https://www.edgepedia.org/barack-obama) and [Hillary Clinton](https://www.edgepedia.org/hillary-clinton) in the 2008 United States presidential race; since Hong Kong has no comparable leadership contest, the police command structure became the arena for that kind of rivalry.[7](https://pda.atmovies.com.tw/app2/film.cfm?action=filmdata&filmid=fczh2tt21867) • [13](https://funscreen.tfai.org.tw/node/9537)\n\nThe production budget exceeded HK$100 million, a large sum for a Hong Kong film, and producer Bill Kong (江志強) of Edko Films backed the two first-time directors on the strength of the script. Andy Lau joined the cast in a supporting role as the Secretary for Security.[7](https://pda.atmovies.com.tw/app2/film.cfm?action=filmdata&filmid=fczh2tt21867) • [3](https://www.chinanews.com/shipin/cnstv/2013/04-14/news200446.shtml) The directors divided labor on set: Luk, the former assistant director, ran the floor and camera planning, while Leung, the art director, handled script matters with actors and the design departments; a decision had to satisfy both before shooting proceeded.[13](https://funscreen.tfai.org.tw/node/9537)\n\n## Reception and awards\n\nThe film was Hong Kong's 2012 box-office sensation and the territory's top-grossing domestic film of the year, earning about HK$42.8 million in Hong Kong and more than 250 million yuan in mainland China.[2](https://www.filmlinc.org/films/cold-war/) • [14](https://wapbaike.baidu.com/item/%E5%AF%92%E6%88%98/6420848) • [15](https://paper.people.com.cn/rmrbhwb/page/2014-01/13/08/hwbwhwx113c.pdf) At the 32nd Hong Kong Film Awards on 13 April 2013, it won nine awards, equaling the ceremony's record for a single film previously set by Peter Chan's *[Comrades: Almost a Love Story](https://www.edgepedia.org/comrades-almost-a-love-story)*.[3](https://www.chinanews.com/shipin/cnstv/2013/04-14/news200446.shtml) Tony Leung Ka-fai won Best Actor, his fourth Best Actor prize and fifth Hong Kong Film Award overall, for playing the bald, bearded Deputy Commissioner Lee.[3](https://www.chinanews.com/shipin/cnstv/2013/04-14/news200446.shtml)\n\nCritical responses were divided. The Film at [Lincoln Center](https://www.edgepedia.org/lincoln-center) program called it a \"cracking thriller\" about Hong Kong's relationship with China in which \"the biggest enemy is always on the inside\".[2](https://www.filmlinc.org/films/cold-war/) The review site lovehkfilm.com praised the production values and the premise of executives jockeying for power during a crisis, but found the execution self-important and the emotional connection weak.[5](https://www.lovehkfilm.com/reviews_2/cold_war.html) The Hong Kong site Cinespot credited the film's detailed reconstruction of police procedure and command structures while faulting a second half whose plot turns felt underprepared.[16](https://www.cinespot.com/hkmreviews/%E5%AF%92%E6%88%B0-3)\n\n## Legacy and sequels\n\nThe film's success shaped the Hong Kong crime genre that followed. A People's Daily Overseas Edition report noted that the wave of Hong Kong police films in the 2013 holiday season was driven by *Cold War*'s example, and that its two-market appeal showed demand for such films in both Hong Kong and the mainland.[15](https://paper.people.com.cn/rmrbhwb/page/2014-01/13/08/hwbwhwx113c.pdf) Scholars of the genre have grouped *Cold War* with films such as *Shock Wave* (2017) that root their stories in Hong Kong itself and work to portray the city in a positive new light, rather than outsourcing crime narratives to foreign settings.[17](https://m.fx361.com/news/2019/0910/9886010.html)\n\nLeung and Luk returned with *Cold War 2* (2016), reuniting Aaron Kwok, Tony Leung Ka-fai, and Eddie Peng and adding [Chow Yun-fat](https://www.edgepedia.org/chow-yun-fat), in which the police department splits into rival camps after a suspected mastermind escapes custody.[4](https://wellgousa.com/films/cold-war-2) A decade later, Leung directed the prequel *Cold War 1994* (released 1 May 2026), which moves the timeline back to the year before the handover and follows the young Li Wen-bin (played by Terrance Lau Chun-kit) through a tycoon kidnapping case, with a further prequel, *Cold War 1995*, already completed.[9](https://www.1905.com/mdb/film/2258589/) • [18](https://www.cna.com.tw/news/amov/202605070398.aspx)\n\n## References\n\n1. [寒戰 Cold War, Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival film page](https://www.goldenhorse.org.tw/film/programme/films/detail/501)\n2. [Cold War, Film at Lincoln Center (New York Asian Film Festival 2015)](https://www.filmlinc.org/films/cold-war/)\n3. [《寒战》横扫金像奖九大奖项 梁家辉第四度封帝, China News Service video, 14 April 2013](https://www.chinanews.com/shipin/cnstv/2013/04-14/news200446.shtml)\n4. [Cold War 2, Well Go USA official film page](https://wellgousa.com/films/cold-war-2)\n5. [Cold War (寒戰) (2012) review by Kozo, lovehkfilm.com](https://www.lovehkfilm.com/reviews_2/cold_war.html)\n6. [Cold War (2012), The Numbers box office database](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Cold-War-%282012-Hong-Kong%29)\n7. [寒戰 Cold War, 開眼電影網](https://pda.atmovies.com.tw/app2/film.cfm?action=filmdata&filmid=fczh2tt21867)\n8. [《寒战》揽九奖成金像奖最大赢家 梁家辉四夺影帝, People's Daily Online, 14 April 2013](https://media.people.com.cn/n/2013/0414/c40606-21127249.html)\n9. [寒战1994, 1905电影网](https://www.1905.com/mdb/film/2258589/)\n10. [寒戰, TheTVDB](https://thetvdb.com/movies/cold-war-2012)\n11. [寒战 详细资料, 1905电影网](https://m.1905.com/m/film/info/2207606.shtml)\n12. [寒戰 (2012) (VCD) (香港版), YesAsia](https://www.yesasia.com/global/%E5%AF%92%E6%88%B0-2012-vcd-%E9%A6%99%E6%B8%AF%E7%89%88/1034724989-0-0-0-zh_TW/info.html)\n13. [港產片不是歷史名詞，我們還在這裡：專訪《寒戰》導演陸劍青、梁樂民, 放映週報 no. 384, 15 November 2012](https://funscreen.tfai.org.tw/node/9537)\n14. [寒战（2012年郭富城、梁家辉主演的动作犯罪片）, 百度百科](https://wapbaike.baidu.com/item/%E5%AF%92%E6%88%98/6420848)\n15. [香港电影研究专家赵卫防谈《寒战》带动港式警匪片, 人民日报海外版, 13 January 2014](https://paper.people.com.cn/rmrbhwb/page/2014-01/13/08/hwbwhwx113c.pdf)\n16. [寒戰, Cinespot 動映地帶影評](https://www.cinespot.com/hkmreviews/%E5%AF%92%E6%88%B0-3)\n17. [我城·异域·强国：近年香港警匪片的叙事空间策略, 许乐, 贵州大学学报(艺术版) 2019年第6期](https://m.fx361.com/news/2019/0910/9886010.html)\n18. [劉俊謙為「寒戰1994」來台 力推王丹妮吃夜市雞排, 中央社, 7 May 2026](https://www.cna.com.tw/news/amov/202605070398.aspx)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Crime, thriller, and mystery films (individual works) › 2010–2014 films › Titles symbols to L*\n\n*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/cold-war-2012-film", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/cold-war-2012-film.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"Cold War (寒战) (2012 film)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/cold-war-2012-film. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[Cold War (寒战) (2012 film)](https://www.edgepedia.org/cold-war-2012-film)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/cold-war-2012-film](https://www.edgepedia.org/cold-war-2012-film). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"Cold War (寒战) (2012 film)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/cold-war-2012-film. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "Cold War is a 2012 Hong Kong police thriller, the directorial debut of Longman Leung and Sunny Luk, starring Aaron Kwok and Tony Leung Ka-fai as rival deputy commissioners during a hijacked-police-van crisis; it won nine Hong Kong Film Awards and spawned Cold War 2 and the Cold War 1994 prequel." }