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"excerpt": "Long Arm of the Law II (省港旗兵2, 省港旗兵续集) is a 1987 Hong Kong crime film directed by Michael Mak, the second entry in the Long Arm of the Law series, about undercover operatives infiltrating a criminal gang.",
"snippet": "Long Arm of the Law II (省港旗兵2, 省港旗兵续集) is a 1987 Hong Kong crime film directed by Michael Mak, the second entry in the Long Arm of the Law series, about undercover operatives infiltrating a criminal gang.",
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"markdown": "# Long Arm of the Law II (省港旗兵2)\n\n**Long Arm of the Law II** (省港旗兵2; also listed under the Chinese title 省港旗兵續集 and the romanization *Sang gong kei bing 2*) is a 1987 Hong Kong crime film directed by Michael Mak (麥當傑), produced by Johnny Mak, and written by Philip Chan, and the second entry in the *Long Arm of the Law* series that began with the 1984 original.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/long_arm_of_the_law_ii) • [2](https://www.hkfilm.net/archive/hkfa.pdf) It follows a new set of mainland characters caught between crime and the police in Hong Kong, and it was released in Hong Kong on 5 November 1987 in [Cantonese](https://www.edgepedia.org/cantonese).[2](https://www.hkfilm.net/archive/hkfa.pdf)\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Chinese title | 省港旗兵续集 (romanized *Sang gong kei bing 2*); English title *Long Arm of the Law II*[2](https://www.hkfilm.net/archive/hkfa.pdf) • [3](https://www.movie-censorship.com/report.php?ID=341689) |\n| Hong Kong premiere | 5 November 1987, Cantonese, production company 新香港 (New Hong Kong)[2](https://www.hkfilm.net/archive/hkfa.pdf) |\n| Director / producer / writer | Michael Mak (director), Johnny Mak (producer), Philip Chan (screenwriter)[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/long_arm_of_the_law_ii) |\n| Principal cast | Alex Man (萬梓良), Elvis Tsui (徐錦江), Ben Lam (林國斌), Yat-Chor Yeun (袁日初), Fui-On Shing[4](https://blueprintreview.co.uk/2023/11/long-arm-of-the-law-1-2-88-films/) • [2](https://www.hkfilm.net/archive/hkfa.pdf) |\n| Runtime | About 88–90 minutes; the export cut runs 1:27:23, 168 seconds shorter than the original version across 10 differences[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/long_arm_of_the_law_ii) • [3](https://www.movie-censorship.com/report.php?ID=341689) • [5](https://www.genregrinder.com/post/long-arm-of-the-law-parts-i-ii-blu-ray-review) |\n| Sequel | Followed by *Long Arm of the Law: Part 3* (1989); the series comprises four films[6](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093957/) • [7](https://midwestfilmjournal.com/2023/12/12/88-films-long-arm-of-the-law-long-arm-of-the-law-ii/amp/) |\n| Home video | 88 Films Blu-ray set of Parts I and II released in the UK on 20 November 2023 and in the US on 12 December 2023, limited to 3,000 copies per territory[3](https://www.movie-censorship.com/report.php?ID=341689) • [4](https://blueprintreview.co.uk/2023/11/long-arm-of-the-law-1-2-88-films/) |\n\n## Spoilers\n\n### Plot and characters\n\nThree recent escapees from a mainland labor camp are caught and given a second chance: they go undercover in Hong Kong to infiltrate a notorious criminal gang.[4](https://blueprintreview.co.uk/2023/11/long-arm-of-the-law-1-2-88-films/) Rotten Tomatoes' synopsis frames the setup from the police side: suspecting that a mastermind is behind a sudden crime wave, the Royal Hong Kong Police Force sends in three undercover cops to bust the crime ring.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/long_arm_of_the_law_ii) A Letterboxd synopsis describes the group as mainland cops turned illegal immigrants who are allowed to stay in Hong Kong if they help the police by going undercover in criminal gangs.[8](https://letterboxd.com/film/long-arm-of-the-law-ii/)\n\nIn the city the group is placed in the care of the master undercover cop Biggie (Alex Man), who is antagonistic at first and becomes a mentor figure.[4](https://blueprintreview.co.uk/2023/11/long-arm-of-the-law-1-2-88-films/) When the undercover men get too close to the gang they are meant to infiltrate, one of them is brutally slain and their cover is blown, and the new life they were promised collapses into violence.[4](https://blueprintreview.co.uk/2023/11/long-arm-of-the-law-1-2-88-films/) A Taiwanese synopsis adds that the three, stranded in Hong Kong, become men without a side, and that one who insists on carrying out his public-security duty is exposed as an undercover agent by a fellow mainland criminal.[9](https://app2.atmovies.com.tw/film/flhk60093957/)\n\n## Style and reception\n\nReviewers describe the film as a slicker but no less brutal follow-up to the genre-defining original, closer to the glossier Hong Kong action fare of the late 1980s while keeping the original's dark, pessimistic outlook.[4](https://blueprintreview.co.uk/2023/11/long-arm-of-the-law-1-2-88-films/) • [8](https://letterboxd.com/film/long-arm-of-the-law-ii/) The Midwest Film Journal review takes a harsher view, calling the film a move toward straightforward cops-and-criminals melodrama that lacks much of the first film's texture, telling a story about former cops undercover with the Triads and the betrayals that doom them.[7](https://midwestfilmjournal.com/2023/12/12/88-films-long-arm-of-the-law-long-arm-of-the-law-ii/amp/)\n\nThe action set pieces include an escape from an airport and a climactic shootout with what reviewers call bombastic firepower and fallout, though critics note it does not top the original's finale in the [Kowloon Walled City](https://www.edgepedia.org/kowloon-walled-city).[4](https://blueprintreview.co.uk/2023/11/long-arm-of-the-law-1-2-88-films/) • [8](https://letterboxd.com/film/long-arm-of-the-law-ii/) The film is also known for an unflinching torture scene in which a man's face is eaten by rats before he is killed with an axe, which one reviewer calls possibly one of the most brutal torture scenes put to film.[4](https://blueprintreview.co.uk/2023/11/long-arm-of-the-law-1-2-88-films/) • [8](https://letterboxd.com/film/long-arm-of-the-law-ii/) Reviewers credit Alex Man and Elvis Tsui, who plays the de facto leader of the group forced undercover, with carrying the film, including a quiet street scene in which the two share a drink and a smoke once they come to trust each other.[4](https://blueprintreview.co.uk/2023/11/long-arm-of-the-law-1-2-88-films/) The storyline is described as occasionally muddled because of a surfeit of characters and subplots.[4](https://blueprintreview.co.uk/2023/11/long-arm-of-the-law-1-2-88-films/)\n\n## Production and versions\n\nMichael Mak, the brother of the original film's producer-director Johnny Mak, took over the director's chair for the sequel and built it around new characters rather than the 1984 cast.[4](https://blueprintreview.co.uk/2023/11/long-arm-of-the-law-1-2-88-films/) • [5](https://www.genregrinder.com/post/long-arm-of-the-law-parts-i-ii-blu-ray-review) In a 25-minute interview on the 88 Films release, Mak discusses the decision to make a sequel, the choice of new characters, the knock-offs the original had spawned, and the development of Elvis Tsui's look; Billy Chan's input on the action sequences and choreography is also noted on the release.[5](https://www.genregrinder.com/post/long-arm-of-the-law-parts-i-ii-blu-ray-review)\n\nTwo cuts exist. The export version, prepared for international release, runs 168 seconds (2 minutes 48 seconds) shorter than the original version across 10 differences; both are included on the 88 Films Blu-ray, the export cut with an English soundtrack and no subtitles.[3](https://www.movie-censorship.com/report.php?ID=341689) • [5](https://www.genregrinder.com/post/long-arm-of-the-law-parts-i-ii-blu-ray-review) As in the first film, the opening introduction of the three protagonists carries green on-screen text; in the original soundtrack this plays over the score, while in the English dub the text is read aloud.[3](https://www.movie-censorship.com/report.php?ID=341689) The British Board of Film Classification rated the film 15.[4](https://blueprintreview.co.uk/2023/11/long-arm-of-the-law-1-2-88-films/)\n\nIn Japan the film was released on video, never theatrically, under the title 省港旗兵２：九龍の獅子 (also sold as バイオレンス・ポリス), with a listed runtime of 86 minutes.[10](https://www.allcinema.net/cinema/17690)\n\n## Context in the series\n\nThe 1984 original, directed by Johnny Mak, is considered one of the pioneers of Heroic Bloodshed (hong Kong action genre of stylized, tragic cop-and-triad gunplay films) cinema, and it was released in the year of the [Sino-British Joint Declaration](https://www.edgepedia.org/sino-british-joint-declaration) that fixed Hong Kong's return to Chinese sovereignty in 1997.[3](https://www.movie-censorship.com/report.php?ID=341689) • [11](https://iffr.com/en/iffr/2020/films/long-arm-of-the-law) The sequel appeared three years later, before [John Woo](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-woo)'s *A Better Tomorrow* and other films reshaped the Hong Kong crime genre, and it was itself followed by two further, unconnected entries.[7](https://midwestfilmjournal.com/2023/12/12/88-films-long-arm-of-the-law-long-arm-of-the-law-ii/amp/) The series title entered Hong Kong usage more broadly: since 1984, 省港旗兵 has served as a common metonym for armed robbers from the mainland operating in Hong Kong.[12](https://app3.rthk.hk/mediadigest/content.php?aid=360)\n\n## References\n\n1. [Long Arm of the Law II, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/long_arm_of_the_law_ii)\n2. [港產電影一覽 (1913–2003), Hong Kong Film Archive](https://www.hkfilm.net/archive/hkfa.pdf)\n3. [Long Arm of the Law II (Comparison: Export cut – Original version), Movie-Censorship.com](https://www.movie-censorship.com/report.php?ID=341689)\n4. [Long Arm of the Law 1 & 2 – 88 Films Blueprint: Review, Blueprint Review](https://blueprintreview.co.uk/2023/11/long-arm-of-the-law-1-2-88-films/)\n5. [Long Arm of the Law Parts I & II Blu-ray Review, Genre Grinder](https://www.genregrinder.com/post/long-arm-of-the-law-parts-i-ii-blu-ray-review)\n6. [Long Arm of the Law: Part 2 (1987), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093957/)\n7. [88 Films: Long Arm of the Law / Long Arm of the Law II, Midwest Film Journal](https://midwestfilmjournal.com/2023/12/12/88-films-long-arm-of-the-law-long-arm-of-the-law-ii/amp/)\n8. [Long Arm of the Law II (1987), Letterboxd](https://letterboxd.com/film/long-arm-of-the-law-ii/)\n9. [省港旗兵2, 開眼電影網 @movies](https://app2.atmovies.com.tw/film/flhk60093957/)\n10. [省港旗兵２：九龍の獅子 バイオレンス・ポリス (1987), allcinema](https://www.allcinema.net/cinema/17690)\n11. [Long Arm of the Law, International Film Festival Rotterdam](https://iffr.com/en/iffr/2020/films/long-arm-of-the-law)\n12. [從樂晴樓槍擊案看「省港旗兵」在媒介中之轉喻建構和運用, 香港電台傳媒透視](https://app3.rthk.hk/mediadigest/content.php?aid=360)\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 › Franchise and series entries as standalone works › Action, thriller, and crime series film entries › Entries released in the 1980s*\n\n*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026; Nov 11, 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",
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"speakable": "Long Arm of the Law II is a 1987 Hong Kong crime film directed by Michael Mak, the second entry in the Long Arm of the Law series, about undercover operatives infiltrating a criminal gang."
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