# Shock Wave 2 (拆弹专家2)
**Shock Wave 2** (拆弹专家2) is a 2020 Hong Kong action crime film directed by Herman Yau (邱礼涛), produced by and starring [Andy Lau](https://www.edgepedia.org/andy-lau) (刘德华) as a former bomb disposal officer who wakes at the scene of an explosion and becomes the police's prime suspect. Lau Ching-wan (刘青云) and [Ni Ni](https://www.edgepedia.org/ni-ni) (倪妮) co-star.[1](https://www.bonafilm.cn/product/325.html) It is a standalone story rather than a direct continuation of *Shock Wave* (2017), and it became one of the highest-grossing Hong Kong productions in mainland China, earning approximately 1.3 billion yuan (13.16亿) at the mainland box office.[2](https://piaofang.maoyan.com/mdb/search?key=%E6%8B%86%E5%BC%B9%E4%B8%93%E5%AE%B62) • [20](https://www1.hkexnews.hk/listedco/listconews/sehk/2021/0226/2021022601673.pdf)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Director / writers | Herman Yau (邱礼涛); screenplay by Yau, Li Min (李敏), and Li Sheng (李升)[1](https://www.bonafilm.cn/product/325.html) |
| Cast | Andy Lau, Lau Ching-wan, Ni Ni, Tse Kwan-ho, Philip Keung, Ron Ng, and others[1](https://www.bonafilm.cn/product/325.html) |
| Release | 24 December 2020 (mainland China); 18 February 2021 (Hong Kong); 121 minutes[1](https://www.bonafilm.cn/product/325.html) |
| Box office | 13.16亿 yuan in mainland China, against 4.00亿 for the first film[2](https://piaofang.maoyan.com/mdb/search?key=%E6%8B%86%E5%BC%B9%E4%B8%93%E5%AE%B62) • [3](https://app.bjtitle.com/8816/newshow.php?did=867950049830928&mood=&newsid=5810305&typeid=3&uid=0) |
| Budget | Total investment over 2.8亿, with roughly ten months of post-production planned[4](https://hk.prnasia.com/story/246345-2.shtml) |
| Awards | Best Editing at the 34th Golden Rooster Awards, for editor Chung Wai-chih (钟炜钊)[5](https://static.nfnews.com/content/202201/05/c6104455.html) |
| Critical scores | Opening day: Maoyan 9.4, Taopiaopiao 9.3, Douban 8.1; Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer 85% (13 reviews)[6](https://ent.people.com.cn/n1/2020/1227/c1012-31980171.html) • [7](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/shock_wave_2) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
A series of bombings puts Hong Kong on edge. Former bomb disposal officer Poon Shing-fung (潘乘风, played by Andy Lau) is found unconscious at an explosion scene and the police list him as the prime suspect, with suspected ties to a terrorist organization called the Vengeance Society (复生会). After waking with impaired memory, he flees custody and investigates on his own.[11](https://tv.apple.com/tw/movie/%E6%8B%86%E5%BD%88%E5%B0%88%E5%AE%B62/umc.cmc.3m52afm03uy9i6u74985xvw98) His former EOD partner Cheung Chik-wan (董卓文, Lau Ching-wan) and his ex-girlfriend Pong Ling (庞玲, Ni Ni), now a superintendent in the Counter Terrorism Response Unit, give him two conflicting accounts of his past, and planned bombings continue as the truth grows harder to establish.[1](https://www.bonafilm.cn/product/325.html)
The film opens with a nuclear detonation that destroys [Hong Kong International Airport](https://www.edgepedia.org/hong-kong-international-airport) before rewinding to show the events leading up to it, and the threat later extends to landmarks including the [Tsing Ma Bridge](https://www.edgepedia.org/tsing-ma-bridge).[12](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/shock-wave-2-2020-film-review-by-jennie-kermode) • [13](https://www.gzstv.com/a/8752a374b6e942b3af52d406b775477e) In an early scene Poon loses his lower left leg in an explosion, and much of the film shows him acting with a prosthetic limb.[12](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/shock-wave-2-2020-film-review-by-jennie-kermode) • [5](https://static.nfnews.com/content/202201/05/c6104455.html) Unlike the first film, whose plot centered on a profit-driven extortion plot against the [Cross-Harbour Tunnel](https://www.edgepedia.org/cross-harbour-tunnel), the sequel's antagonist network is driven by nihilism, and the story is new rather than a continuation.[14](https://wyb.chinawriter.com.cn/attachment/202104/07/af93ebfa-2ab7-4dc4-bc5a-fafd178f2be4.pdf) • [7](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/shock_wave_2)
### Sequel
Universe Entertainment's annual results announcement listed a third film, *Shock Wave 3* (拆弹专家3), again directed by Herman Yau and starring Andy Lau, among its upcoming productions.[19](https://www.hkexnews.hk/listedco/listconews/sehk/2021/0929/2021092901437_c.pdf)
## Production
The film began principal photography in Hong Kong after two years of preparation, with Lau Ching-wan joining as Andy Lau's fellow Explosive Ordnance Disposal officer; Lau noted the two had previously worked together on *Running Out of Time* (暗战).[8](https://ent.people.com.cn/n1/2019/0329/c368312-31003225.html) Filming ran about three months and wrapped in Hong Kong by May 2019, after which the producers planned roughly ten months of post-production for the large effects workload.[4](https://hk.prnasia.com/story/246345-2.shtml) • [9](https://news.tvbs.com.tw/entertainment/1129243) The picture was produced by Universe Entertainment (寰宇娱乐) and [Alibaba Pictures](https://www.edgepedia.org/alibaba-pictures), with Bona Film Group and Guangzhou Yingming Culture among the co-producers; Andy Lau served as producer as well as lead actor.[4](https://hk.prnasia.com/story/246345-2.shtml) • [10](https://www.locpg.gov.cn/jsdt/2021-01/19/c_1210985022.htm)
## Reception and box office
Released on 24 December 2020, the film topped the mainland daily box office for consecutive days, passing 2亿 within two days and 4亿 within four; its opening weekend of 4.19亿 already exceeded the first film's entire mainland run of 4.00亿.[15](https://m.1905.com/m/news/touch/1496765.shtml?fr=newsmjyh5_xgxw_04) • [3](https://app.bjtitle.com/8816/newshow.php?did=867950049830928&mood=&newsid=5810305&typeid=3&uid=0) It debuted at the top of the global box office with $63.9 million in its opening weekend.[7](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/shock_wave_2) Its final mainland total of 13.16亿 compares with 4.00亿 for *Shock Wave* (2017).[2](https://piaofang.maoyan.com/mdb/search?key=%E6%8B%86%E5%BC%B9%E4%B8%93%E5%AE%B62)
Critical response was strong in China. On opening day the film scored 9.4 on Maoyan, 9.3 on Taopiaopiao, and 8.1 on Douban, making it the highest-rated film of that year's holiday season to that point, and some reviewers called it the best Hong Kong film in a decade.[6](https://ent.people.com.cn/n1/2020/1227/c1012-31980171.html) • [16](https://news.youth.cn/yl/202012/t20201224_12632694.htm) On Rotten Tomatoes it holds an 85% Tomatometer from 13 reviews; critics praised its scale and *Infernal Affairs*-style twists while some found the plotting overwrought.[7](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/shock_wave_2) • [17](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2021/jun/10/shock-wave-hong-kong-destruction-review-andy-lau)
## Craft and recognition
At the 34th Golden Rooster Awards the film won Best Editing for Chung Wai-chih, who had also edited the first *Shock Wave*. The jury praised the editing as technically accomplished and effective in tracing the protagonist's psychology; the film connects more than 120 shooting locations, explosion sequences, and Hong Kong landmarks.[5](https://static.nfnews.com/content/202201/05/c6104455.html) The production drew on Hong Kong film-industry technique combined with mainland filming and financing, an example of the Guangdong-Hong Kong co-production model.[5](https://static.nfnews.com/content/202201/05/c6104455.html) • [10](https://www.locpg.gov.cn/jsdt/2021-01/19/c_1210985022.htm) The China Film Archive's review characterized it as a "psychiatric crime film" structured around the protagonist's mental state, in the tradition of Yau's earlier work.[18](https://www.cfa.org.cn/cfa/yj/lwby72/2023083114494774434/index.html)
## References
1. [拆弹专家2, Bona Film Group film catalog](https://www.bonafilm.cn/product/325.html)
2. [拆弹专家2 box office, Maoyan Professional Box Office](https://piaofang.maoyan.com/mdb/search?key=%E6%8B%86%E5%BC%B9%E4%B8%93%E5%AE%B62)
3. [《拆弹专家2》首周票房破4亿, 北京日报客户端](https://app.bjtitle.com/8816/newshow.php?did=867950049830928&mood=&newsid=5810305&typeid=3&uid=0)
4. [傲世娛樂文創公佈戰略投資都市反恐動作大片《拆彈專家2》, PR Newswire Asia](https://hk.prnasia.com/story/246345-2.shtml)
5. [“粤产电影”的金鸡密码, 南方都市报 / 南方+](https://static.nfnews.com/content/202201/05/c6104455.html)
6. [《拆弹专家2》如何做到超越前作？, 人民网转北京青年报](https://ent.people.com.cn/n1/2020/1227/c1012-31980171.html)
7. [Shock Wave 2, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/shock_wave_2)
8. [刘德华《拆弹专家2》开机 刘青云倪妮倾力加盟, 人民网娱乐频道](https://ent.people.com.cn/n1/2019/0329/c368312-31003225.html)
9. [劉德華主演「拆彈2」找劉青雲分擔戲份, TVBS](https://news.tvbs.com.tw/entertainment/1129243)
10. [粤港合拍片《拆弹专家2》票房破10亿元, 中央政府驻港联络办](https://www.locpg.gov.cn/jsdt/2021-01/19/c_1210985022.htm)
11. [《拆彈專家2》, Apple TV (Taiwan)](https://tv.apple.com/tw/movie/%E6%8B%86%E5%BD%88%E5%B0%88%E5%AE%B62/umc.cmc.3m52afm03uy9i6u74985xvw98)
12. [Shock Wave 2 (2020) review, Eye for Film](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/shock-wave-2-2020-film-review-by-jennie-kermode)
13. [《拆弹专家2》燃爆全场！刘德华饰演的反派，为什么让人心疼？, 广视网](https://www.gzstv.com/a/8752a374b6e942b3af52d406b775477e)
14. [香港警匪片叙事模式研究, 文艺报](https://wyb.chinawriter.com.cn/attachment/202104/07/af93ebfa-2ab7-4dc4-bc5a-fafd178f2be4.pdf)
15. [《拆弹专家2》口碑票房双双第一, 1905电影网](https://m.1905.com/m/news/touch/1496765.shtml?fr=newsmjyh5_xgxw_04)
16. [阿里影业锦橙合制影片《拆弹专家2》上映, 中国青年网](https://news.youth.cn/yl/202012/t20201224_12632694.htm)
17. [Shock Wave: Hong Kong Destruction review, The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2021/jun/10/shock-wave-hong-kong-destruction-review-andy-lau)
18. [《拆弹专家2》：邱氏精神病学犯罪片, 中国电影资料馆](https://www.cfa.org.cn/cfa/yj/lwby72/2023083114494774434/index.html)
19. [寰宇娛樂文化集團有限公司截至二零二一年六月三十日止年度之全年業績公佈, HKEXnews](https://www.hkexnews.hk/listedco/listconews/sehk/2021/0929/2021092901437_c.pdf)
20. [www1.hkexnews.hk](https://www1.hkexnews.hk/listedco/listconews/sehk/2021/0226/2021022601673.pdf)
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*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 2020s and later*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license