SPL II: A Time for Consequences (2015)

SPL 2: A Time for Consequences aka Kill Zone 2 had the lethal trio of Tony Jaa, Wu Jing, and Zhang Jin going for it. When I started the film, I had no idea what it was about, the cast alone was enough to pull me in. Jaa, Wu, and Zhang brought the fists, kicks, knees, and elbows.

Officer Chan Chi Kit has gone undercover and become hooked on drugs in the process. When a kidnapping he’s supposed to be conducting goes awry, he ends up being the kidnapped party. Held in a Thai prison, Kit is at the mercy of the crooked warden, Ko Chun. His uncle, Detective Chan Kwok Wah, will stop at nothing to rescue his nephew, even defying the police department to do so. Working at the Thai prison as a guard is Chai. Paid to look the other way at some of the unsavory dealings, he stays there to pay for his daughter’s cancer treatment as he searches for a bone marrow donor for her. The Big Bad, Hung Mun Gong, also has health concerns. He is in desperate need of a heart transplant with the only donor available to him…his brother. What to do? What to do?

The story for the film was straightforward yet the director/writers decided to make it a nausea inducing tilt-o-whirl of flashbacks with no warning. The past events weren’t that complex that they needed parsing out to make the film more suspenseful. Nor were the events over a significant span of time. Aside from the flashbacks they added coincidence upon coincidence upon coincidence. Given the human organ trafficking, there was a vague, brief conversation over which lives were more valued. Chai had to decide the line of sacrifice he could not cross for his daughter. Chan had to weigh his boss’ orders against the life of his nephew. And Hung was far less conflicted over his brother’s heart.

The acting was sufficient for the story line. Simon Yam and Wu Jing were both resurrected from SPL 1, though not the actual characters. Zhang Jin was largely called upon to look menacing with his cheekbones sharp enough to cut diamonds. Tony Jaa is usually a stronger fighter than actor, but he managed to pull off the concerned and conflicted father role. At nearly 60 years of age, old-time kung fu fighter Ken Lo, was a nice partner for Tony to work with.

Now for the fights, the main reason to watch this film. The first fight between Wu and Jaa was disappointing as the two threw numerous windmill punches. As the film progressed, the fights improved. When the final battle took place, the long-awaited fast fists, flying kicks and knees, of Wu, Zhang, and Jaa arrived full force. Though Tony’s normally bone crunching elbows and knees felt a little subdued. In his films he usually hits his opponents to incapacitate them, where here, they often bounced back up. Wu Jing is delightfully fast, yet it wasn’t until much later in the film when Kit finally got his bitch on and remembered he could fight. The concluding scene was absolutely ridiculous, hilariously so, but also weirdly fun in a sadistic way. If you are a fan of any or all three martial artists, SPL 2 is worth giving a try.
28 April 2026

Trigger warnings: There were a few slicey scenes with body parts cut off.

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