Review of Election 2 (2006) by Julian G — 23 Jun 2007

I saw this a day after I viewed Election, so I may have overdosed a bit. This second movie was much more distant for me, with the characters feeling flat.

I really did not like the sudden political allegory at the end either, where a monolithic Mainland China corruption suddenly dwarfs the vicious in-fighting of the HK triad. This is reminiscent of Michael Corleone's they-pull-me-back-in scene in Godfather 3, except the political commentary shifts the dramatic focus from a personal, human grounding to an abstract level of governments or public institutions, losing all impact in the process.

But what worked in Election still works in Election 2. They are both clear-eyed, minimalist narratives that completely undermine the glorification of Triad life.