First off, let me be clear: Shaheizy Sam is a ripped-AF badass motherfucker, and he’s an absolute delight to watch in this movie.

Second: Polis Evo 2 is an extremely competent, tightly paced-and-edited action movie that surprised me in a very good way.

Third: whatever PAS was unhappy with from watching the trailer, they’re gonna be absolutely livid with if they do catch the movie in its entirety.

I feel like we’re slowly getting around the idea of what makes a good action flick in this country. I missed out on the first instalment of Polis Evo, but by the time the credits rolled for this sequel, I felt like I wanted to see more of Khai and Sani and that’s a good thing.

Holy MILF

I must applaud the producers for greenlighting this script and screenplay. It’s tricky, especially since it touches on the uncomfortable bits that trigger some of us, but I feel that kudos should be given to Hasnul Rahmat, who plays his religious nutjob-end-of-times-militant villain so straightly but with just enough crazy bubbling underneath that it almost, at times, becomes brilliant. Between his Hafsyam and Shaheizy’s Khai, both of them propel the movie at a pace that’s surprisingly refreshing.

Raline Shah looks good and kick ass nicely, while Zizan Razak feels a bit underutilised, although it sort of makes sense in the central conceit of the plot. Erra Fazira exists to chew scenery and remind us she’s acting in a better movie compared to whatever the hell Awie is doing now, which all things considered, is not a bad thing.

Whatchu gonna do

There was a distinctly Bad Boys vibe going on in this movie, not so much that it was glaringly obvious, but just enough that some scenes were imbued with a sense of homage to the Bay classics.

After awhile I glossed over some of the plot holes and just let the action carry me along. Speaking of which… The action scenes are tight, well edited and by the last act, completely satisfying, with bullets flying everywhere, military gear and hand signs, macho men grunting and getting shot in the chest, other men getting stabbed, and all the necessary tropes of the last few minutes of an action thriller.

BOOM BOOM POW

The payoff though, is worth it. So much so that when a pivotal final scene is interrupted by the strains of a singer trying some sort of dramatic vocalising, it jarred me out of that warm post-fight scene buzz and that was painful.

In the end, if Polis Evo 2 is any indication, we’re getting our act together when it comes to action flicks. The plot is adventurous, the scenes feel gritty, there’s an actual attempt at conveying pathos at several points, and more importantly, it stands on its own as an impressive film with set pieces that blew my expectations apart.

What a way to spend a Saturday night.