"Ghetto Justice 2" Review (By Lynne)

Lynne - I am a new contributor here at AE-Experience and this is my first post!

Synopsis:

After releasing from jail, LAW LIK-AH (Kevin Cheng) wants to start anew and he joins hand with his comrade WONG SZ-FU (Myolie Wu) to fight against injustice.

LIK-AH and SZ-FU soon become the “Condor Heroes” of Sham Shui Po but they have conflicting views on things all the time. To make the situation worse, LIK-AH’s ex-wife KING LING-LEI (Christine Kuo) suddenly returns from the USA and the relationship is put to the test. Meanwhile, they have offended the wealthy property developer by handling a building collapse case and LIK-AH’s life is in danger. Even his good friend TING KA-FU (Sam Lee), GEORGE MIKE JR. (Lam Chi Sin) and the newly-arrived policeman LEUNG PAU-SING (Raymond Cho) are embroiled in the legal battle. Will they be able to fight for the disadvantaged people with law in the end? -credits ktvb

Let's start talking:

- First of all, let me ask where did Elena Kong disappear to? After her case, she kind of evaporated? I wouldn't find that abnormal if she was just an ordinary character for a sub-story but she wasn't....was she? Sure, she got her own sub-story but she's also a lawyer. I had expected more of her later in court but sadly she was no where to be found later on. Such a pity, because I thought she was the most interesting lawyer to watch.

 - A praise I'd like to give to the producers/scriptwriters is how they effectively connected GJ to GJ2. Let's be honest, I was totally impressed watching the first few episodes because I felt that they did great linking it to GJ! Unlike other sequels, I could feel GJ in GJ2 and it seems like a continuation where nothing was cut. Of course, it helped a lot with the majority of the casts staying, including the mini supporting characters. Even with the new characters, I loved how they were introduced into the original GJ family (JJ Jia, Raymond Cho and Crystal Li). A smooth transition :)

- Love triangle between Law Ba (Kevin Cheng), Sze Fu (Myolie Wu) and Lynnette (Christine Kuo). What was the point of this triangle? I thought there were going to be cat fights, drama and tears but in the end...nothing. A disappointment? Not really because I hate love triangle's drama. Thank goodness Law Ba was decisive and knew who he loves. Unless written well, I hate it when characters can't choose who they love because it gets irritating. I'd also like to thank Sze Fu, for not get overly suspicious, but instead trusting Law Ba (in the beginning anyways....near the end, I supported her for not believing Law Ba though, because he was). A third thanks for not making Lynnette a clingy person. Why? Because they made Christine's character terribly clingy in Tiger Cubs! (Still can't get over that....)

There is one complaint I'd like to address to Law Ba though. I can see that he's a friendly guy but omg....keep your distance AWAY from Lynette when you don't like her! Seriously! This is why she can't get over you! I know he told Lynette straight out that he only likes Sze Fu but his actions (eating Lynette's left overs etc) are.....confusing. Not only is he doing himself no good, he's also doing Lynnette no good.

Another complaint! Why didn't Law Ba and Lynnette get a divorce? I don't get it....were they planning to keep the "married" status forever? Law Ba, you should know the law better than that....it's polygamy if you ever plan to marry Sze Fu later on. Wait, is it still consider polygamy....since he married Lynnette in the Canada? So marrying Sze Fu in HK....would be technically legal? I don't even know....

 *sigh* Now that I've done talking about that, what is my overall thoughts on this love triangle? Pointless.

-I really liked that case about the pregnant lady. I thought that was pretty interesting and the actress did surprisingly well in some of her emotional scenes. Anybody know her name?

 - The case where the lady was trialed for cheating the government's money. That case was rather little but I just want to complain about the outcome. It's stupid that she was charged guilty.

 - The last case, I felt a sense of deja vu and I think everybody felt that too? In GJ, LA took the conviction for Sze Fu and now in GJ2, Sze Fu was a step ahead of LA and took the conviction for him. In the end though, LA still admitted his guilt in court and stuff....and had to go to trial for murder. I personally don't get why it's self-defense. Even though he did not intend to kill, he still should be held liable in some sort of way shouldn't he? Not charge with murder but something else? But the series never showed any of that later....

 I would also like to add...this case had so much potential. A building collapsing? That's an exciting case! In the end though, it was rushed and so therefore....poorly written.

 - Oh...one scene where Law Ba and Sze Fu were forcing the pregnant lady's boyfriend to serve as their witness (or something along that line). Were they allowed to do that!? I understand that Law Ba usually uses some tricks to get their info but what they did then....I felt it was over the line since it seems like they were threatening the guy.

- Ah Teng (Sam Lee) and Sum Sum (JJ Jia). Surprisingly, I loved them together. Especially since they both have lost their loved ones, they got a sense of understanding and connection with each other. While Ah Teng is unwilling to let go of the deceased Ching Ching (Sharon Chan), Sum Sum is someone who knew she had to move on. This is why I like Sum Sum. She's practical, but kind-hearted and knows that they both cannot dwell on the past forever. Instead of trying to stay in the past, she strives forward for a better future, because she knows that her deceased love would want her to do that. Moving on doesn't mean you have to forget, and that is what she taught Ah Teng. I also liked how they stood by each other's side, especially when Ah Teng's mom died. Without her, I don't think Ah Teng could have moved on again.

- LA (Kevin Cheng) and Sze Fu (Myolie Wu). Once again they sparked wonderful chemistry together! I love watching their small interactions with each other, such as LA rubbing his head on Sze Fu's shoulder. They're such a fun couple to watch :) Not to mention they showed a great amount of understanding with each other throughout the series.

 Kevin Cheng as LA? There's something different with LA this time...Even though LA is still a fun character to watch, I thought he's a bit too "loose" in here. I felt this LA missed the sense of "fire", that strong sense of justice that the previous LA had. Maybe it's because he's a bit too laid back in this one? I don't know. I just know that there's a missing spark or should I say, it's just not as strong as before...

 Myolie as Sze Fu? Myolie once again brings the independent and tough character back onscreen! Like what I said before, I'm glad that Sze Fu did not go through a dramatic breakdown or something with LA but instead, dealt with the problem in a cool-headed matter. This makes me like Sze Fu even better than before :) After finishing the series, I also felt that her performance was better than in GJ, especially her emotional scenes.

- Christine Kuo as Lynnette. What can I say? Please put her in smaller roles? I personally don't find her accents terrible...because I don't understand Canto, hehe.  The main problem I have is with her lines within the expressions, etc. She doesn't have much expression on her face and when she says her lines, I can't exactly feel anything in them. Basically, I find Christine's acting rather wooden. I think her recent roles are too big for her to handle. It's better if she starts of with littler and light-hearted roles, which will be easier for her to portray. And since I can't tell TVB to stop promoting her, I wish her the best and hope that she will improve later on.

- Jazz Lam as MJ, Sam Lee as Ah Teng and Raymond Cho as Leung Bao. I don't think I have to talk much about them since I can easily describe them in one word: awesome. I love their friendship with Law Ba! Just like in GJ, they once again managed to make me smile every time they were together.

 - Crystal Li as Grace. You can tell she's a bit stiff but I don't think she's bad for a newbie :) Not much comment on Grace though...Just her "love" triangle with MJ and Leung Bao, she described near the end that MJ is a good man and Leung Bao is a good "friend". Even though she took both of their arms....I'm still going to assume that she chose MJ and that Leung Bao has been "friend-zoned". :P

Overall Thoughts:

Compared to "Ghetto Justice", "Ghetto Justice 2" lacked strong cases and a sense of "focus".  I felt that the series was everywhere, moving from one case to another. Unlike in GJ where law comes into play though, the issues in here were easily resolved.  LA also seems a bit different in here because he's usually convincing Sze Fu and the others to settle the cases in a more "peaceful" way.  Therefore, it does not involve a lot of court work.  I understand that though, because the cases are rather small....and that's the problem.

In the end, GJ2 failed to give the audience a "message" or something to remember about, when GJ did.  So would I recommend GJ2? If you want something for entertainment, try it out because the characters can easily make you smile and laugh.  But if you're looking for a good law series...this is not exactly what you want.  I'd say it's more like a social service series.