This sequel in-name only to 2014's Z Storm is definitely an improvement over its predecessor, which to be fair isn't saying much. S Storm revolves around a football bookmaking syndicate with members in Hong Kong, which seems like a refreshing, modern update on the typical global syndicate cliche. Like most Hong Kong police movies or dramas, there are assassins, random A-listers and gunfights galore.
Without giving away too much, Vic Chou's mysterious assassin character is by far the best villain and character in the entire movie. Chou plays the character with emotion, though the character is itself rather badly written, and the character development seems somewhat forced, whose blame can be placed on the rather rushed runtime of an hour and forty minutes. This runtime not only claims Chou as its victim, but a good many others including veteran "grandpa" actor Loi Hai-pong, as well as a sudden, rushed subplot in China that really should have been shaved, since it doesn't really accelerate the main plot.
In terms of the other casting choices, Ada Choi is brought on as an analyst to help Louis Koo's team, who fade into the background and could be replaced by anybody without any notice, and Choi does do her best, but her best is not really required for such a cliched role. Bowie Lam also appears as a senior member of the former jockey club, and I appreciated Lam's acting here, managing to flesh out a small yet important role well. Julian Cheung does shine here, although I wish his background wasn't so much forced into the movie in order to tie in to the gambling and betting theme this much. Dada Chan is unfortunately rather terrible in this one, so I won't be talking about her too much.
In short, although it is riddled with cliches, the main cast tries hard enough and the theme is interesting enough to keep audiences guessing, though this comes at the expense of character development thanks to the short runtime.
