Lost Bullet 2  ★★★

THE key to Lost Bullet 2 is in the credits.

The original 2020 film was a taut crime action/thriller from France that featured impressive hand-to-hand combat, gunfire and vehicle stunt sequences, matched by a script with some decent twists and turns.

Having established his characters and set-up the sequel, writer/director Guillaume Pierret puts star Alban Lenoir, his fellow actors and a 60-strong stunt team to the test as they up the ante even more with some amazing extended sequences, including open-highway, high-speed vehicle combat that has some of the energy and audacity of George Miller’s Mad Max series.

It’s not as good, of course, but some of this practical work, even if there is a little speed-ramping going on, will satisfy many an action fan.

The individual fight sequences are even better than those in the first film and create a tough and unrelenting propulsion to the narrative.

In the original film, Leoir’s character Lino was a gifted mechanic, ex-con and all-round tough guy given a chance at redemption by cops wanting their cars to be stronger and faster.

Lost Bullet 2 picks up from the same plot line, set immediately after for the prologue and then six months later with Lino’s redemption completed with an official spot as a cop with the drug squad.

But he is haunted by the escape of one villain at the end of the last film and has become estranged from his colleagues, choosing to stalk the villain’s ex-partner and child in the hope he will eventually try to make contact with them.

Along the way he discovers that other secret deals have been done and his arch-nemesis is part of a concerted new effort to flood the city with drugs.

It’s mostly more of the same, but still a lot of fun. Watch out for the high-speed vehicle modified to have an electrified battering ram and hook on the front that hurls its targets into the air.

A third film in the series has been announced. Bring it on.