Starring: Louis Koo, Gordon Lam, Tony Jaa, Wu Yue, Chris Collins, Ken Low, Vithaya Pansringarm Director: Wilson Yip

POWER, corruption and lies are at the heart of “Paradox,” “Ip Man” director Wilson Yip’s brutal, bloody action thriller that rounds out the extremely loose cops-and-robbers trilogy he started with “SPL” in 2005 and handed over to Cheang Pou-Soi for “SPL 2: A Time for Consequences” in 2015. Reuniting with the legendary actor and action choreographer Sammo Hung, alter ego Louis Koo and acrobatic Thai martial arts star Tony Jaa, Yip whips up an efficiently sleek actioner that knows its comfort zone and doesn’t stray from it. Surprising as often as it is conventional, “Paradox” will easily find the same audiences that responded to the first two films, regardless of how unrelated they are, and that should hold for distributors as well.

Like the earlier entries, “Paradox” trades in bone-crunching fight sequences and creative use of its locations — in this case, Thailand’s grimier side — as well as anything Hung and the nimble cast can get their hands on. This can include, but is not limited to, laundry, houseplants, patio furniture and, of course, exotic fruit. Hung’s fingerprints are all over “Paradox,” and under his masterful guidance he and Yip have managed the impossible: making Koo look bad.

The story begins with Koo (in full snotty, teary, lip-trembling mode), as Hong Kong cop Lee Chung-Chi, reflecting on his adorable daughter Wing-Chi, waking up in the morning and recalling a time she bounced into his bed with a video camera. Clearly, disaster looms. After meeting the now-teenaged Wing-Chi (Hanna Chan) and her boyfriend, the news that she “wants to keep the baby” does not go over well. The next time we see Wing-Chi, it’s when she’s being abducted from the Pattaya waterfront. After a nervous call from a friend, Lee heads down to Thailand, where he inserts himself into the investigation into Wing-Chi’s disappearance. Lee works the case with local cops Chui Kit (Wu Yue, “Police Story: Lockdown”), whose wife is six months pregnant and whose father-in-law is high-ranking police inspector Chai (“Only God Forgives”), and the possibly psychic Tak (Jaa).

Yip and writer Jill Leung (“Ip Man 3”) do a leisurely and nearly silent job of laying the foundations of the story and what amounts to its larger conspiracy. Leung also makes good use of playing with time to uncover some of Lee’s indiscretions (his reaction to Wing’s pregnancy is even worse than we thought), and drops in the heavies effortlessly and without disrupting the forward momentum. We know the ailing mayor of Bangkok, his political lackey Cheng Hon-Sau (Gordon Lam), rapist thug cop Ban (Ken Low) and American meat packer Sacha (Chris Collins) — possessed of an endless supply of Panama hats — will all play a part down the road, so there’s no need to get fancy. There’s also a hooker with a heart of gold (Jacky Cai) for good measure.

The narrative is largely in service of the action, and despite a protracted third act, “Paradox” moves along at a healthy clip, slowing down only to give Lee and Chui time to connect over their shared fatherhood and find a common quest for vengeance. The lurking idea that those with power give not a whit for those without it — and will use it to their benefit — is underplayed, as is the systemic corruption that gives it life and our collective unwillingness to confront it.

Kenneth Tse’s assured cinematography toggles between cool blues and steely grays, and vibrant urban color, giving the best sequences — the jackboots storming in during the final showdown to protect the status quo, moped-hurdling foot chase — room to breathe, and perfectly complements Wong Hoi’s frantic editing during close quarter fisticuffs.

The movie is now being screened in Shenzhen.

(SD-Agencies)