Sien lui yau wan II: Yan gaan dou

A Chinese Ghost Story was a charming supernatural romantic comedy with some martial arts. Its story was simple and silly, but straightforward and cohesive.

The sequel is a mess that fails on every level.

Things begin well enough. The first film's protagonist encounters cannibals, gets arrested, escapes jail, meets a sidekick, and encounters ghosts. So far so good.

But then things go totally off the rails. Revolutionaries mistake for brilliant scholar FOR NO REASON. One of the revolutionaries looks exactly like the ghost lover from the first movie, but it's just a coincidence. She and her sister fall in love with protagonist for no reason other than that they think he's this famous guy. And everyone keeps thinking he's the guy even though he is clearly incompetent in every way.

The story is convoluted and is a mix of stuff that is incomprehensible and stuff that is comprehensible but stupid. The inane plot is simply used to string together various action sequences involving unrelated demon attacks. In the original, the story and supernatural elements supported each other; here they're just thrown next to each other.

I am perplexed by so many positive reviews, since it's less funny (although there are cute things like a freeze-spell gag), more poorly structured, and far less romantic. My guess is these are people who like the wire-fu martial arts, which are a greater part of this movie. Like the first one, the effects are pretty awful, but they might be marginally better and there's a lot more of that nonsense, so I guess if you're big on cheesy, low-budget martial arts scenes then this might have something to recommend it.

But it's awful and you should ignore anyone who tells you it's good. Don't watch it.

This is the first sequel of the iconic and fantastic Hong Kong ghost fantasy, A Chinese Ghost Story. This time, humble tax collector Ling Choi Sin (Leslie Cheung) meets rebel sisters Windy (Joey Wang) and Moon (Michelle Reis) after his escape from prison. He gets himself stumbled onto a plot where the rebels' father Lord Fu (Siu-Ming Lau) was framed for a crime. While waiting at a villa to rescue Fu from the convoy, the rebels encounter an awakened demon.

Like its prequel, this movie is fast-paced and full of action scenes and surprises, which gives the plot momentum and suspense. There is a good balance of drama and romance, as the character of Windy reminded Ling Choi Sin of his beloved tragic ghost, Lip Siu Sin, from the first movie - bridging a touching connection between the two stories.

This film also has a beautiful music score composed by James Wong and Romeo Diaz and crazy special/visual effects of the magic spells seen in the film you would have to suspend your imagination to believe. Though very wild, the magic somehow works very well and fits in this story. Lastly, the acting was great, provided by a cast of very memorable characters.

While this film does not surpass the original Chinese Ghost Story in story and quality, this movie is still entertaining and fun and certainly one of the better sequels to come out of Hong Kong.

Grade B+

Not entirely sane mixture of martial arts, supernatural tomfoolery, adventure epic, picaresque, Eastern philosophy and religion, and monster movie; featuring cowardly, yet devilishly handsome scholar-heroes, potty priests with magical nous, fearsome, yet cute, highkicking heroines, fat evil fake Buddhas, mendacious high priests, lumbering trolls, hairy gurus and noble warriors. You can choose either THE PHANTOM MENACE and George Lucas, who stole many of these elements to create an enervating sticky gloop that goes on way too long; or this, directed at a breathless pace, full of fun, joy, energy, terror, invention and wonder (and socio-historical critique) which ends far too soon.

A Chinese Ghost Story was a visual feast and a great film that combined swordplay with fantasy, romance, drama, comedy and horror and it somehow worked. This sequel follows the same formula, but goes a bit further with the comedy with some of the cheesiest monsters on celluloid (and that is not a bad thing in this instance). A Chinese Ghost Story goes way past eleven and takes the viewer to another world. To say this film is wild is a gross understatement. I do think the 1st installment is a better film that makes more sense, but I did enjoy this sequel with intense visuals and super insane action choreography with Taoist magic and superheroic level swordfighting and Kung Fu. If you drop acid before watching this, it will most likely enhance your viewing experience. Even without the aid of such substances A Chinese Ghost Story 2 is quite the experience and one example of what makes Hong Kong cinema so endearing and unique.

"Chinese Ghost Story 2" is almost as amazing as the first "Chinese Ghost Story"(1987).Again the film is incredibly energetic,atmospheric and filled with incredibly well-choreographed fight scenes.Of course the special effects may be a little bit cheesy at times(especially the monster is funny looking!),but the film is extremely entertaining for horror,fantasy and even comedy fans.So don't wait any longer-check it out now.Highly recommended.10 out of 10.