Histoires de fantômes chinois II

"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.

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.

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.

I'm torn between admiring A Chinese Ghost Story II for its sheer craziness and disliking it for being such an incoherent mess of a sequel to one of my favourite HK movies.

The original A Chinese Ghost Story was the film that showed me there was more to Hong Kong cinema than Jackie Chan, director Siu-Tung Ching brilliantly blending romance, fantasy, comedy and horror; part 2, also directed by Siu-Tung Ching, is non-stop insanity that never achieves the lyrical beauty of its predecessor, but does deliver a giant, toothy monster and a demonic high monk who can transform into a massive golden Buddha and a giant centipede.

Leslie Cheung reprises his role of timid debt collector Ling Choi San, who escapes from jail (having been wrongly arrested as a bandit after escaping from cannibals!); mistakenly stealing the horse of Taoist Chi Chau (Jacky Cheung), the young man seeks shelter in an abandoned villa in the woods. Chi Chau catches up with Ling Choi San, and the pair sort out the misunderstanding. During the night, the men are attacked by rebels posing as ghosts, who mistake Ling Choi San for renowned scholar Elder Chukot Ngo Long (Feng Ku), with whom he shared a cell. Amazingly, one of the rebels, Ching Fung (Joey Wong), is the exact double of ghost Siu Sihn (also Wong) from the first film; Ling Choi San is unsurprisingly smitten and agrees to help rescue her father, who is prisoner of the Imperialists.

Despite the title, there are no real ghosts in this movie, but there's plenty of supernatural silliness as Ling Choi San and his new found friends do battle with evil forces. The film is a smorgasbord of over-the-top special effects filled sequences, most of which make very little sense, but which are undeniably visually impressive. Even the less effective effects - such as the silly demonic monster that continues to menace our heroes despite being cut in half - are entertaining, and there's surely something for everyone to enjoy (I particularly liked the 'sword surfing' scene).

So, not the sequel I was hoping for, but still worth checking out if you like your HK movies to be completely bonkers.

After the resounding success of "A Chinese Ghost Story" a second part had to be made. And what a sequel it is! This time our bumbling tax-collector finds himself in prison, fighting stacks of rubber monsters and befriending a Taoist who likes to travel underground! It's nice to see all the cast back too. This movie is very funny and never takes itself too seriously. For some who didn't quite understand the first movie, this is great to clear up any confusion. For the others, this is lighthearted entertainment.