Chin gei bin II: Faa dou dai zin

I am a pretty big martial arts fan. Unfortunately I usually don't buy any movies without seeing them or doing a little research on them. I'm embarrassed to say that I bought it based on the cool box....I saw Donnie Yen and Jackie Chan on the cool cover so I thought there was no loosing with this DVD. Boy was I wrong. This must be the lamest and most boring movie I have seen in the past years. The plot sucks, the action sucks, the scenery sucks...its just SUCKS! If you see this movie thinking that you're going to see Donnie Yen and Jackie Chan you're mistaken...they have minimal roles in this film. About 5 minutes combined.....4 for Donnie and 1 for Jackie. BUUUUUUUUUUU

The CGI effect and the costume and production value is certainly better than the first one thanks to the success of Vampire Effects. Though what this movie lack is some good male acting (except Daniel Wu) and the whole idea of the battle of sexes was lame. In the first movie i thought Jackie Chan cameo was hilarious in this one he was cool. The fight scene between him and Donnie Yen was awesome, i don't recall them fighting before. But wish they did. Experience actors like Ekin Cheng and Edisen Chen for sure did a whole better job than newcomer JC Chan and Wilson Chen. Those people lack emotion and very one dimensional at this point.

This movie was boring thank largely to the twins acting and their cuteness. It was entertaining but the fight scene weren't has good has the first one (too much CGI). I have to say the first one edge out the second one in term of plot and more better actors. BTW Tony Leung Ka Fai (who particularly in half of the movies this years) did a terrific job in this movie, he's sooo funny. He need more of those roles like back in the 90s.

Last year's Twins Effect was surely one of the worst movies of the year, due to its corny dialouge, laughable action sequences and lack of plot. This year, it looks like Twins Effect 2 will have almost the same honour. Only the HK movie industry could manage to churn out nonsensical sequels one after another.

On to the plot: The leads, Twins play citizens of a kingdom in which men are slaves and women are the rulers. They help a guy fight the female emperor. End of story.

Nothing really makes any much sense in this movie, it suffers from the same faults as the first one. The saving grace is probably Jackie Chan's cameo, in which there is a brilliant fight sequence.

My recommendation: Only hardcore fans of Jacky Chan/Twins will watch this crap.

1/10

Okay, so it wasn't the best thing ever saved to celluloid, but it is not so terrible as some reviewers may claim. I was interested in seeing this film for two reasons: 1) Jaycee made his acting debut and I was quite curious as to what he could do and 2) Donnie Yen vs. Jackie Chan. Now, Jaycee has a ways to go yet, certainly... he had, I think, all of one expression for most of the movie, but he's riding in on dad's coattails (he's Jackie Chan's son) and it's his debut. I think he may have potential, he just needs some refining. There were also some problems within the set itself, i.e., Jackie nearly bowed out because his son starred in the film and he didn't want to cast any shadows on his boy's beginning. I'm glad that didn't happen, personally, but I do admit the anxiously awaited Yen vs. Chan fight was a bit of a disappointment; it had no real relevance to the movie at all and looks like the moral struggle Jackie faced (the 'should I even be in this movie?' problem) reflected here. Jaycee and Jackie are not in the same scenes and the guest appearance by Jackie ends up seeming more like a hand out than anything.

The Twins are the Twins- what did you expect? Despite that, I find myself actually liking these girls, against my better judgment. Daniel Wu plays the most interesting and tragic character in his usual style. The premise of the movie? A woman has her heart broken because she finds her boyfriend and identical twin sister cheating on her. Of course, the man (played by Wu) had been lied to by the twin and didn't know he was cheating (think they were just caught kissing, actually), but that means nothing. The broken-hearted woman magically imprisons her sister and has the man castrated. They both end up serving her and aid her rise to power. She becomes ruler of her own city where the men are enslaved and sold as beasts of burden. Loving relationships between the sexes are outlawed and it is up to Jaycee's character to free the city and restore balance and natural relations, where all are equal and no one sex is subjugated by another. I think he was a 'Chosen One' type, who's coming had been foretold or some such.

Lots of action, and it's not BAD, just noticeably CGI, which is distracting. We're used to being 'above' that kind of amateur special effects works by now. Makes me think the budget was used up by the starring cast. The movie had its moments, it's worth a rental at least, but it's not so terrible that it needs to be avoided upon pain of death as some might have you believe. If nothing else, it's colorful and lively; just don't expect an epic blockbuster, take the movie with a grain of salt (it is supposed to be a spoof), and you'll come out all right.

Twins Effect II is about a war between males and females. Nothing to do with vampires so why is it called a sequel? A strong cast of pretty boys and cute girls, this movie has a flawed storyline and badly done CG effects. Considering it is a 2004 movie, the special effects are unacceptable. Even Stormraiders and A Man Called Hero look better than this movie.

Only watch this movie if you are interested to see the poor virgin acting skills of 23 year old lead character, son of Jackie Chan. I wonder if the director was paid to cast him in the movie instead of the other way.

Mao points: 5/10