Storia di fantasmi cinesi 2

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.

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.

It really doesn´t make a lot of sense. Still looks good, but the story and characters are just too absurd- And without the main character from the original...nah.

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+

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.