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A year and a half after the release of the first installment, “Creation of the Gods II” is finally out in the world. Chockful with even more epic battles, mythological creatures, deities, immortals and black magic curses, the supercharged high fantasy blockbuster is well armed to take the Chinese New Year box office by storm.

The story picks up right after the events of the first film. Tyrant King Zhou has been resurrected by the fox spirit and orders Commander Wen Zhong (Wu Hsing-kuo) and his returning army to leave immediately and attack Xiqi. There, Ji Fa (Yu Shi), Jian Ziya (Huang Bo) and their Kunlun immortal sidekicks must protect the besieged city against female general Deng (Nashi) and her troops, which include four giants and their magical weapons. Meanwhile, Prince Yin Jiao (Chen Muchi), who was beheaded at the end of the previous movie, is resurrected by the great...

Similar to his other films, Wuershan’s Creation of the Gods 1: Kingdom of Storms begins with a narration about how the world came to be. The world had no shape at the beginning of time. The mighty god Pangu transformed his body into the sun, the moon, the mountains, and the rivers. Another god, Nuwa, made people out of clay, and her spirit gave them life. When Nuwa died, she hid a powerful artifact that held the secret of creation. This artifact was called the “Fengshen Bang” and could turn humans and monsters into gods. The immortals of Kunlun were trusted to guard it. This artifact could only be opened by the king of all realms when it was absolutely necessary. Sadly, the current king of the realms was a despicable evil.

Spoilers Ahead

Why Does Yin Shou Order the Construction of Pyres?

As generations came and went, Yin...

Director Wuershan’s ambitious adaptation of Xu Zhonglin’s 16th-century novel has too much highly variable CGI but its idiosyncrasies set it apart

“Strange things keep happening these days,” muses Jiang Ziya (Bo Huang) halfway through this extravagant adaptation of Xu Zhonglin’s 16th-century myth-and-fantasy novel Investiture of the Gods. By this point, we’ve already seen a woman kill herself with a hatpin before being possessed by the spirit of a white fox; a gurgling, pistachio-coloured demon baby is found naked in the woods; and a conjuror who can make his head float free of his body when threatened with decapitation. Strange days indeed.

Ziya is one of three immortals sent to arrest the Great Curse which is threatening the future of the Shang dynasty. King Zhou (Kris Phillips) is besotted with the seductive but malevolent Su Daji (Naran), and is letting his kingdom descend into carnage. The only hope is the Fengshen Bang,...