Histoires de fantômes chinois II

Although I hadn't seen the first movie, the recap at the beginning brings you up to speed very quickly. The movie itself while not hilarious, cheered me up and made me laugh in a few parts, mainly when the monk, Autumn, was on screen.

There's a lot of likable things about the movie, namely: love interests, thieves that appear out of nowhere (in the plot, not out of thin air), fight scenes with demons and a funny "freezing" spell, redemption of the "bad" guy, and most importantly (since more recent Asian movies seem to forget about them) a happy ending.

Overall, if you want a funny movie that you can just relax while watching it (no serious people), give it a go.

It has been more than 20 years since I watched this movie, so it was about time to dust off the old DVD Player and re-watch this old classic. While the first movie still holds up pretty well, I wish I could say the same about part two. But this one suffers from common 'sequlitis'. Or in other words, trying to ape the first movie but with bigger battles and special FX budget. I give the movie props for one thing, it doesn't run out of visual ideas and interesting characters. Unfortunately it all gets squandered in a meandering plot that struggles to engage viewers. There are lot of parallels to the first movie like the protagonist befriending a magician swordsman, encountering a hidden threat in form of monsters lurking in the dark, or a character hiding a loved one from being seen by others and hi-jinx ensues. Some shots were even completely re-used from it's predecessor like the chase scenes with the dogs in the forest (that are supposed to be wolves). The movie throws lots of dialogue at the viewer, most of it non-sensical mildly amusing comedy. Where the movie dropped the major ball though, is the romance in it's core. It is lifeless and not much time gets invested in making it believable. Is the t's probably the biggest gripe I have with the movie. Unfortunately the re-watch wasn't as satisfying as I hoped it would be (like part one). I hope part three is a step up from here.

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.

Although a little shorter on plot than the first movie, this one might be a bit funnier. With the welcome additions of Jackie Cheung as a wandering ghost fighting Monk and the lovely Michelle Reis to the cast, the movie has even more Hong Kong star power than the last. Of course the chemistry between Leslie Cheung and Joey Wang is still there, and the film is funny and fast paced. If you liked the first movie, then put this on your must see list.