Storyline
A story of lost love, young love, a legendary sword and one last opportunity at redemption.
Writers: Du Lu Wang, John Fusco, Donnie Yen, Michelle Yeoh, Harry Shum Jr., Donnie Yen, Michelle Yeoh, Harry Shum Jr., Jason Scott Lee, Eugenia Yuan, Juju Chan, Chris Pang, Darryl Quon, Roger Yuan, Yoson An, Natasha Liu Bordizzo, Shuya Chang, Dev Kingsley, David T. Lim, Kevin Ng, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Cast: Donnie Yen -
Meng Sizhao /
Silent Wolf
Michelle Yeoh -
Yu Shu Lien
Harry Shum Jr. -
Tiefang
Jason Scott Lee -
Hades Dai
Eugenia Yuan -
Blind Enchantress
Juju Chan -
Silver Dart Shi
Chris Pang -
Flying Blade
Darryl Quon -
Turtle Ma
Roger Yuan -
Iron Crow
Yoson An -
Boxer #2
Natasha Liu Bordizzo -
Snow Vase
Shuya Chang -
Jen Yu
Dev Kingsley -
Fagen
David T. Lim -
Peasant
Kevin Ng -
West Lotus Boxer
(as Kevvy Sing-Hoi Ng)
Taglines:
The past returns with a vengeance.
Country: USA
Language: English
Release Date: 3 Jan 2016
Filming Locations: New Zealand
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Did You Know?
Trivia:
The voice in the trailer says the lyrics of the song Bad Moon Rising by Creedence clearwater revival. See more »
Quotes:
User Review
Author:
Rating: 9/10
I caught the movie in Hong Kong on 21st of February, the 96 minutes
version dubbed in Cantonese. Truth to be told, my expectations were
very low, because the original was just a classic. The first bad
trailer with weird auto-tuned music and English dialogue did not help.
But the results surprised me.
Harvey Weinstein and the Weinstein Company finally got the rights to
CTHD, and proceeded to work on a script based on Wang Du Lu's 5th book
of the series. Iron Knight, Silver Vase, which are actually the names
of 2 of the main characters in the movie (just like Crouching "Tiger"
and Hidden "Dragon" 2000 the title itself).
The director here is Yuen Woo Ping, best known for his choreography
work in Ip Man 3, Matrix and of course the first CTHD. He is also a
good director on his own, with critical successful films such as Wing
Chun and Iron Monkey. According to interviews, Ang Lee did not want to
come back for the sequel because he never does a "repeat" work, but he
met up with Yuen Woo Ping and gave him his blessings because he knew
that if there was anyone who could helm the sequel, it would be the
person he worked the closest with in the first movie, Yuen Woo Ping
himself.
The story in this movie is more simple and straightforward (sometimes
predictable), and perhaps not as good as the first movie hence this is
where a point is deducted.
However cinematography and costume wise, it is on par, if not better
than the original. Landscapes of New Zealand and China, and the beauty
of nature are better capture than the original, and the elaborated
costumes are noteworthy.
Action wise, it is a huge step up, perhaps because of the casting of
Martial Arts Kingpin Donnie Yen himself, who has a strong martial arts
background compared to Chow Yun Fatt who needed plenty of stunt doubles
and still did not look fluid in his sword-wield or movements(it was
reported that Jet Li rejected the first film hence it went to Fatt).
The action sequences makes it a combination of not just a Wu-Xia film
but a Kung Fu film because there is now less "flying-around" or
wire-work but more realistic martial arts display by Donnie Yen. Donnie
Yen's performance and presence in the film is spectacular, and it makes
people want to see more of him after his appearance.
Michelle Yeoh remained in character and is impressive in both the
acting and the action department, huge thumbs up for her but
unfortunately her performance seems to be slightly overshadowed
(surprisingly) by new-comer Natasha Liu Bordizzo who plays Snow Vase.
Harry Shum Junior actually looks good in his movie in fight scenes due
to his tremendous Dance Background and pedigree.
As for the English Language spoken on the Netflix version(not here in
Hong Kong), I think it is a good move because The Weinstein Company and
Netflix they want to show the movie to the whole world, hoping to reach
audiences who will never ever watch a swordsmen or Wu Xia movie in
their lives. There are many people in the world who will never watch a
movie because they hate reading subtitles.
And also because people in China hated the first movie and it flopped
and one of the reason is because of Chow Yun Fatt's Cantonese accent
and Michelle Yeoh had Malaysian accent in their mandarin dialogue, so
please try and understand instead of claiming it should be in Mandarin,
the original got mocked because of the bad mandarin accents.
Overall a very enjoyable movie, which really needs heart to appreciate,
it may be slow at times but it truly allows audiences to be observant
and to look at the minor details in such a major motion picture.
It would be even better if one already read the original book by Wang
Du Lu or the new novel by Justin Hill, as it covers more motivations
and intentions clearly.
Therefore, do not just view this as a sequel to one of the most
successful Wu-Xia films ever made, appreciate this movie and take it as
a film of its own, and you will enjoy it thoroughly.
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