CTHD2: Sword of Destiny

[Drunk Monk]

Reminded me of 2010 - not bad if you could overlook the original, but the original was suc a game changer that it's impossible to overlook. And 2 is completely overshadowed and dwarfed by the original.

On the plus side: lots of sword fights. Michelle & Donnie squeezed a little acting in. Harry and newcomer Natasha were good. It had some cinematic panoramic moments that might have been good on the big screen. But a pretty standard Kung fu flick overall. Yuen woo ping's fights are so physics-defying wire work that it has become his signature style. 

It has already made decent box in PRC. Again, it's about all about China, something I've been watching closely for years now and am just too dumb to figure out how to cash in on the trending shift. The ironic thing is that the original never played in PRC, which is probably why 2 is doing well there.  And Chinese speakers rejected the original because everyone's accent was off, which I've likened to doing Shakespeare with a Texan drawl. When Netflix said they'd release it simultaneous to the theatrical premiere, many theater chains boycotted. But it's just as well because I doubt it could stand up to deadpool right now.

There's a timely commentary I could publish about this, but I'll probably refrain beyond my print column.

[cranefly]

Yeah, I can see the Chinese totally rejecting the original CTHD because of the accents.

But it's such a potential money-maker.

Couldn't they just dub it from Mandarin to Mandarin, so to speak?

P.S.  You've been busy with the movies lately.  But I'm not standing still.  Just finished out the Human Centipede trilogy.

[Drunk Monk]

Both films were eagerly anticipated and both were disappointing. Although I had lower expectations for CTHD2 and didn't have to pay as much.

[Drunk Monk]

I went back for this again last night. Veronica Ngo is in it playing Mantis, which is basically the same character she plays in Bright (http://www.brotherhoodofdoom.com/doomFor...p?tid=4307), the right-hand heavy badass villainess with a minimum of lines. She's okay in it - fills her role - but it's not much of a role aside from kicking butts of good guys in an exaggerated malicious way and dying spectacularly in the end. 

On reexamination, it's hard to say why this film didn't work. Sure, it's in the shadow of a classic, and there's definitely that. It's got a great cast - Michelle, Donnie, Veronica, Eugenia, Natasha, Harry, Jason... written by my personal friend John Fusco and directed by Yuen Woo-Ping. It is alleged to recall the original Wuxia, but I've only read the graphic novel and it was so long ago, I don't really remember. The plot feels laborious with backstory, which is common to that genre. There's some decent stuff but it all feels unpolished. The actors don't seem fully engaged, more reciting than really acting. The fights don't have that edge - the choreo is very YWP in its high-flying caricature, but it's sloppy especially with the wire work. Maybe it was Harvey Weinstein molesting all the actresses. His scandal has besmirched so many films in retrospect. 

I think it's the accents. Only Michelle has a distinct Malay accent. The rest of the cast speak perfect English. It's like watching a Cowboy Western where everyone speaks the Queen's English. 

I'd like to see Veronica in a Vietnamese drama. She can act. She didn't start in action but she's been typecast there for the most part in Hollywood, with the exception of Da 5 Bloods.