In the first movie, grandpa Master Lin (Ti Lung) has to put up with his westernized granddaughter Sarah (Tan Qin Lin) from New York who came to live with him in Malaysia. However, they managed to bond and even developed a beautiful relationship during that short period spent together. In this sequel, Lin has decided to retire fully and stop practicing in his traditional Chinese medical clinic, while Sarah and her mother Sophia (Debbie Goh) are coming back to visit him in his new condominium. Unfortunately, a dark cloud now hangs over their happy reunion because grandpa Lin is suffering from dementia and it's getting worse as each day passes.
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Instead of emphasizing solely on grandpa's struggle with dementia, writer-director Teong also touches on different plot lines this time around. Sarah's mum, Sophia now has a more prominent role which involves her ex-boyfriend Hao Nan (Ti Lung's real son, Shaun Tam) Sarah's father who's now living in the same neighborhood. Furthermore supporting characters are given more screen time especiallyAh Bao (Jason Tan) the charismatic boy who has a crash on Sarah. Also a rather touching backstory relating to old neighbor Uncle Meng (Kelvin Leong) helps to enrich his character. Overall, these are welcome additions instead of focusing on Sarah's relationship with her grandpa again.
Although filmed on location around Kuala Lumpur, credits go to Teong who manages to avoid showing viewers the typical well known landmark there. However, there is emphasis on some old Chinese festivals and customs like the Autumn Moon Festival in which families indulge in displaying lanterns and the sharing of moon cakes. Though we don't get to see him in action, the casting of Shaw Brothers veteran Ti Lung as Master Lin is the icing on the cake, and his performance is both touching and engaging. Conversely, we do see him practicing some of his kung fu moves here and there, even with the wooden dummy. Also it's good to see his biological son Shaun Tam acting alongside him as the estranged ex-boyfriend of Sophie and a character he truly loathed.
The delightful Tan Qin Lin, charming as ever, with a beautiful smile and full of life returns as granddaughter Sarah. However, her role here is a slightly reduced one compared to the first movie in which she was more rebellious but she is still equally impressive. Looking much taller and grown up, Jason Tan again plays the funny and lovable boy next door, Ah Bao. Together with his father Meng (Kelvin Leong) and Mum (Ling Tang) they form a strong family unit. However, replacing Jessica Hsuan as Sarah's mum is former beauty queen Debbie Goh who turns out to be a worthy choice. All of these actors play their parts well and are solid characters that help to move the plot along nicely.
Due to the focus on multiple characters, the movie shows signs of repeating itself and running at almost two hours, it can do with a cut here and there. For a start, by making the wedding scene a bit shorter, it would improve the overall pacing. Regrettably, there's also the over-use of the soundtrack and songs to evoke viewers' emotion throughout which becomes repetitive and reduces the intending impact. Nevertheless, this is only a small flaw; it still works in creating ample tear-jerking moments throughout the movie.
“Before We Forget “still delivers a heartwarming experience with its uplifting family drama with a big heart, and has the universal message about embracing the love and joy of being together with family and never losing hope, no matter where you are.
