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 (Fei Xiang, also known as Kris Philipps) 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 Saints but has turned into a three-headed, six-armed blue titan driven by anger and lust for revenge.
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“Creation of the Gods II” is as fun and wild as the summary above promises, and anyone who enjoyed the first movie should draw (at least) as much pleasure from this new episode. Part of the fun of this sequel, also adapted from the 16th century shenmo novel “Investiture of the Gods”, is that little time is wasted on the exposition or build up that characterized much of the first installment. Instead, the film very quickly settles for battles, chases, fistfights and clashes of wild, titanic proportions. Whereas much of the first movie was devoted to court intrigues, hushed conspiracies and perfidy inside the nighttime corridors and alleyways of the royal palace, “Creation of the Gods II” can freely give in to its blockbuster nature to offer almost non-stop action in the great outdoors of the Yellow River valley.
Much of the film centers on the invasion of Xiqi City, and as both sides wield their own weapons and fantastical creatures, the various clashes and full-scale battles are a feast of excellent CGI visual effects (a definite improvement on the first film). There is great visual imagination at work in the on-screen rendering of the various mythological monsters and mystical powers, much of it drawing from Taoist or Buddhist tradition, like the four heavenly kings of Buddhism inspiring the four giants. Even better, this visual wealth is only progressively revealed to audiences, allowing the film to rely on a constant fresh supply of spectacular visionary reveals as each side invokes a new curse or draws a new secret weapon out of a seemingly endless reserve.
This is great also for the narrative, which has significant forward momentum and rarely falls back into purely explanatory scenes. Many surprises and revelations await audiences, as director and co-writer Wuershan does not just rely on CGIs but never forgets the importance of such storytelling devices as hidden hints and foreshadowing, story twists and sudden revelations, revealing flashbacks and forward-looking cliffhangers. The pacing is pretty good throughout, although at 145mn the movie does occasionally hit some less exciting passages, or stretches battle scenes (the final one especially) a little too much. Sensory and narrative overload is never very far from dragging down “Creation of the Gods II” back to earth, although much less so than your average blockbuster, Chinese or otherwise.
The movie can also rely on an apparently endless reserve of characters, which can also be an issue. Nobody ever really dies in this universe, while fresh new characters are added to the already full roster from the previous film. This results in a sometimes overcrowded screen where it may be difficult to keep track of who did what, when, and for what purposes. At one point, a supporting character sacrifices himself heroically for the benefit of his community, but it is not certain everyone in the audience will remember who that character even was. This can hinder the dramatic import of the tale.
By far the most interesting individual here is General Deng, who graduates from a side character glimpsed in the previous film to one of the protagonists. She is played with great self-confidence by Nashi, who may well have the most screen time here – for good reason. Not simply because she is a powerful and strong woman with a stylish golden armor who can hold her own against men (who initially welcome her with a lewd folk song until they learn better). Deng might also be the only one in this installment to have an actual inner conflict and character journey, providing the kind of human drama that was much more present in the first film. Initially introduced as the villain of the piece, she will go through several iterations in the course of the story, and even when the character is threatened by the worst possible female-related clichés, a late twist will save her character arc. The romantic pairing between her character and the dull Ji Fa is not the best thing about this movie, but thankfully it is kept to a minimum.
Later sequences, as well as no less than three mid- and post-credits scenes, dutifully pave the way for the third and final installment of the trilogy, which promises even more mayhem, hair-raising villains and fabulous beasts (a release date has yet to be announced). Every time you think the filmmakers have reached the apex of visual havoc and furious critters, they prove you wrong and up the ante one further notch. The glimpses into part III seem to only confirm this, and already promise another imaginative ride into the realm of gods and demons.
