The first film came out as a total surprise in 2019. It managed to tell a touching story within 97 min, with rich emotions, stunning visuals and outstanding soundtracks. Albeit flawed, Audiences in general are willing to overlook the shortcomings and praise the efforts from Light Chaser Animations for their creativity and sincerity.
2 years later, we welcomed a sequel, with high hope that it can continue the legend, both story and box office wise, that its predecessor managed to create. What we ended up seeing, however, is a Chinese-made Hollywood style pop-corn blockbuster with great visuals but little soul in it. For those who loved the first film, there is a big chance this sequel can turn out to be a great disappointment.
The biggest issue with this film is that it overthrew pretty much every establishment it tried so hard to build in the first film and went the completely opposite direction. Xuan's reincarnation is a useless weakling, leaving his wife (White snake) and further causing her imprisonment; Green snake got herself nearly killed fighting monk Fa-Hai and was sent to a modern day like world where tribulations happen regularly, starting a romance with a strong man, got betrayed, and came to the conclusion that men can not be trusted. White snake, although being a demon and never killed, somehow had to go through reincarnations of many lifetimes with one goal in mind: finding green snake, completely forgetting about her husband and child. The relationships and motivations in this film feel forced and unbelievable most of the time, along with problematic mechanic settings of the Asura world such as how time passes in this world vs time in the real world. The dialogs are direct and straightforward, but with no depth. The list can go on but I will save it since the main idea is conveyed here.
In summary, this film shattered the beautiful and touching love story we saw in the first film and replaced it with a cinematic experience of a dangerous world where safety, trust and love is scarce but full of Gang of New York style gang fighting, Fast and Furious style car chasing and world war Z style hoard attacks. The emotional bond of the two snake sisters became the main focus in this film, discarding the romantic bond between Xuan and white snake entirely in the process, making its audiences wonder: why should I feel heartbroken for Xuan and Blanca, if its creators don't even seem to care any more?
Sorry Green snake, White snake didn't betray you, you betrayed White snake.
2 years later, we welcomed a sequel, with high hope that it can continue the legend, both story and box office wise, that its predecessor managed to create. What we ended up seeing, however, is a Chinese-made Hollywood style pop-corn blockbuster with great visuals but little soul in it. For those who loved the first film, there is a big chance this sequel can turn out to be a great disappointment.
The biggest issue with this film is that it overthrew pretty much every establishment it tried so hard to build in the first film and went the completely opposite direction. Xuan's reincarnation is a useless weakling, leaving his wife (White snake) and further causing her imprisonment; Green snake got herself nearly killed fighting monk Fa-Hai and was sent to a modern day like world where tribulations happen regularly, starting a romance with a strong man, got betrayed, and came to the conclusion that men can not be trusted. White snake, although being a demon and never killed, somehow had to go through reincarnations of many lifetimes with one goal in mind: finding green snake, completely forgetting about her husband and child. The relationships and motivations in this film feel forced and unbelievable most of the time, along with problematic mechanic settings of the Asura world such as how time passes in this world vs time in the real world. The dialogs are direct and straightforward, but with no depth. The list can go on but I will save it since the main idea is conveyed here.
In summary, this film shattered the beautiful and touching love story we saw in the first film and replaced it with a cinematic experience of a dangerous world where safety, trust and love is scarce but full of Gang of New York style gang fighting, Fast and Furious style car chasing and world war Z style hoard attacks. The emotional bond of the two snake sisters became the main focus in this film, discarding the romantic bond between Xuan and white snake entirely in the process, making its audiences wonder: why should I feel heartbroken for Xuan and Blanca, if its creators don't even seem to care any more?
Sorry Green snake, White snake didn't betray you, you betrayed White snake.