![]() ![]() Out of the three women, Xiao Zhao gave up her freedom for Wuji, sworn to a life of celibacy and is thus out of the running. He isn’t forced to make any difficult choices here. The way the many-sided romance is resolved is also not satisfying. We don’t get to see the characters build chemistry or deepen their bond convincingly, because the plot is always pushing them towards the next big scene. ![]() Thus, the pace is blistering, which is a detriment to a wuxia movie that’s romance-heavy, especially one where the protagonist has three potential partners to contend with. ![]() New Kung Fu Cult Master 2 feels rushed, as it is trying to present all the major scenes in the novel that the first movie didn’t get to. A significant amount of time passed between Zhou Zhiruo learning the technique and her becoming a ruthless person, but when that timeskip occurred, it isn’t at all clear, and only mentioned in a blink-it-and-miss-it line of dialogue. That is a reasonable justification, but the timeskip isn’t communicated well. It is implied that her personality was altered due to her learning the Nine Yin White Bone Claw (九阴白骨爪). Also, her willingness to marry Wuji suggests that she’s fine with exploiting loopholes in the promise she made with Miejue, so why then would she decide to compromise her own moral standing, to follow Miejue’s orders? Sure, it is initially implied, and even mentioned in passing later, but it could’ve been much more explicit, leaving no room for doubt, especially since Miejue and Zhou Zhiruo do have a scene together. In the novel, she did abhorrent things because of her master’s dying orders, but we don’t see these orders given in New Kung Fu Cult Master 2. Is there a justification for the personality whiplash? Yes, but they’re not convincing. The gentle and lovelorn woman is revealed to be power-hungry and cunning, going so far as to murder someone to silence him and to kidnap Wuji’s godfather Xie Xun (Elvis Tsui). If you read the book, it makes sense before time is spent setting her up but to see her duplicity played out in five minutes is like a slap across the face, as it goes against the characterisation and portrayal of Zhou Zhiruo in the entirety of the first movie, and everything that transpired in the second prior to the twist. Mild spoilers – In the movie, she hatched a nasty scheme to frame Zhao Min, obtain the Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber for herself, acquire the position of Emei sect leader, and become Wuji’s lover. The character rendered most egregiously, however, is Zhou Zhiruo. Wuji’s characterisation may be more faithful to the original novel, but by cramming the content of an entire novel into two hours of runtime, nuances are bound to be lost in adaptation. Also, for much of the movie, Wuji refuses to be upfront about his feelings for all three women, behaving like an oblivious harem manga protagonist with a heart of gold. There are several plot twists along the way, but they lack the depth and intensity from the book, and the result is an unsatisfying narrative. Like a sappy Mills & Boon novel, part 2 places Wuji and his three women in scenes that set up potentially interesting interactions between each couple, but before we can invest any time in each of the relationships, the movie conveniently moves each one off the table, and points Wuji somewhere else. Meanwhile, Zhao Min is from the Imperial Court, which sees Wuji and the Ming Sect as enemies. As it turns out, Xiao Zhao is the daughter of a saintess, and the sole heir of the position, which requires her to remain celibate for life. ![]() Zhou Zhiruo is forced by her master, Miejue (Jade Leung), to make a promise to never end up with Wuji. The three women each have their own reason why they can’t just abandon everything and pursue Wuji, and the movie spends quite a bit setting up what will ultimately be doomed romances. However, being good at fighting doesn’t mean he’s good at sorting out the pseudo-harem that has formed around him. From a narrative standpoint, the romance feels more high stakes since Wuji is portrayed as the strongest character in the series, and thus it is never in question whether he’d win or lose a fight. There are large action set pieces and unexpected schemes unfolding, but Zhang Wuji’s shifting relationships with Zhou Zhiruo, Xiao Zhao, and Zhao Min take centrestage, even though they’re situated within the macro power struggles between factions and powerful individuals.Īs the story revolves around him and his trio of lasses, the importance of the characters from other sects is diminished due to Wuji being the main focal point. While the genre is still unmistakably that of wuxia, this sequel is structured more like a romance than an action flick. And therein lies the challenge of part 2 of this new take on the classic book. In other words, there are too many threads left dangling, for any single movie to contain. ![]()
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