65
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1
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5
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3
The Beauty Saves the Hero 美女救英雄
Demon Force is the long-awaited second chapter in the Creation of the Gods trilogy. Compared to the first film, it’s a massive letdown. The heart of the disappointment? It strays wildly from the classic novel. The whole “Demon Force” (魔道争锋) arc is a made-up conflict that stuffs the screen with Hollywood-style cosmic battles at the expense of the original’s political scheming and philosophical depth.
The story resumes with Ji Fa defending Xiqi against the Shang king’s demonic hordes. He’s thrown head-to-head against Deng Chanyu, a rising Shang general leading the siege. Mongolian actress Nashi brings her to life with exotic, whip-thin athleticism—she owns every frame, radiating lethal power and feminine fragility in the same breath. I actually cheered this update to the old tale: slipping a fierce, layered woman into the mix. No question, she’s the beauty who saves the hero 美女救英雄 and runs away with the movie.
Too bad director Wuershan seems so smitten with Deng Chanyu that everyone else—from Jiang Ziya to Yang Jian—gets shoved to the margins and practically forgotten. The real crime, though, is what they do to Ji Fa: dumbed down into a lovesick, reluctant hero drowning in self-doubt just to prop her up. Then, to rub salt in the wound, Yin Jiao gets turned into the genie from Aladdin. I swung between fury and helpless laughter at the sheer ridiculousness—and at the total waste of Chen Hailiang’s stunning good looks.
There are enough jaw-dropping (if slightly overcooked) battle set-pieces to keep it from being the worst fantasy flick out there. But it never touches Kingdom of Storms in storytelling. I did love Deng Chanyu’s arc—even if it has no business in the Fengshen trilogy. For me, that lands it at 7.5/10.
The story resumes with Ji Fa defending Xiqi against the Shang king’s demonic hordes. He’s thrown head-to-head against Deng Chanyu, a rising Shang general leading the siege. Mongolian actress Nashi brings her to life with exotic, whip-thin athleticism—she owns every frame, radiating lethal power and feminine fragility in the same breath. I actually cheered this update to the old tale: slipping a fierce, layered woman into the mix. No question, she’s the beauty who saves the hero 美女救英雄 and runs away with the movie.
Too bad director Wuershan seems so smitten with Deng Chanyu that everyone else—from Jiang Ziya to Yang Jian—gets shoved to the margins and practically forgotten. The real crime, though, is what they do to Ji Fa: dumbed down into a lovesick, reluctant hero drowning in self-doubt just to prop her up. Then, to rub salt in the wound, Yin Jiao gets turned into the genie from Aladdin. I swung between fury and helpless laughter at the sheer ridiculousness—and at the total waste of Chen Hailiang’s stunning good looks.
There are enough jaw-dropping (if slightly overcooked) battle set-pieces to keep it from being the worst fantasy flick out there. But it never touches Kingdom of Storms in storytelling. I did love Deng Chanyu’s arc—even if it has no business in the Fengshen trilogy. For me, that lands it at 7.5/10.
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