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Second Life aka Son of a Punch was one of those odd amalgams of slapstick, melodrama, and violence. I can usually handle two out of the three, but struggled with the film when it tried to strike at the heart strings with all the finesse of a ham-fisted thug. It was good to see septuagenarian Yuen Qiu star as the baddest of badasses to ever go up against the triad in “Chinatown in Unknown Country.”
A pregnant Lao Liang ended up serving 30 years in prison for killing her husband’s killer when he came to the funeral to mock the deceased. Her son was sent to an orphanage and Liang lost all contact with him. Upon her release, her only goal was to find him. Before Liang's release, criminal Gui was moving up in the same triad responsible for Liang’s troubles. When Gui was ambushed and blinded, it gave the criminal element a way into Liang’s house and past her more than formidable defenses by disguising him as her long-lost son.
Age is a funny thing in films. First, we have to accept that Liang was in her mid-40s when she became pregnant and went to prison as the actress was 74 at the time the film was made. Secondly, Gui may have lost his sight but Liang hadn’t and Phillip Ng looked every bit like a nearly 50-year-old man and not 30. I’m pretty good at aging and de-aging characters but the filmmakers were pushing the limits of my abilities with this casting.
Gui was a lethal killer rubbing his hands together with glee at the thought of Liang's demise and before you could say mommy-son day out, he was her defender and then he wasn’t and then he was. The addition of a melodramatic plot twist weighted an already heavy movie down, despite the comedy imbedded in the bloody fights. It was too serious of an issue to be given short shrift at the end, cheapening the whole plot element. And how did Gui not have any problems with losing his sight? How did he recover from his injuries, learn how to deal with his loss of sight and learn Braille all in one month? Light body abilities in a kung fu film? No problem. A 75-year-old woman kicking butt and taking names in a kung fu flick? No problem. But bring in real world concerns like Liang’s illness or Gui’s injury…there’s a problem. Perhaps people in Unknown Country have magical abilities.
I enjoyed Yuen Qiu’s performance and have a soft spot for her. The fights were all of the high flying, powerful qi, superhero style. I couldn’t help but cheer for her as she stalked her hunters. The relationship between her and Gui just felt forced to me and I would really have liked for that aspect to have been explored better. She’s a mother who suffered bitterly for a moment’s action and knows her child did as well. Now that she was free, fate smacked her down again. But when you have to make sure and get the comedy quota in, those moments must be sacrificed for the laugh or the body count. Whichever comes first. Second Life had some really nice moments and could have been so much more.
11 March 2026
A pregnant Lao Liang ended up serving 30 years in prison for killing her husband’s killer when he came to the funeral to mock the deceased. Her son was sent to an orphanage and Liang lost all contact with him. Upon her release, her only goal was to find him. Before Liang's release, criminal Gui was moving up in the same triad responsible for Liang’s troubles. When Gui was ambushed and blinded, it gave the criminal element a way into Liang’s house and past her more than formidable defenses by disguising him as her long-lost son.
Age is a funny thing in films. First, we have to accept that Liang was in her mid-40s when she became pregnant and went to prison as the actress was 74 at the time the film was made. Secondly, Gui may have lost his sight but Liang hadn’t and Phillip Ng looked every bit like a nearly 50-year-old man and not 30. I’m pretty good at aging and de-aging characters but the filmmakers were pushing the limits of my abilities with this casting.
Gui was a lethal killer rubbing his hands together with glee at the thought of Liang's demise and before you could say mommy-son day out, he was her defender and then he wasn’t and then he was. The addition of a melodramatic plot twist weighted an already heavy movie down, despite the comedy imbedded in the bloody fights. It was too serious of an issue to be given short shrift at the end, cheapening the whole plot element. And how did Gui not have any problems with losing his sight? How did he recover from his injuries, learn how to deal with his loss of sight and learn Braille all in one month? Light body abilities in a kung fu film? No problem. A 75-year-old woman kicking butt and taking names in a kung fu flick? No problem. But bring in real world concerns like Liang’s illness or Gui’s injury…there’s a problem. Perhaps people in Unknown Country have magical abilities.
I enjoyed Yuen Qiu’s performance and have a soft spot for her. The fights were all of the high flying, powerful qi, superhero style. I couldn’t help but cheer for her as she stalked her hunters. The relationship between her and Gui just felt forced to me and I would really have liked for that aspect to have been explored better. She’s a mother who suffered bitterly for a moment’s action and knows her child did as well. Now that she was free, fate smacked her down again. But when you have to make sure and get the comedy quota in, those moments must be sacrificed for the laugh or the body count. Whichever comes first. Second Life had some really nice moments and could have been so much more.
11 March 2026
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