The Four 2 (2013)

"Getting what we want and happiness aren't always related"

Ostensibly The Four 2 is a wuxia film, and if talking a person to death qualified as a martial art then this movie would fill the bill. The first half was composed of dull dialogue and drawn out exposition, most of which led nowhere. There was a murder "mystery" that didn't do anything to liven up the story. Thankfully, the second half did the heavy lifting and upped the action and emotional conflicts.

The Four 2 sort of picked up where The Four left off, leaving a couple of key plot points unanswered and glossed over.
When a movie is titled, The Four, it would seem like it should focus on The Four, but with the large cast and erratic story, the team never seemed to be a team and much time was focused on other characters. They were more like the four acquaintances who occasionally bump into either other or argue with each other over whose turn it was to pick the restaurant. The Big Bad didn't seem particularly menacing. He may have caused problems with the team but nothing impossible to overcome.

Once the second half begins, the action starts which is good. Because even after 3 hours at this point the character development was sorely lacking. The romance between Cold Blood and Emotionless was pretty emotionless and cold. The fights were dramatic and the CGI wasn't horrible. The action at least involved most of the characters and if the story wasn't moving forward very fast at least the characters were moving. Some sets were better than others, a few looking rather low budget with the CGI filling in the gaps as people fled and fought. As the fights rolled on and secrets were revealed, the movie finally became interesting. Then it simply ended after a revelation.

The people were pretty and the production values were fine. I actually enjoyed the OST, something I rarely even notice. What let me down was the less than stellar dialogue, uninteresting characters because they often weren't doing anything important, and the long dragged out first half.

I love wuxia films. Bring out the swords and poison darts, the super leaping and qi power. But one thing a wuxia cannot be is boring. Even a rapier wit would have been welcome in the first half of this movie. Being the middle child is never easy in a movie trilogy but oftentimes the second film is the deeper, darker, more emotionally involved story because the characters are established and the stakes heightened. The Four 2 failed on all accounts for me.


9/19/22

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The 2nd movie confirmed some of the confusion that was in the 1st movie. The love interest definitely is confirmed and we get to know character background!!! Usually movies do not tell us about character background but surprisingly the main plot in this movie revolves around a character. I could tell in this movie that when the crew of "The Four" started making movie #1, they knew they were going to make a trilogy regardless how popular it was. I would say this movie and movie#1 were equally good. The only sad part is that the ending is a cliffhanger:( Movie #3 hurry up and come out!!!!

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a novel adaptation wuxia film with court/inter-departmental intrigue

this is a wuxia film that incorporates court/inter-departmental intrigues to enhance the storyline. it is recommended that you watch the 1st installment before moving to the 2nd, as the 2nd continues to expand the story and character developments. this film might not be suitable for certain age group as it contains 2 mildly erotic/suggestive scenes.

the storyline, plot, and performances can at times feel uninspiring. the chemistry between the two main characters is not convincing. there are 2 mild erotic/suggestive scenes in this film, but i don't see either serving any purpose to enhance the storyline or further the plot or character development.

the film incorporates limited natural environment as background sceneries, and many are man=made sets and often embellished. the usage of CGIs and the quality of the CGIs can at times be annoying distracting and superfluous. there are certain redundant segments and/or segments that don't make much sense. this is not helped by the bland dialogues and mediocre dubbing (voice-over) quality.

this film might be suitable for you if,
+ you want to space out
+ you are a big fan of Deng Chao and/or Liu Yifei

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Compared to the previous movie, this film was based more on emotions rather than cases, corruption and schemes. Each character is further developed through the showcase of emotions as events happen right after another. Wu Qing is experiencing the turmoil within her as she realizes the 12 killers who murdered her entire family aren't dead. As they unravel the case and go back to the past, new incidents occur, causing misunderstandings, distrust, and pain. Bonds are broken, new ones are revealed. What we didn't know in the first movie, or what we assumed, are revealed in this brilliantly directed film. If you're looking for more mystery cases, this probably won't intrigue you for that long. There are more emotions at play, and with emotions, there comes mistakes.
What I appreciated was that the original cast stayed the same, since not a lot of Chinese sequels do that anymore. However, the acting was not what I expected. Wu Qing, a name to indicate without emotion, was full of emotions this time and it made me cringe to see Liu Yi Fei act during the middle of it. However, twist at the end, made me appreciate her as an actress and love her as a whole for this sequel. The big bad wolf, Leng Xue, facing losses, was blinded temporarily by his emotions and was rash in making conclusions. However, Deng Chao's superb acting as he tried to face the difficulties ahead of him was touching. Collin Chou and Ronald Cheng are part of the main cast but seem to be supporting roles wherever they go. Not a lot of lines and not a lot of screen time but absolutely wonderful when they do show up.
I'm almost certain part 3 of the trilogy would be as brilliant as the last two. There are so many loose ends at the end of The Four 2, it made me devastated that it ended as it is. Ending the movie with Hu Xia's (Sad Fairytale) voice was an added bonus to the emotions that were swirling within me at the time. There were a lot more CG effects, for sure, but it didn't affect the beauty of the scenery. Wonderful cast, beautiful music, touching story line, just gather some tissues when the movie hits its climax. Beginning slow, slams all kinds of emotions into you and then ending fast, that's how this movie will be.
Definitely a must watch for those who have watched the first part of the movie. It was a spectacular watch and a great way to start off with 2014 movies (despite it being released in 2013, there hasn't been a good quality version uploaded until recently for me).

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