CREATION OF THE GODS II: DEMON FORCE -- Lunar New Year Blockbuster Trades Character, Emotion for Spectacle

Review by Daniel Lima

Billions of people have grown up familiar with the Ming dynasty novel Investiture of the Gods, the epic tale of history, myth, and fantasy that relays the fall of the Shang dynasty and the rise of the Zhou. All cards on the table, I am not one of those people. As an ignorant Westerner, I can only appreciate Creation of the Gods II: Demon Force — the second part of the latest adaptation of the Chinese classic — as a Lunar New Year blockbuster spectacle. On those terms, it’s certainly not a boring watch, but lacks what made the previous film so compelling.

Picking up where the last film left off, the corrupt king of Shang has been saved from the brink death, sending his most trusted generals to bring down the rebellious city of Xiqi and capture the Fengsheng Bang, a powerful artifact that will secure his rule. The lord of Xiqi, joined by an array of immortals and gods, fights against the onslaught as he weighs how to best defend his people.

The source material has been adapted countless times in countless forms, and this trilogy of films is perhaps the largest and most expensive. This second entry is heavy on action and special effects, with much of the runtime devoted to large-scale battles with a dizzying number of glowing particles flying across the screen and a cacophony of war cries and explosions. At just under two and a half hours, it’s hard not to feel a bit overwhelmed well before the credits roll (through which there are three post-credits scenes, at that point just don’t end the movie yet). It doesn’t help that it is as dark and drab as any Hollywood tent pole, with much of the action taking place under the cover of night, with a muted color palette, and annoyingly often over a barren plane or against an obvious green screen.

Novelty sets this apart from American CG-driven slop: giants commanding steel dragons to attack thunder gods, immortal beings traveling through the elements to rescue people from paralyzing moon beams, mythical steeds felled by evil wizards commanding undead armies. There is a certain looseness to how these elements are brought to life, not as constrained by the paradoxical desire to make things “realistic” that plagues so much Western big-budget fantasy. Perhaps to an audience used to seeing these cultural touchstones adapted to screen, this isn’t anything special, but it was enough to keep me engaged.

That is good, because in devoting so much time to the spectacle, this second film in the planned trilogy sacrifices the character dynamics and political intrigue that drew me into the first. The previous entry was mostly set in the Shang capital, depicting the descent of the king into villainy as his court turn against him and the heavenly interlopers attempt to find a new ruler. With the battle lines not yet drawn, this made for more drama, more time establishing who these people (and gods) are, more reason to actually care about what happens. There are a handful of welcome moments here that attempt to do the same, but not enough of them to make Xiqi feel like a place worth saving. This may well be a consequence of how the novel has been divided up, but coupled with how spread out the characters are, and how many have died or fundamentally changed, it means there is a distinct lack of emotional stakes.

Recently, I’ve found myself watching a good amount of wuxia cinema produced by the Shaw Brothers in the 1970s and 1980s. These films were often directly or indirectly inspired by Ming literature about gallant heroes, powerful magicians, and fearsome monsters, and were the crowd pleasers of their day. Though they themselves vary in quality (especially those that attempt to condense particularly long tomes), it can at least be said they are beautiful to look at: ornate and vivid sets, cinematography that glowed, intricate action choreography. It’s hard not to think of these films when watching this modern incarnation, and lament at the lost recipe that made for such gorgeous imagery.

Yet as somewhat disappointing as Creation of the Gods II: Demon Force is on the whole, I still have sights like young Nezha shaping his winding sash into a shield and Leizhenzi summoning his green lightning stuck in my head. For whatever it’s worth, this is a film that scratches an itch for big budget fantasy splendor, with a distinct flavor that has me looking into what’s the best translation of a medieval Chinese text. For all the flaws, it still captured me enough that I’m keen to see the grand finale. 

Creation of the Gods II: Demon Force is now in theaters.

Rating: 3/5