Painted Skin: The Resurrection

This sequel was totally unnecessary. Why? Because it was essentially just a remake of the 2008 movie "Painted Skin", which also was better than this sequel. It felt like they tried to show part one as it should have been if they had the budget similar to the sequel.

The story in part two was just too similar to part one, to the point where it became a shameless knock off of the 2008 movie. And that just added to the pointless feeling of it the movie.

Xun Zhou and Wei Zhao carried the movie quite nicely, as they also did in the first movie, and they were joined by a talented cast ensemble.

Visually this was an impressive and beautiful movie. The CGI and special effects team delivered an amazing experience here. And the costumes and locations also were right on the money, being impressive and beautiful as well.

This was not the brightest of moments in Chinese cinema. Don't get me wrong though, because it is a good movie in itself. Just too bad that it was such a shameless rip off of part one. If you haven't seen part one then the sequel is a good movie. If you have seen part one, don't really bother much with part two.

I wasn't expecting much from this movie. But it surprised me. The story (already well documented on this site) was not overly complex yet it did have some deeper themes about sacrifice, being enraptured by physical beauty and yet being hollow inside.

The hardest thing for me was that Princess Ying (Vicky Zhao) was supposed to be depressed about her facial scars - hidden by her golden mask. But I find her to be extremely attractive so to imagine her as some horrible ugly thing was hard to swallow. Even when she reveals her mask the scars don't look all that bad.

Actually all three main actresses were very attractive and did very well in their respective roles. The only minor complaint would be the wooden performance by the actor portraying the general. He livens up towards the end so I guess I'll give him a pass.

8/10

Life has been good but at times it gets to be mundane, and boring. So I need to escape from reality and get lost in another world. Many films, such as 'Pan's Labyrinth' and 'Kwaidan', offer me a channel to another world for a couple of hours. 'Painted Skin II' does an equally good job in this regard with its dose of fox demons (the good kind), a princess and warriors.

I watched the film on a BluRay disc. The colour, the imagery, the landscape, the costumes, the feminine sexuality - all visually stunning and often poetic. There are also two love stories in there too, and these are no conventional love stories - they are the very complicated kind. The action sequences, often done in slow-mo, are satisfying. Acting is great, especially by the two leading ladies. This film offers all I need from a fantasy story.

It appears that not many in the North America are aware of this film or have seen it. That is indeed a pity. I hope director Wuershan will move on to do Painted Skin III. Something I very much would look forward to.

It would be much better if the writers don't force the story by many unsuitable details.

I came across this flick because it was sold new on 3D for only 5 Euro's and not having any problems with Asian flicks and liking the story I was eager to watch it. I'm glad I did because I liked it.

I knew from before that this was going to be a pure Chinese flick, in which I mean acting, story and score. That said that means that a lot of fantasy geeks will leave this for what it is because they can't catch up with the Chinese/Asian feeling.

The CGI used was also a problem for many but again I didn't had any trouble with it. I agree that some CGI really looked cheap but it fits perfectly in this slow moving love story. But the fight scene's make it watchable and the erotic feeling between the princess and the demon in the bath also makes it watchable. There's no nudity to spot but the scene does give it an lesbian, erotic touch. Not only that, the acting also is sublime what makes this more watchable.

But at the end, if you can't understand Asian horror or fantasy then leave this for what it is but if you are open minded for some melodrama then this is your stuff, no go eat those azaleas...

Gore 0/5 Nudity 0/5 Effects 4/5 Story 3,5/5 Comedy 0/5