NE ZHA II Review: Gods, Demons, Spectacular Action

Wow wow wow! Truly spectacular storytelling that looks incredible in 3D IMAX, the film is the definition of 'must see in a theater' entertainment.

Ne Zha II
The film opens Friday, August 22, via A24 Films. See it big and loud.

Eye-popping and jaw-dropping, the battle scenes, whether they involve armies of soldiers in fierce combat or one-on-one fights between martial artists in flight, are dazzling to behold, the deep, darkly colored landscapes serving as artistic backdrops for the unfolding action.

From recently sampling the opening 15 minutes of Ne Zha, which opened in 2019 to worldwide acclaim, reaping more than $725 million in box office receipts, I had the mistaken impression that the film was aimed at very young children. From watching the opening moments of Ne Zha II, which opened earlier this year to worldwide acclaim, reaping more than $2 billion in box office receipts (so far), I realized the gravity of my mistaken impression.

True, the film can be incredibly silly, and, early on, freely indulges in toilet humor that would delight any child. Yet, early on, the film also firmly establishes that its primary audience is not intended to be children, even though the titular character is, by all appearances, a child.

As to that: Some parents are afraid of their children's unhinged energy. Now imagine if even the gods were afraid of your demon-child.

(As to the English dub: Yes, I prefer watching every film in its original language version, but I'm willing to make an exception for English-language dubs for animated films and TV shows, especially when they're well-done. Michelle Yeoh is the biggest name here, in a supporting role as Ne Zha's human mother.)

What grabs attention from the first frames is the visual storytelling that director Jiao Zi employs. Frankly, the narrative lost me more than once, but my eyes danced with joy at the beauty of the sumptuous animation, which is consistently engaging, even spellbinding for long stretches of the film.

And long it is: While Ne Zha ran under two hours, Ne Zha II runs 143 minutes, which sounded like overkill to an older adult who wears corrective lens already, much less with 3D glasses on top of that. Even so, I found myself spellbound -- that word again! -- immersed in the intricate details that are captured in glorious splendor, in both the foreground and the background, making the experience all-encompassing and enthralling.

What also made it an absolute pleasure for me is that the film contains all the hallmarks of classic Chinese action adventures: The bold mixture of action, comedy, suspense, dark energy, thrills, murderous actions, and unabashed melodrama that can also be found in many of my favorite films from the past 40 years.

To my eyes, the narrative serves best simply as a framework upon which the action hangs, to badly paraphrase a description I once heard from the great writer Shawn Levy about his non-fiction books. And the action is truly thrilling to behold, as the animation allows for dextrous fluidity in the simultaneous movement of bodies and weapons and objects throughout the Earth and also in the realms Above and Below.

'Nuff said. Go see this movie.