Big shoes to fill and missing the brilliant Ang Lee behind the scenes. The first was a beautiful film with a very strong story, this one lacks a story and a strong visual force. I expected a strong sequel but felt the Weinsteins didn't invest in the story. Donnie Yen sounded great as the replacement lead character but we don't uncover much from his character. The fight scenes are impressive, as is the last confrontation. I would like another sequel to follow this one, exploring characters and focusing on the strengths of the first film. Being a belated sequel you can't help but feel slightly disappointed.

This movie did not feel Chinese at all. From the very obviously non-Asian forest scenes, to the fact that the actors were all speaking English, to an American-sitcom-feeling fight scene where precious Ming vases teeter precariously around the the two young leads, to Donnie Yen looking like a friggin' COWBOY in his leather hat and bandanna getup... My favourite part about the movie was seeing Harry Shum Jr. in an unexpectedly legit-looking Chinese role -- good on you man! And the young female lead was really pretty and took her role seriously (even if I found it hard to take her seriously with her Australian accent) and I look forward to seeing her in other roles. More complaints: It felt like bits were being taken from generic fantasy tropes (annoyingly, Western generic fantasy tropes) like the creepy priestess in Game of Thrones, and a motley crew of good guy sidekicks who excel more in witty banter than actual fighting. There's also a forgettable main villain and forgettable people who want vengeance against him. Most people in this movie needed to learn how to pronounce Chinese words properly -- much of it was cringeworthy. Bleah. I'm bored with writing this review already.