The Legend of Hei 2 (2025)

 

The Legend of Hei 2 (2025)

7/10

 Starring the voices of

 Shan Xin

Liu Mingyue

Zhu Jing

 

Directed by: MTJJ (Ping Zhang)

 

The Legend of Hei 2, to me, is just as good as the first one, and as I said in the previous review, both movies beat Ne Zha 1 and 2 when it comes to pure fun and excitement.

That said, the first half of this second part can drag a bit, and I felt the motivation behind the growing conflict between the spirits and the humans was not explained clearly enough. It takes its time setting things up, sometimes too much time, and you can feel the pacing slow down as the movie focuses on discussions instead of movement.

But once it picks up, my my, the fights and battles are memorable.

The animation artwork makes every action scene look slick and fluid, and when this movie decides to go all out, it really goes all out. The depiction of Naza, a clear parody of Ne Zha, is far far better here than the version we get in the Ne Zha movies themselves, and his fight with Wuxian was genuinely cool to watch. Also, the moment when Wuxian takes on multiple spirits to stop them from going into full war with humans is a must see.

Still, the best fight in the movie is when Hei and Luye take on the elder, and Hei removes his restrictions. That moment alone made the whole build up worth it. Class.

I watched this in the original Chinese language with subtitles, and I have to say the voice acting carries this movie emotionally and dramatically, especially during the quieter moments between fights.

Story wise, this continues directly after the first movie. Hei has been training under Wuxian when he suddenly gets summoned to the guild. It is there we learn that several spirits have been killed using a special kind of wood that carries spiritual power, and surveillance footage shows the person responsible appears to be Wuxian. Of course, we all know this is a setup, because he is clearly the good guy, so the real mystery becomes who framed him and why.

We are also introduced properly to Luye, the last disciple of Wuxian before Hei. She has a deep hatred for humans, and her distant nature clashes heavily with Hei’s more hopeful, can we all get along outlook.

By the end, I did not feel like I wasted my time at all, and honestly, I walked away feeling like this story needs a part 3.

So this is a fine animation to see.

The Legend of Hei (2019)

The Legend of Hei (2019)

7/10

Starring the voices of

 Emi Lo

Aleks Le

Howard Wang

 

Directed by: MTJJ (Ping Zhang)

One thing I can tell you is this, the first few minutes of this animation are very captivating. This Chinese animated film has a wonderful English voice cast that captures every moment, and the animation art style fits the feel of the story perfectly. It was only after seeing this movie that I realized it is actually a prequel to the Chinese animated series, The Legend of Luo Xiaohei.

The fight animation is very well crafted, and the movie keeps you at arm’s length when it comes to what is really happening, allowing curiosity to slowly get the best of you. The film does not play around when it comes to excitement from the very beginning, and because of that, there is a slight point of letdown later on.

After the introduction, we move into a chase centered around rescuing Hei, a spirit cat who is captured by Infinity, a human with spirit-like powers. During this capture, Hei begins bonding with Infinity, and we reach a point where the movie wants us to question which side is good and which side is bad. This is where the pacing starts to drop, as there is a lot of dialogue about Stormend, his goals, and the goals of the guild.

To put all this into a clearer narrative, here is the plot. Set in a modern world where humans and spirits secretly coexist, this Chinese animated fantasy follows Hei, a young cat spirit whose forest home is destroyed by human expansion, forcing him into the human world. He is lost, alone, and angry over his loss when he encounters Stormend, another spirit who takes him in and introduces him to a group of spirits living together.

Their home is later attacked by Infinity, which leads to Hei being captured and placed at the center of a much larger conflict involving territory, balance, and coexistence. Hei meets other spirits who belong to Infinity’s guild, a group that believes strict rules are necessary to maintain peace between humans and spirits. This belief clashes directly with Stormend’s views, which lean in the opposite direction.

The film blends gentle slice-of-life moments with bursts of fluid action, which works well with its soft visual style. However, during the calmer sections, the pacing can slow to a crawl before the action pulls it back up again. And then, the lack of full knowledge of everyone’s intent, even when you are more than an hour in, can be a disappointment, as the curiosity withers.

Overall, the movie explores themes of displacement, moral complexity, and finding where you belong. It is a good film and worth watching if you have not seen it already, especially with part two released in mid 2025, which makes it easy to continue the story right after.

Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery (2025)

 

Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery (2025)

8/10

 

Starring          

Daniel Craig

Josh O'Connor

Glenn Close

Josh Brolin

Mila Kunis

 

Directed by: Rian Johnson

 

I like this movie a lot for one main reason, the details.

This movie is packed with details that make it very easy to follow and at the same time very easy to trick you. The level of misdirection here is classy, you really will not guess who the culprit is, and the way information is planted feels intentional rather than loud. Those same details also make it easy to see this movie exactly as it is meant to be, a standalone mystery that you can enjoy without needing to have seen the two films before it.

The cast gave it their all, because the performances alone in the first five minutes are enough to make you sit back and settle in, as the movie slowly pulls you into this world of mystery and invites you to solve the case alongside Benoit Blanc. It is the third film in the Knives Out series on Netflix, written and directed by Rian Johnson, and you can feel that confidence in how controlled everything is.

One thing that really stood out to me is the way the movie handles loyalty and power. I have experienced something similar recently at a job I had, where loyalty to a cruel leader kept everyone in line, and watching that dynamic play out here can either snap you out of the movie or bring back uncomfortable memories if you have been in that kind of situation. The way Jud is slowly boxed in felt very real to me.

That said, some characters felt like they were there just for the sake of it. I could not fully sink my teeth into the lives of characters like Geraldine Scott or Dr. Nathaniel Sharp. I understood their issues and their purpose in the story, but there was a disconnect that kept me from fully caring about them, and that is the only real issue I had with the movie.

I will be honest, unlike the first two films, this one did not have that tiring first hour feeling, even with a runtime of two hours and twenty six minutes. You are not sitting around waiting for the crime to happen so the investigation can start. A lot is happening early on, and it slowly strengthens the one thing you can guess, that the death to be solved will be that of Monsignor Jefferson Wicks. The way the movie builds the tension between him and the young pastor Rev. Jud Duplenticy in the first forty minutes is engaging, and it becomes very clear that Jud is facing an uphill battle from the start.

So what is the plot. Rev. Jud Duplenticy, played by Josh O’Connor, is posted to a small church run by Monsignor Jefferson Wicks, played by Josh Brolin, after Jud punches another pastor. It is framed as a redemption posting, but this church is ruled by Jefferson with an iron fist. He does whatever it takes to keep new people away and maintain control over the old ones, exploiting their money, loyalty, and respect. Jud sees through this quickly and tries to push back, hoping to save the small town from Jefferson’s grip, but the two constantly clash as Jefferson quietly and publicly works to make Jud uncomfortable.

After a day at mass, Jefferson walks off and collapses, stabbed in the back. Everyone introduced to us, including Jud, appears to have been nowhere near him, and that is where the mystery truly begins for Benoit Blanc.

I highly recommend this movie. It is worth every minute, and the ending brings everything full circle, showing how pride, secrets, and greed sit at the root of every evil in this story.