Ne Zha 2 is indisputably the cinematic phenomenon of the year, breaking all box office records. When I first wrote about the first film, I called it China’s answer to the MCU. Well, this sequel is now head and shoulders above the current state of the MCU. Thematically it’s just more of the same so that’s not too impressive. But its visuals, action choreography, humor and sheer scale are all just off the charts. The pace is unrelenting as it just never stops throwing more things onto the screen for you to look at. This would actually have been better if it had just a little less fighting but it’s as good as action movie as anyone could want.

Immediately following the events of the first film, the physical bodies of Ne Zha and Ao Bing are destroyed but their souls survive. To prevent them from dissipating, Ne Zha’s master Taiyi Zhenren crafts them new bodies from lotus roots. But then Ao Bing’s father Ao Guang attacks Chentang Pass believing that his son is dead. Ao Bing blocks the attack but the effort causes his fresh body to disintegrate. Ne Zha then hosts Ao Bing’s soul in his own body temporarily until his master is able to build another body. To do that, Ne Zha must join the Chan Sect to obtain a potion that will restore his master’s Sacred Lotus. The sect is currently led by Taiyi Zhenren senior brother Wuliang and Ne Zha must pass three trials to qualify. However Ne Zha must hide his demonic heritage and struggles with letting Ao Bing control his body instead. Meanwhile Ao Bing’s own master is tasked with watching over Chentang Pass and so forges a relationship with Ne Zha’s parents there.

This is rather long for an animated film so there’s of course much more to the story. The plot isn’t complicated though it is filled with betrayals and false accusations to drive a wedge between the families of Ne Zha and Ao Bing. It also uses the often seen trope in wuxia and xianxia that the seemingly good and righteous factions are anything but. Mostly there are a lot of fights. All of it looks incredibly slick, ramping up on the power scale over time. Particularly noteworthy is how it uses iconic Chinese imagery in the fights in creative ways. Even more so than before, they have learned the Marvel technique of incorporating humor inside and outside of the fight scenes. The jokes are effective and judging from audience reactions in the cinema rather popular. I would have preferred however that Ne Zha’s trials involved something other than fights all the time. The final trial for example is totally extraneous and it would have been so much more interesting to have the sect test Ne Zha in other ways.

I didn’t like that after so firmly establishing the friendship between Ne Zha and Ao Bing, this sequel contrives to drive them apart again. As usual in these situations, there are all sorts of misunderstandings and accusations that stem from poor communication. Fortunately this phase doesn’t last very long. Other story beats like the hypocrisy of the supposedly righteous Chan Sect and Ne Zha’s love for his parents are fairly typical. Some Chinese commentators have proposed that there’s a veiled critique of the US in it with the Chan Sect representing the superpower, a fair but optional interpretation. This is first and foremost an action movie however so it devotes very little time to plot development or even the consequences of what happens. Seemingly thousands of people die, yet it accords no dramatic weight to the massacre at all. This is a failing that it has in common with the MCU as there is a lot of joking around even as the villains commit genocide.

There’s no great artistry in this film but its commercial success is well deserved. The animation is beautiful and it oozes with style. Together with other successes in videogames, it proves that China has not only caught up to the West technologically but that it can export its cultural products as well. There most certainly will be an entire franchise built from this but I do wonder how popular it will continue to be with an older Ne Zha character.