Creation of the Gods II: Demon Force 封神第二部:战火西岐 (2025) Review: Wuershan’s Epic Sequel Boasts Higher Stakes and Better Pacing
Two years ago, Wuershan’s Creation of the Gods I: Kingdom of Storms may have been an ambitious epic fantasy based on Xu Zhonglin’s 16th-century classic novel The Investiture of the Gods. But the movie was hampered by exposition-heavy and convoluted storytelling, uneven CGI and mostly underwritten characters, making me wonder if the sequel is any better since Wuershan has intended to film Creation of the Gods as a trilogy.
Now that the sequel is finally here as part of the tentpole releases during the lucrative Lunar New Year season, I’m glad to see Wuershan has found his rhythm in Creation of the Gods II: Demon Force, which is thankfully a much-improved second instalment of the trilogy.
The Mongolian director, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Ran Ping, Ran Jianan and Cao Sheng, gets down to business right from the get-go as the sequel opens with the establishing shot of the mythical Mount Kunlun as Jiang Ziya’s (Huang Bo) disciples, Yang Jian (Ci Sha) and Nezha (Wu Yafan) are begging the deities led by Grand Master Yuanshi Tianzun (Chen Kun) to save Yin Jiao (Chen Muchi), the Crown Prince of Shang dynasty who was dead in the first movie.
According to one of the deities, it is against the Law of Heaven to resurrect a mortal but Yuanshi Tianzun believes Yin Jiao is the last hope to save mankind. After leading the rest of the deities to bring him back to life, Yin Jiao has somehow absorbed all their powers during the process.
Meanwhile, in Zhaoge City, Commander Wen Zhong (Wu Hsing-Kuo) and his Shang troops return home with the ill-stricken king Yin Shou (Fei Xiang a.k.a. Kris Phillips) and his manipulative fox demon-in-disguise lover Su Daji (Narana Erdyneeva) giving the order to the former to locate and capture the traitor Ji Fa (Yu Shi). With Wen deciding to retire from battle, his second-in-command Deng Chanyu (Nashi) quickly volunteers for the mission. Yin Shou grants her the battle armour as she leads the troops along with the Four Giants of the Mo family.
Wuershan maintains an assured pace in the first half of the movie, with one engaging moment after another. This includes the earlier bridge ambush scene followed by the horse-riding sword battle along the edge of the cliff mountains between Deng and Ji Fa. The action is no doubt an improvement over the lacklustre first movie, showcasing Wuershan’s flair for staging thrilling set pieces, even if the CGI remains a mixed bag in some scenes.
At one point, there’s an epic battle in the vast landscape as the Giants of the Mo family march forward at the sound of the drumbeat coming from Deng to fight against the Xiqi troops on horseback. We get to see these giants showcase their unique spells using different weapons — a huge umbrella capable of absorbing all the shooting arrows before unleashing them back against the Xiqi troops and a lute that spews fireballs.
If that’s not enough, the resurrected Yin Jiao is back but in the spectacular form of the three-headed giant of a glowing blue monster, which I can’t help but remind me of Doctor Manhattan from Watchmen except this one sports flaming red hairs. The CGI may look cartoonish but it’s hard to deny the sheer magnitude of Yin Jiao’s all-too-powerful character, which sees him facing against the formidable Mo giants.
Being the middle chapter of the trilogy, I’m happy to see Wuershan raises the stakes and doesn’t bore us too much with expositions. The overall story is easy to follow as the main point of this sequel is basically about Ji Fa fighting for his people while the return of Yin Jiao is consumed by hatred and vengeance in his quest to kill his murderous king-father, Yin Shou.
Interestingly, the sequel gets a major boost from Nashi’s Deng Chanyu, who has a bigger role this time around and she doesn’t disappoint with her icy, no-nonsense performance. She even steals the show from most of the recurring characters here. Like the first movie, Creation of the Gods II: Demon Force is again running at nearly 2 1/2 hours but even with some slower momentum, especially during the second half, the sequel still benefits from better pacing that at least doesn’t overstay its welcome. Remember to stick around for not one but three post-credits scenes before leaving your seat.