Watching the first two installments of the Fengshen Trilogy, #cMovie Creation of the Gods Ⅰ: Kingdom of Storms (2023), and then Creation of the Gods II: Demon Force (2025).

These are epic Chinese fantasy films adapted from the semi-mythical novel Investiture of the Gods by Ming dynasty writer Xu Zhonglin. I'm familiar with the work and its a complex story.

Stellar ensemble cast and production crew. From the beginning, visuals are stunning with inspired acting.

#CreationOfTheGods #cDrama

📅 Fancy a Stream? When Will Creation of the Gods II: Demon Force Be Available on #Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, or #iTunes? https://www.tonboriday.com/2025/06/creation-of-the-gods-2-netflix-prime-video.html

#CreationoftheGods2 #CreationOfTheGods #CreationOfTheGodsII

Creation of the Gods 2 arrive en France !

Fantasy et grand spectacle !

https://buff.ly/4hVuyyK

#Creationofthegods #fantasy

Creation of the Gods II: Demon Force (slightly spoilery review)

I have a very soft spot for the good old-fashioned shenmo genre because I grew up watching dramas about gods like Nezha, Sun Wukong and Erlang Shen. These are stories adapted from ancient Chinese folk tales and mythology, and classics novels that are centuries old.

Creation of the Gods I came at a time when the Chinese entertainment scene was dominated by dramas and movies about gods falling in love (generally referred to as xianxia). As a result, any drama with supernatural elements have come to be known as xianxia.

Creation of the Gods would probably be labelled a xianxia by some, but it’s more of a shenmo because the gods and demons are on more serious missions than romance. The return of this classic genre was a breath of fresh air in a market full of xianxia romances.

In case you’re not aware, Creation is based on the 16th-century, Ming Dynasty novel, Fengshen Bang (封神榜) or “Investiture of the Gods”. It has about 100 chapters and was first published between 1567 and 1619. (According to Wikipedia.)

Creation of the Gods I was a tour deforce of Chinese cinema, and it predictably and most deservedly won several prestigious awards in China. But will Part 2 live up to the first part’s fame?

The story

In Creation of the Gods I, we see the rise of Yin Shou (Kris Phillips), a revered general-prince who seizes the power of the throne by murdering his father and brother, and then his once-loyal vassals one by one. Eventually, even his wife and son falls to his ambition. At the end of movie, his son Yin Jiao (Chen Muchi) and Ji Fa (Yu Shi), a once loyal soldier and heir to the Xiqi fiefdom, rebels.

In Creation of the Gods II, Yin Shou is now losing his strength and power despite the help of the fox spirit, Su Da Ji (Naran), and the dark sorcery of the three-eyed Wen Zhong (Wu Hsing-kuo).

Female general Deng Chanyu (Nashi) promises to kill the traitor, Ji Fa, and bring back the powerful Fengshen Bang for the ailing emperor.

The immortals Ne Zha (Wu Ya Fan), Erlang Shen (Ci Sha)and Jiang Ziya (Huang Bo) ends up in Xiqi city to help defend it against Yin Shou’s forces, which includes giants, monsters and a three-eyed general with fearsome magical powers.

What I liked

• The special effects have improved over Part I
• The stakes are higher and the battle scenes very cool
• More cool powers and cool gods!
• The plot is tight, fast-paced and exciting.
• General Deng Chan Yu (played by Nashi) is going to set the bar for all female generals in Cdramaland from now on.
• Yin Jiao makes one heck of a grand re-entrance!

What I didn’t like

• Ji Fa makes a number of frustrating decisions, but it didn’t affect my enjoyment that much as I see him as an inexperienced leader more used to following than leading. He is not as cunning as Yin Shou and that’s his Achilles’ heel. We see him being bitten by this over and over again in the movie. I really hope he has learned his lesson by the end of this movie, because he faces a foe even more formidable in the third movie!
• Er Langshen and Nezha remains bland, personality-wise and mere sidekicks. Oh well, can’t demand for the sky, I guess!

Final thoughts

I’m not the sort to overanalyse popcorn movies. Because this is what Creation of the Gods I and II is, an enjoyable holiday movie to enjoy with friends and family. This isn’t a Rooster-award winner that makes you think about the meaning of life. This is supposed to be fun, so don’t expect it to do more than entertain the heck out of you. And I think in that respect, it sure fulfilled its mission very well.

I think that if you want to find something wrong with Creation of the Gods 2, you will find it. As there are a number of major movies jostling for No.1 in China right now, understandably everyone is comparing the movies with each other. Weibo being Weibo, the criticisms of Creation of the Gods II can be harsh.

But I tell you right now, that reading those before watching the drama is not a good idea because it will colour your perception more negatively than necessary. As usual Weibo is all about the horse race, which movie got a better rating, which movie got better viewship or box office earnings, blah blah. People seem more interested about which movie is no.1 instead of discussing a movie’s merits without comparison.

I was aware of the criticisms, which mostly is about Ji Fa’s bad decisions, but didn’t read them in depth. Now that I’ve seen it, I think a lot of it was nickpicky and probably with an agenda to push certain movies to be no.1 in the public’s eye. (I mean, this is Weibo, after all. Hah!)

Personally, Creations II reminds me of the second part of the Lord of the Rings, where our heroes face an impossible siege and a terrible army. I tend to love these “it gets dark before the dawn” moments in a trilogy, so Creation II was no different.

As a result, Part 2 of any saga tends to suffer the most because the story feels incomplete because there’s satisfying resolution because the major big bad has not been beaten.

So do I like Part I or Part 2 better? I do think Part 1 is a better story as it built up the world, everything is new and fascinating, and the tight suspense that led towards the end result was nail-biting. Seeing Ji Fa and Yin Jiao face reality, escape their brainwashed upbringing and finally seeing what Yin Shou’s true nature … that character journey and development can’t be beat.

However, personally, as I said before, I often prefer Part II because it is the classic “things get worse before it turns the corner” part of the overarching story.

I felt that Creation II ended at a very good place, not cliffhang-y, but yet leaving you with a thirst for more.

The action and plot never faltered even one second. And there were many cool battle moments. And the female general Deng Chan Yu? Now that’s a right proper female general!

If it’s playing in a theatre near you, do make the effort to see it in the cinema. It’s that kind of movie that you need to experience on the big screen.

PS: There are three end credits scenes so don’t leave the theatre when the movie ends.

Final rating: 4 out of 5 stars

#4Stars #ChineseMovies #CreationOfTheGods #Fantasy #InvestitureOfTheGods #Shenmo

Creation of the Gods II quick verdict: 👍👍👍👍👍

Love it!

But I have a soft spot for old fashioned xianxia, where the stories are adapted from ancient Chinese mythology and fantasy classics.

Personally, this reminds me of the second part of the Lord of the Rings, with that impossible siege and a terrible army.

To me, the action and plot never faltered even a second. And there were many cool battle moments. And the female general? Now that's a right proper female general.

If it's playing in a theatre near you, do make the effort to see it in the cinema. It's that kind of movie.

PS: There are three end credits scenes so don't leave the theatre when the movie ends.

#CreationOftheGods #Movie #Entertainment

Creation Of The Gods I: Kingdom Of Storms In Cinemas now! Watch the trailer here

#CreationOfTheGods #KingsdomOfStorms #Epic #TrinityAsia #ErshanWu #KrisPhillips #XuejianLi

https://screen-one.net/creation-of-the-gods-i-kingdom-of-storms-in-cinemas-now-watch-the-trailer-here/

Creation Of The Gods: Kingdom Of Storms (2023) Official Trailer | New Action Movies 4K

https://review.peertube.biz/videos/watch/1ee7cf7b-9a93-4d96-a77c-cd9b701debd1