Green Snake aka White Snake 2

[Drunk Monk]

This is the sequel to White Snake - http://www.brotherhoodofdoom.com/doomFor...p?tid=5738 and the third installment of the Lightchaser trilogy, then 2nd being Nezha Reborn - http://www.brotherhoodofdoom.com/doomFor...p?tid=6251 It's coming soon to Netflix but I stumbled on a good version with subs (Netflix will surely scrub that very soon). The first was a traditional retelling, the second, a post apocalyptic spin with a cybersteampunk spin. This one brings one character, Xiao Qing (little green), into a new world, a sort of purgatory filled with demons, horsehead & bullhead biker gangs, lantern ghosts, rakshashas, and flying force ghost zombies. 

And tentacles. Good tentacles. 

It's another spectacle animation-wise, one that captured the PRC box office last summer. It's a lot of crazy chase scenes with impossible physics, collapsing skyscrapers, earth splitting asphalt, and sword fights. Yep, lots of ancient cold arms. 

Decent sword fights.

I didn't like it as much as the first two. It's still visionary but a bit too frenetic. I wasn't as engaged with the story but I'm not entirely sure who Sima is supposed to be - Sima Qian? Sima Guang? Neither of those legends fit right. Horsehead and Bullhead are the guardians to the gate of Hell. Not sure what Shura City represents either.  I wanted more mythic Easter eggs, and perhaps they were there but I didn't recognize them. 

There’s a Buddhist underpinning about reincarnation and nirvana but I couldn’t quite discern what was being said. Chinese demon stories, particularly White Snake, are spins on Pinocchio except it’s beasts that want to become human ... or divine. It’s a complicated metaphor that I’m still unraveling.

I may have to watch this again on a bigger screen than my laptop. My eyes aren't so good and couldn't see a lot of the details. It's very lush visually, almost too much. 

Maybe when it officially comes to Netflix on Dec 1st, I'll give it another pass. Maybe that'll have better subs, especially the end of credits scene which teases their next project - something with the nine-tailed fox girl who is in both this and Nezha, and a lot of flying steampunk galleon ships.  

Not sure I'll recommend this one. Watch the other two first - those are more coherent. This one takes a big leap into action chase scenes and mad melees without as much context.