KUNG FU MAJONG 2 (2005-HK)
review by Neo


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The last thing Neo wanted to end a dreadful 2005 HK cinema year is with a review of a movie that is a sequel to a 2005 movie. Yes, it is from the master of rubbish - Wong Jing, but why he made a sequel to movie that didn't do that well in the box office is alone a stupid idea. While the original (was it even original?) was at the very least fun to watch and covered with entertaining performances from all-round and even to an extent - Wong Jing, himself, the sequel is just annoying. While the first movie was cheap fun, the second is cultivated by cheap sets, budget and even cheaper laughs. Perhaps the only saving grace is screen beauty - Cherrie Ying (yet another Neo's crush), but her presence alone can not save a movie that is so obviously rubbish and with a plot that is a rehash of all the annoying antics of Wong Jing's past. Rather than following a proven formula in Kung Fu Mahjong, KFM2 follows nothing, but Wong Jing's demented mind set. Sure, fun can still be had and at times undemanding audience may even throw out a few cheap laughs, but for us draining HK cinema fans - it is just devastating to endure yet another crap movie of the year - 2005.

The movie goes like this: At the annual World Mahjong Championship Competition, Curvy, supported by The Demon, was determined to be crowned champion by all means. Other entrants included Mahjong masters from all over the world: Mr. Spaghetti from Italy, Tony Ja-Ja from Thailand, Singh from India, Ichi Kyoko from Japan, Fanny's ex-husband Johnnie and Tin Gau Goh, who had returned to Hong Kong for this competition. To ensure success, The Demon bribed the organizers to use a special mahjong table instead of the usual playing table. A microchip was embedded in every mahjong tile.

It is generally okay for any movie to be stupid as long as it is fun to watch, but when the fun is already gone and the cheap laughs are already gobbled up by the first film, what's left is like the last rubbish in a rubbish bin. Yes, I am being critical, but then again I am just being realistic about what I just saw. When you think back to the real reason that the original is made, for cashing into the funny antics of the kung fu couples - Yuen Qiu and Yuen Wah, all the sparks of their chemistry and fun are used up in KFM, but with the second, their screen time is limited and their respective roles are almost non-existence. You know a movie is going the wrong direction, when its main attraction is being regulated to appearing in the movie - here and there.

Cherrie Ying is without doubt an absolute screen beauty with her natural good looks, the essence of cuteness in her smile and a hint of sexiness within her character - definitely a type that can woo Neo over. Although she does nothing special or show any talents here, her presence alone enable a smile within an otherwise tiresome, routine and cliché movie. Yuen Wah and Yuen Qiu are funny but neither are given enough screen time to impress or enhance the dull storyline.

Rarely does Neo review a movie with nothing important to write about and KFM2 is a movie that doesn't have any message or meaning of life , but rather pretty much a materialistic piece of crap. Yes, it is from the master of cheap laughs - Wong Jing, but even by that sort of low standards - it isn't an excuse for producing a pointless sequel that is so uninspiring. Yes, I am being generous here, as I do love Cherrie Ying, but - Yes, I do hate the movie as well.

I rate it 4/10

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Genre: Comedy
Director: Director: Wong Jing
Cast: Yuen Wah, Yuen Qiu, Cherrie Ying Choi-Yi, Tiffany Lee Lung-Yi, Sammy Leung (Sum Mei), Suki Lee Si-Pui, Wong Jing, Wong Tin-Lam
Reviewed by Andrew (Neo), December 2005