The Legend of Hei 2

This movie reminds me of The Last Wish, a 2022 film that came out of nowhere, the sequel to a decade-old spin-off of an existing franchise. I remember being shocked by the personal poignance and visual innovation of The Last Wish, in spite of its origins. I never expected anything related to Shrek—or its obvious cash-grab spin-off, Puss in Boots (2011)—to be moving or beautiful in those ways. Xiaohei 2 is itself the sequel to an origin-story movie about a character from a kids show. I’m not terribly familiar with the original show, nor did I think too highly of the first film from 2019. Whilethe show and the first film both looked great, this sequel blindsided me with its painstakingly rendered combat choreography, striking character designs, and nuanced exploration of different perspectives on war. The film doesn’t ultimately privilege any single viewpoint. Instead, it leaves them all on the table, along with the sinking feeling that nobody really comes away from war completely whole. I also appreciated the film's focus on characters taking action for themselves. Despite the intricate world and fairly detailed character backstories, Xiaohei 2 tightly limits exposition, trusting the audience to piece things together and understand how the more fantastical elements fit into the larger puzzle without being explicitly told how everything works. That approach left the film's characters with a lot of runtime to express their agency through direct action. I consider myself fairly picky when it comes to movies and shows. I primarily watch animated media over live action stuff, and even then, I tend to find plenty to critique. Xiaohei 2, however, drew me in completely. Even without any prior emotional connection to its characters or world, I quickly found myself immersed, and the ideas it explores continue to linger in my mind. I highly recommend giving it a watch.

Pure fun! It's not going to challenge your intellect or present a valid critique of society, but what it does well is bring a fairytale-like story that is reminiscent of classic fantasy films of the 70's and 80's. Every second is enjoyable. The art, music, fight scenes, and characters are top notch. This movie will for sure stand the test of time. The story kept up pace with the first, and developed Wuxian and a newcomer very well. If you're looking for a good example of Chinese animation and how far it's come, Legend of Hei is a shining example! This movie doesn't infantalize this audience.It's very sincere and doesn't break tension with gags or fart jokes like Ne Zha. My biggest complaint is that Wuxian and Hei don't get enough screentime. They are so cute together is actually hurts.

Ok, I'm ngl, Wuxian has a moment in this movie that I feel like would get reposted constantly by those meathead anime action TikTok accounts but they don't watch anything animated that isn't the most popular thing ever made since sliced bread so its safe. Seriously, I swear some people on social media won't watch something that's pretty good like this just because it isn't popular. At least I'm getting my parents to watch this, they're cool watching stuff like this. I'm glad Gkids decided to license this movie in the United States. I'm always glad to give something like this a try, and Iwas not disappointed at all. The action in a lot of these new Chinese animated movies have really been impressive. I'm glad to see there's so much new talent making these movies. Makes me hopeful for the industry.

While the first movie didn’t have the greatest plot, it was still enjoyable and had a really nice art style. However, this movie has that same great art style and animation plus a fascinating plot that keeps you seated and fully engaged the whole time. It’s a great action movie. The tension was so good, and all the characters were interesting. It was also nice to see just how badass Wuxian really is. He was already established as a monster in the first movie, but this one really shows his true value, even though he was kind of pushed to the sidelines. I’d say he hadmore of a “supporting role” than a “main role” this time, which somehow worked perfectly for him. What a character! It was even nicer to see how far his students would go for him. Xiaohei is not only adorable, but also a great MC with a solid character development. I just love seeing him every time he is on my screen. And I loved seeing Luye too, she was such a good addition to the main cast. Last but not least, Nezha was amazing, just like in the first movie. I can’t help but love this character in every universe. I don’t really have much more to say, except that I highly recommend this movie, even to those who didn’t find the first one that good. This one is way better than its prequel. What an enjoyable ride!