Imhotep77 It is a remake, of sort. What I mean is that the main framework of the plot remains the same but there are surprises and new love relationships invented (which I won't spoil) for this version. Sounds good, right? Well, it could have been, if the Ip Man's director had actually spent some effort to search for charismatic leads to replace the iconic Leslie Cheung & Joey Wong. But their replacements are god awful, absolutely bland, wooden, and commonplace; in another word, ZERO star quality. The new plot inventions are interesting and could have made this version stand a tiny little bit apart from the original so audience won't negatively compare it with the excellent original; however, the 2 bad leads chosen sink any slim hope it has to achieve that. There are some inventive fight choreography but it is balanced out by the insensible and confusing editing. It's edited like the worst kind of music video, lots of quick cross cutting that results in a big hot mess. It is pretty much a waste of time, money, and effort.

Van Fannel This is what happens when you remake a classic but can't decide if you want to go for a fresh take of the story or if you want to imitate the original. In this case, the director/writer decided that it'd tell original story as well as copying some aspect of the original. Well, it doesn't work.At the start, the film has an interesting original twist: Louis Koo's character, Yan Chixia, is revealed to be the main love interest for Liu Yifei's character, Nie Xiaoqian. Unfortunately, instead of exploring this new take of the story, the writers decided to also include the scholar character to create some kind of love triangle.This is pointless because unlike Leslie Cheung in the original, the actor who plays Ning Caichen in this film is completely devoid of any charisma. On top of this, he's also a VERY AWFUL actor. As a result, the audience's sympathy immediately defaults back to Louis Koo's character, which admittedly is pretty cool.And here's the problem: Koo's character doesn't get shown that often until the later half of the story. Instead, the story decides to retell the whole encounter of Ning Caichen and Nie Xiaoqian from the original film. So you are now forced to watch some cringe-worthy scenes of the chemistry-less couple until the end reveals the real pairing of the story.One would also think that since the original is pretty outdated in terms of FX, this one will at least have some good one. Unfortunately that's not the case either. Sure, it's slightly better but it's nothing extraordinary. In fact, most scenes look bland and lack the mystery/enchantment of the original.In summary: disappointing remake of a classic. The only redeeming factor is the introduction of the new character played by Koo. But since he's not even featured that often in the story, the whole point of a retelling ended up being moot.

solidsnakeckw I have only watch the original once, when it's on TV, and it's quite good. So I thought I might give this a try.The director of my favorite Chinese film last year (Ip Man 2) directed this movie, Louis Koo is in this movie (one of the better actor Hong Kong's film industry had to offer). I mean how could this movie get a score lower than a 7? That's was what I thought before I watch the movie.Half an hour into the movie, I had already regretted I spent RM8 on this. This movie is a huge disappointment. It's boring, the character is dull and the post production crew didn't even try to get some good voice actor to dub the Mandarin speaking character. Seriously, the character's face does not match their voice. (I watch the Cantonese version).And the acting done by the guy who play Ning Choi San is really bad. Didn't they held an audition to find suitable actor/actress? Because of the bad voice acting and unsuitable actor, the only character you really care about in the whole movie is really Louis Koo alone.Also, Wai Ying Hong's character as the tree monster is a bit exaggerating and ridiculous, the next thing we know, the villain ends up becoming the second funniest character in the movie.Finally, what is wrong with Hong Kong's film industry lately? Why are there a myriad of actor/actress from mainland China in Hong Kong movie lately? Most of the character in this movie are played by mainland Chinese actor/actress. It's not like I'm a racist against mainland Chinese or anything, but if you can't speak Cantonese, don't audition for a role that needs you to speak Cantonese. It ends up becoming a mess after the dubbing.P/S: I'm really sad I had to say this, but the only good thing about this movie is the babes and Louis Koo's jokes.

changmoh A line at the closing credits of this film reads 'In Memory Forever of Leslie Cheung' - acknowledging Cheung's role in the similarly-titled 1987 film as well as its 1990 sequel. Indeed, the 1987 "A Chinese Ghost Story", directed by Ching Siu-Tung in collaboration with producer Tsui Hark, was a landmark movie because its 'crazy' kungfu (and wirefu) effects gimmicks turned it into a cult hit with western (read: international) audiences. Its two sequels (1990 and 1991) were not as popular.Here, director Wilson Yip claims that it is not a remake but a 'new' love story - and yet many elements of the 1987 film remain.THE PLOT: Government official Ling Choi Sin (Yu Shao Qun, taking over Leslie Cheung's role) journeys to the parched Black Mountain Village to help its inhabitants find water. As he leads a group of 'volunteers' up the haunted mountain, he encounters a bevy of sexy demons and well as a lovely 'girl' named Siu Sin (Liu Yi-Fei). After wooing her with some candy, he falls for her - and then realizes that he is caught in a deadly triangle: another guy, a demon-hunter named Yan Chek Ha (Louis Koo) is also in love with Siu Sin.However, before the two men can settle their differences, they have to contend with the evil Tree Demon (Wai Ying-Hung) as well as a one-armed demon hunter (Louis Fan) who is determined to kill all the supernatural beings.MY REVIEW: The 1987 film has a confusing storyline and even more befuddled action sequences that have become the trademarks of Tsui Hark. Wilson Yip, who gave us the two "Ip Man" films, does not attempt to make the love story (especially the one between Chek Ha and Siu Sin) more plausible - or try to 'rationalise' the action sequences. Indeed, some of the fighting scenes are more comical than magical and the acting appear over-the-top. Liu Yi-Fei (left) fits the bill as the Enchantress of the forest but I wish she can evoke more emotions besides pouting and winking her eyes.It is a good thing that Pu Song Ling's story has been adapted on the screen many times before, since "The Enchanting Shadow" (directed by Li Han Hsiang) in the early 1960s. That way, the plot is familiar to many in the audience and they need not rely on the flimsy narrative.