Yu returns to direct the sequel to the original film. Lin returns to play the Bride with White Hair, following on from the last film. Sadly, Tony Leung does return as Yi-Hang, but only in the form of a pretty poor cameo.
In the beginning of the first flick, we see Yi-Hang waiting ten years for the special rose to blossom. A rose he promised he would find to restore Lien’s white hair to black, from old age to youth again. The rose promises immortality of some description. Yi-Hang, for all intents and purposes remains on top of that mountain for those ten years and longer it seems as we barely get a glimpse of him.
Since his departure, the Bride has created a feminist group of blood thirsty females intent on burning bras and killing men. Perhaps that is a little harsh, but what the film ends up being is some ludicrously slow proceedings of destroying all the Eight Clans and destroying the only other remaining descendant of Wu Tang, which the bride and the Siamese cult leader destroyed in the first film. The army of feminists have been saved by the Bride from cruel lives with men, and in return she gives them the will to kill me. How generous of her.
Yu takes a slower pace, and the focus is now on Leslie Cheung as Kit, the last descendant of Wu, and soon to be married for love, but also to extend the successors to Wu seeing as no is left. Yi-Hang’s existence is all but hushed, his name barred from being mentioned, despised for what the Clan leaders deem cowardice on his part with his departure.
It’s strange to note that during the deaths of various Clan members, a counter attack is no where to be found, with the women killing willy nilly. The reality is the women doing the killing don’t have the Bride’s powers of witchcraft, though they are quite adept at swinging a sword through a chest or two. The response from the Clan is tame, and also rather absent from the film overall. Just where is this big attack they were planning?
In some regards, the original did require a sequel. On the other hand, perhaps an open ending would have been more suitable
In the end they seem leave the job to young individuals from the representative clans, as they are deemed to old to act in an attacking fashion. Kit’s wife is kidnapped by the Bride, brainwashed to kill men and the Bride gets even angrier and goes killing more men, ad nauseum. It reaches a point where an end in sight is more than welcome, though this fails to appear for quite a while. Mercy killings are not provided to the viewer, the torturous car-like dragging of the plot is to be endured.
Even the action seems to plod along at a snails pace, and when it does occur it’s amateurish and dull. Gone are the interesting and paced swordplay of the original, replaced by tepid martial arts antics of the young clan reps. It’s almost cry-worthy in performance, and you just will for Yi-Hang to appear and the Bride to come out and for them to have yet another fight. It’s nowhere to be seen, and we are given what we are given. What we’re given is quite disappointing.
What the film ends up being is some ludicrously slow proceedings of destroying all the Eight Clans
The plot is murder itself, with the focus taken away from the central relationship, and focused on Kit’s rescue of his wife, and just barely the hint of Yi-Hang and Lien’s unfinished business. Unlike the original, the sequel is rather disjointed and at times lacking clarity. It’s not quite sure what it wants to focus on, and because of this uneasy switching between main plot and sub plots, it fails to achieve any plot of any real substance. Of course, what use is a plot if your interest wanes?
In some regards, the original did require a sequel. On the other hand, perhaps an open ending would have been more suitable. It would at least have strengthened the original’s name as a classic film. The sequel was released in the same year, so perhaps this explains the laudable attempt at cashing in on the cow. It’s depressing to think this is the case, and I wonder why Lin and co returned to even bother with the film, unless it was contractual obligation.
Tartan’s DVD release is better than the original, as they seem to have dealt with the issue of bleeding into the borders. The DVD-5 format has still been used, but it seems to be more refined this time around, with the dark scenes providing more clarity and less mosaic pictures. Not that the latter was prevalent in the original, it was occasionally noticeable. The extras are the same as the original, and nothing has changed in this department for the sequel.
The Bride with White Hair is a disappointment that clearly fails to meet halfway or even match up to the success or the quality of the original. If the original was orange juice freshly squeezed with real oranges in your presence, then the sequel is orange juice that has been in the fridge for about eight weeks too long, it looks the same, but when you take a smell and try to pour it, you wish you only knew the original.
Verdict: Disappointing sequel, grab the first film and ignore this.