Cineasia UK DVD Synopsis: Experience this record-breaking fantasy action adventure from the production company behind Jackie Chan and Jet Li's blockbuster, 'The Forbidden Kingdom'. After five centuries of captivity, a beautiful demon spirit embarks on a relentless quest to become human. To succeed, she must first overpower the will of a warrior princess and test the love of a self-exiled general, who was once her devoted bodyguard. However, when the princess becomes the target of a barbarian army, swordsmen, demons and archers collide in a supernatural battle that escalates into all-out war! (145 Mins)

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Views: After saving everyone at the end of the first Painted Skin, fox spirit Xiao Wei is imprisoned in ice for 500 years. Once free, she wastes no time in finding new lovers so that she (and her new demon companion) can eat their hearts, determined to do whatever is needed to become a human. While getting chased by a gang of demon bandits, Xiao Wei finds herself rescued by a masked warrior on horseback, but as time passes and the fox spirit tries to get close to her newfound hero, she soon finds that it is in fact, a woman known as Princess Jing – the reincarnation of Pei Ying from 500 years ago. Enter the love of Jing's life and a face only too familiar to Xiao Wei – General Huo – reborn into a position that seemingly mirrors his past life, from his role in the army, to finding difficulties in love. As more truths come to light, Xiao Wei convinces Princess Jing to swap bodies with her for 12 hours – beautifully done in a pretty gross scene that takes place in a large bath. Of course, it only leads to more problems in the love triangle and puts a strain on the (already unsteady) relationship of Princess Jing and her general. With threats from opposing clans moving in fast and the future of the kingdom in jeopardy, general Huo must decide if it is true love he wants by looks alone, or what really lies in someone's heart!

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This was one of the first Hong Kong movies I showed my husband when we first met, using the whole romantic plot-line to convince him that it was worthy of a watch, and he actually loved it. He's since become a big Vicki Zhao Wei fan and usually loves anything she's in! As for myself, I'd definitely say that Painted Skin 2: The Resurrection is my favourite of the adaptations so far, proving to have a much more solid storyline, stunning visuals, a lot more excitement about it, and offers the best action of the lot. Although we see the return of the 3 main characters from the previous chapter, it is really Zhou Xun's character of Xiao Wei that links the two films together. Gordon Chan did a pretty good job with Painted Skin (2008), but this sequel takes things to another level. With more Chinese studios getting involved and wanting to show the progression of the SFX teams, Painted Skin 2: The Resurrection explodes with vivid colours, stunning cinematography, and has a more epic feel to it overall. In fact, you could probably watch this as a stand-alone film and not feel like you are missing out in not having seen part one. That seems to be what Cineasia was hoping for anyway when they renamed it Demon Hunter: The Resurrection for its UK release...

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While these films are all about the twists and turns of a fantastical love story, Painted Skin 2: The Resurrection also carries the sub-plot of the evil Wolf Clan wanting to kill Princess Jing and bring down her family's empire. Backed by a crazed wizard played by Kris Williams (who I actually thought was Daniel Wu on the DVD artwork when I first bought it) in his first role since 1986, the Wolf Clan brings a whole new twist to the story and brings a blend of the brilliant Korean television show, The Arthdal Chronicles, to the film. Directed by Wuershan, in what was only his second film after his directorial début The Butcher, The Chef, & The Swordsman (2011), you would actually think that a more accomplished director was behind things considering how epic and well done the whole thing really is. Stephen Tung Wai, who also returns from the previous film, handles the film's fight choreography once again along with Li Cai who worked on films such as Curse Of The Golden Flower (2006), Hero (2002), House Of Flying Daggers (2004), and more. Between them, they deliver a much more exciting range of action scenes that highly entertain, and come about a bit more frequently than before. Chen Kuo Fu, director of films such as Dangerous Choices (1989), The Personals (1998), and Double Vision (2002), produces and brings years of experience on Chinese hit films that probably helped Wuershan feel a little more comfortable on such a huge production. Chen produced many of Feng Xiao Gang's films such as Big Shot's Funeral (2001), A World Without Thieves (2004), and Aftershock (2010) as well as the brilliant Warriors Of Heaven & Earth (2003), Mountain Patrol (2004), and The Yin Yang Master (2021) most recently, that sees him team up once again with the handsome Chen Kun (general Huo).

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I found it interesting how the producers didn't bring back composer Fujiwara Ikuro, who handled the music on Painted Skin (2008), yet obtained the services of another Japanese (first time) composer Ishida Katsunori, who had a busy year in 2012 composing for this production as well as Tai Chi Zero and Tai Chi Hero. The great Arthur Wong does get to return though, as DOP along with Ally Wong on 2nd Unit. They are also joined once again by Liu Ai Dong, who worked with them on the previous chapter as a cinematographer which was also his first step into the Chinese film industry. Between them all, they manage to deliver a constant stream of stunning visuals that just keep you glued to the screen – blended with some decent CGI backgrounds and enhanced scenes that don't distract too much. The return of the main cast goes without question, with each of them acting their chops off and hardly anyone giving a bad performance. In fact, it was great to see Chen Kun, Zhou Xun, and Vicki Zhao Wei return and do think that each of them took their roles to the next level compared to what they delivered in Painted Skin (2008). The cute Yang Mi, who started her career as a child actor in Chow Sing Chi's King Of Beggars (1993), stars as Quer – the sparrow demon sidekick to Xiao Wei who falls for bumbling demon hunter Pang, played by William Feng Shao Feng. Between them, they bring a little light and humour to the dark and emotional tale, as well as having their own relationship problems to try and deal with in the grand finale. And finally, the incredible Gordon Liu pops up in what would (unfortunately) be his final role to date before taking ill. I was hoping that we would get to see him in action, but alas, Liu's role is merely that of a cameo as one of Princess Jing's guards – killed off before he can leap into action, and quite possibly because his health wouldn't allow it in reality.

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Painted Skin 2: The Resurrection is a stunning movie – beautifully filmed and epic in scale, with fantastic performances from all involved. While I did mention that it could be watched as a stand-alone movie, it does have a bit more emotion behind it when you watch after the first film. Regardless, it's a highly impressive second project from director Wuershan and an action-packed, supernatural love story that is well worth seeing!

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Overall: Beautiful, powerful, and highly entertaining, Painted Skin 2: The Resurrection is my favourite of any adaptation from the story, and worth a watch!

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Cineasia DVD Extras: Behind The Scenes Features, Trailers