Plenty to Like, Plenty to Dislike

A different way of telling a story

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

This was a real let down for me. The original Bride with White Hair is a great kung fu fantasy film but this one was pretty weak. I didn't care at all for the new characters who unfortunately dominated the screen time and the story wasn't well developed. While the first film was tragic and involving this one was tedious (as I merely counted the time to the end when the ill-fated lovers would actually meet). The action was poor in this one as well. The fights were not choreographed very well and there really wasn't much kung-fu at all. Just a few weak sword fights between the highly dis-likable Lui and one of Lin's henchwomen. Lin herself mainly uses a sort of telekinesis to throw people into walls and sometimes her hair, a far cry from the impressive showing with the whip and kung-fu she displayed in the previous film. I still gave this movie a 4 because at least it was fast pace and I did want to see what was going to happen at the end, though I (as most anyone who watched the first one) predicted it would go down the way it did and after seeing it I found it anti-climactic and wished they had either made a proper sequel or just left the story alone. I really recommend the first one but as for the sequel only fans of the genre and those who really want to see Lin as the bride one more time need apply.

There's some confusion in these reviews between the first and second movies. The sequel was rushed into production to capitalise on the success of the first, so obviously there is a drop in quality. Brigitte Lin did not "retire" as such, but got married, which in Hong Kong cinema often counts as the same thing - its seen as bad form if a woman has to work because it suggests that the husband is not providing. The rest of us know that acting in movies doesn't actually count as real work, but we almost lost Maggie Cheung to this odd syndrome, and even Michelle Yeoh retired for the few years when she was married to a big name producer. Anyway, Brigitte Lin is still fine in this film (great to see a woman "of a certain age" still given such a strong part in a HK film), despite her performance being simplistically villainous throughout. And Christy Chung is fantastic in a cigarette chewing pastiche of Chow Yun Fat. The gender politics in this movie are particularly striking - the men are mostly sexist pigs trembling in the face of female empowerment, while the women inhabit a man-hating commune where they are gradually eradicating the two-timing dogs from their world ("Men. I see one, I kill one."). Both are somewhat reprehensible in their own way, but in the Asian context, it is notable that many such films indulge fantasies of powerful evil women permitting spectacular displays of forceful sexuality which is always punished or destroyed at the end to return the gender balance to its patriarchal, safe norm. As such, it fits neatly into all the categories which have made Hong Kong films so fascinating and extreme to Western viewers.

After watching The bride with white hair, I just couldn't wait to watch it's sequel, The bride with white hair 2. I thought that number one was Great. But after hearing the negative reviews most people gave the bride with white hair 2 , I became discouraged. But It didn't matter. I had to see the sequel and see what happened to decide for myself. I'm so glad I did, because this movie was the greatest, most emotional love story ever. It was better than number 1. It had more action and more humour. Much more EDGE OF YOUR SEAT suspense. It wasn't as meaningful as the first one, It had a lot more action. But YET AGAIN the Cinematography was spectacular. The best ever. Both Directors did a marvelous job. And the visuals and music were great. The music really added something. If you haven't seen this, then see it. Every movie goer should. And the ending. What a great ending. The best ending for any Romance movie or ANY movie. It was so beautiful. That one scene is one I can never forget. I just wish that they would have tried to put both the bride with white hair 1 & 2 in the theatres here, in the west. What a shame. Oh well. Just watch it and Enjoy this BRILLIANT MASTERPIECE

This is one romantic movie can make me cry everytime I watched it. The ending is so beautiful, that I cannot think about any other way to end the story better than this one. Probably, the most beautiful love stories usuallydon't have happy endings, but I do think this one has. Just like the boy said at the end," it doesn't matter her hairs are black or white, the most important thing is that they finally can be together."Afterall, love is the only real element in a love story.