Wikipedia

Creation of the Gods II: Demon Force

Creation of the Gods II: Demon Force is a 2025 Chinese epic fantasy film directed by Wuershan. The sequel to Creation of the Gods I: Kingdom of Storms, it is the second film in the trilogy, adapted from the 16th-century fantasy novel Investiture of the Gods by Ming dynasty author Xu Zhonglin.

Creation of the Gods II: Demon Force
Theatrical release poster
Traditional Chinese封神第二部：戰火西岐
Simplified Chinese封神第二部：战火西岐
Directed byWuershan
Written by
  • Ran Ping
  • Ran Jianan
  • Wuershan
  • Xu Zhonglin
Based onInvestiture of the Gods
by Xu Zhonglin
Produced by
  • Jiang Zhiqiang
  • Huang Bo
Starring
CinematographyWang Yu
Edited byHuang Shuo
Music by
Production
companies
Distributed byCMC Pictures
Release date
  • January 29, 2025 (2025-01-29) (China)
Running time
145 minutes
CountryChina
LanguageMandarin
Box office$168.95 million[2]

Following the ascension of the tyrannical King Zhou of the Shang dynasty in the first film, Demon Force depicts the city of Xiqi's defense against a siege by the Shang army.

The film premiered on 29 January 2025, coinciding with Chinese New Year, with a wide release starting on 31 January. It received generally positive reviews from critics, though it only grossed $169 million, less than half of what the first film had made.

Plot

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As Xiqi falls under attack by the Shang dynasty army, Jiang Ziya and Ji Fa gather civilians with the Kunlun immortals to defend. The corpse of Yin Jiao, former crown prince of the Shang dynasty, is brought to Kunlun by Nezha and Yang Jian to be resurrected. Despite protests that resurrection will go against natural order, The Great Saint decides to resurrect Jiao. However, he finds that Jiao's soul is filled with hatred and vengeance against his father Shou, causing him to absorb the Great Saint's power.

King Yin Shou, newly resurrected by the fox spirit, welcomes Grand Preceptor Wen Zhong and his armies home to Zhaoge after 10 years at war, alongside his generals Deng Chanyu and the Four Demonic Giants. They welcome Shou in the palace, who requests Zhong to capture Ji Fa and Ziya to obtain the Investiture Scroll. Wen declines and seeks retirement after a long hardship of protecting their dynasty but Chanyu requests to lead the mission, honoring her late father's wishes for her to become a renowned warrior.

Shou sends an emissary, ordering Ji Fa to commit suicide or risk a full invasion of Xiqi, where Ji Fa refuses. Though his troops manage to fend off Chanyu's forces, they prove no match for them and hastily retreat. Chanyu chases after Ji Fa, who barely manages to escape, reuniting with Ziya who he finds captured by Shen Gongbao's crows. Ji Fa confesses that he ordered Xiqi's evacuation, and Ziya convinces him to continue fighting against Shou. Meanwhile, the fox spirit, severely weakened trying to restore Shou to full health, is unable to keep Daji's body fresh any longer. They search for a new vessel for the fox spirit, only to find that she is unable to leave Daji's body.

Upon Ji Fa and Ziya's return, Ziya suggests Ji Fa's forces to attack Chanyu's encampment that night. Though they managed to kill one of the Demonic Giants causing brief mayhem in Chanyu's camp, they are unable to defeat the remaining Giants who assault the city the following day. Jiao, having absorbed the Great Saint's power, intervenes against the Giants. Ji Fa rescues Chanyu from drowning and offers to surrender in exchange for Chanyu's forces sparing Xiqi and its inhabitants. Meanwhile, Shou coerces Zhong to reassume command of his forces.

Chanyu brings Ji Fa to Zhong, who refuses Ji Fa's plea to surrender and orders a massacre on Xiqi. Disgusted by Zhong's willingness to kill innocents, Chanyu helps Ji Fa escape imprisonment. Zhong pursues them, but Jiao holds him back, swearing to kill him if the invasion continues. Jiao reunites with Ji Fa, and Chanyu is accepted as a guest in Xiqi for saving Ji Fa, while The Grandmaster of Heaven grants Gongbao a gourd of Gu to kill Shou's remaining forces and resurrect them as obedient, undead soldiers.

Zhong cloaks Xiqi in darkness and summons floating mirrors that incapacitate anyone caught in their beams in a ritual; Chanyu's forces, now under Zhong's command, are protected by a sigil, allowing them to breach the city unimpeded, which Ziya recognises from a similar mark on Chanyu. Ziya realizes that Zhong is after him and the Scroll, after Chanyu bargained with Zhong to bring Ziya and the Scroll in exchange for sparing Xiqi, allowing himself to be captured by Chanyu and brought to Zhong's ritual altar. Ziya launches a flare, indicating Zhong's location to Ji Fa.

At the altar, Ji Fa prepares to stab Zhong as he completes the ritual which will kill everyone affected by his mirrors; conversely, this will also destroy everyone protected by his sigil, including Chanyu. Injured fighting Zhong's qilin, Chanyu helps Ji Fa kill Zhong, breaking the ritual, returning Ji Fa's allies to consciousness as Zhong's troops disintegrate alongside Chanyu.

In several credits scenes, Jiao travels alone back to Zhaoge to kill Shou, but is halted by the Grandmaster and his disciples Yunxiao, Qiongxiao and Bixiao; Gongbao meets Zhong to collect his head according to the King's orders, leading an army of Gu soldiers onto Xiqi. The Grandmaster raises a brainwashed Jiao from a pool of mercury, presenting him to Shou and Daji as their puppet.

Cast

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Production

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Development

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Wuershan started work on the script for the Creation of the Gods trilogy in June 2014, during production of Mojin: The Lost Legend, which he felt had given him "significant experience in commercially-backed filmmaking and the use of necessary technologies for creating visually heavy blockbusters".[4]

Creation of the Gods adapts the Chinese 16th-century historical fantasy novel Investiture of the Gods, which retells the overthrow of the Shang dynasty (1600–1046 BCE) and the founding of the Zhou dynasty (1046–256 BCE). Wuershan consulted anthropologists and historians during the research process, additionally including parts of other Chinese myths and classic texts: Wu Wang Fa Zhou Ping Hua (Chinese: 武王伐纣平话; lit. 'Story of King Wu's Campaign Against King Zhou'), the Book of Documents, and the Six Secret Teachings.[4]

Filming

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Filming of all three parts of the trilogy began in 2018 and was done back-to-back, spanning 18 months and involving almost 10,000 crew members working in technical departments.[5] A 10,000-square meter sound stage was purpose-built for the film in Qingdao, Shandong.[6]

There are more than 2,000 special effects shots in Demon Force that cover battle sequences and various Chinese mythological creatures, including the qilin, a hooved chimera; the jiaolong, a scaled dragon; and the huli jing, a shapeshifting fox spirit.[3] Visual inspiration for the demon generals came from Wu Daozi's painting "The Eighty-Seven Immortals" (Chinese: 八十七神仙卷), and the character of Deng Chanyu was based on historical figure Fu Hao, a female Shang dynasty general.[3]

Demon Force and the third film, Creation Under Heaven, were due for release in 2024 and 2025, respectively, but both were delayed by a year due to the complexity of their visual effects.[7] During production, the film's English subtitle was changed from "Demonic Confrontation" to "Demon Force" at the suggestion of Taiwanese-American actor Fei Xiang.[8]

Chinese media estimated the trilogy's production cost to be CN¥ 2.4 billion; including marketing and publicity expenses, the total cost was CN¥ 3 billion.[6]

Music

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The film's soundtrack was composed by Gordy Haab, returning from the first film, in collaboration with Tian Mi.

Release

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Creation of the Gods II: Demon Force received a limited IMAX release starting 29 January 2025 in China and North America. It was followed by a wide release on 31 January in China, North America, Australia, France, and Italy.[9][10][11]

The film has an aspect ratio of 2.39:1 in regular formats, while IMAX screenings feature an expanded aspect ratio of 1.90:1.[12][13]

Reception

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Box office

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On its first day of release, Creation of the Gods II earned $65.78 million in China and $451,899 in the United States.[9][14] By the end of its opening weekend, the film had grossed $123.72 million in China and $1.29 million in the US, more than double the box office of Creation of the Gods I over the same period ($53.7 million).[15][14][16]

The film ultimately grossed $168.95 million in China, earning less than half of the first part's $369 million. It trailed two other films that were also released on Chinese New Year: Ne Zha 2 (which became the highest-grossing non-English film in history) and Detective Chinatown 1900.[2]

Critical response

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Creation of the Gods II received generally positive reviews from critics. Writing for RogerEbert.com, Simon Abrams gave it three out of four stars, saying, "[It's] refreshing to see a glossy, effects-driven fantasy adventure that not only delivers a wealth of action-intensive set pieces and battle sequences, but also develops those crowd-pleasing set pieces so that they’re consistently impressive. ... Would-be blockbusters always seem too big to fail, but very few actually pull off as much as this one does."[17]

James Marsh of the South China Morning Post gave it four out of five stars, writing, "While it must be conceded that the alluring sensuality of the first film is sorely missed here, Wuershan delivers another rollicking fantasy adventure, bursting with vividly drawn characters, crackling set pieces and eye-popping visual effects ... a 16th century novel has spawned one of the most genuinely enthralling Chinese cinematic sagas in recent memory."[18]

In FilmInk, Cain Noble-Davies gave the film an eight out of ten, comparing its scale to the Lord of the Rings trilogy: "Practical effects make up the heft of the visuals here, from the densely populated set pieces, to the labyrinthian etchings of the costumes, to the sheer scale of the warfare scenes ... [though] there’s plenty of room for quieter moments and even humorous asides. That, and the underlying philosophical tone of the source material, with the main conflict essentially serving as a large-scale duel of praxis between Confucianism and Taoism, which helps to keep the presence of gods, demons, and mystical immortals from being entirely surface-level."[19]

References

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  1. ^ Billington, Alex (18 December 2024). "Epic First Trailer for 'Creation of the Gods II: Demonic Confrontation'". FirstShowing. Archived from the original on 25 December 2024. Retrieved 18 January 2025.
  2. ^ a b "Daily Box Office". EntGroup. Archived from the original on March 17, 2025. Retrieved March 17, 2025.
  3. ^ a b c Zhou Xian (15 January 2025). "《封神第二部：战火西岐》南京路演，"封神故事"全面升级" (in Chinese). Xinhua. Archived from the original on 20 January 2025. Retrieved 18 January 2025.
  4. ^ a b Zhang Rui (26 July 2023). "Wuershan's 'Creation of the Gods I' transforms mythology into epic cinema". China.org.cn. Retrieved 19 January 2025.
  5. ^ Zhang Yunlong (1 November 2024). "Anticipated "Gods" sequel to grace potential blockbuster holiday season". Xinhua. Archived from the original on 18 January 2025. Retrieved 18 January 2025.
  6. ^ a b Cai Jun (2025-01-29). "背水一战！春节档电影含"金"量爆棚" [A last-ditch battle! The Spring Festival movie season is packed with "gold"]. Investor Network (in Chinese). Retrieved 2025-01-31.
  7. ^ Vic (18 May 2024). ""Creation of the Gods" Sequel Announces Delay". DramaPanda. Archived from the original on 18 January 2025. Retrieved 18 January 2025.
  8. ^ Zhang Rui (15 January 2025). "Kris Phillips immortalized at Madame Tussauds Beijing". China.org.cn. Archived from the original on 18 January 2025. Retrieved 18 January 2025.
  9. ^ a b "Chinese fantasy epic film "Creation of the Gods II: Demon Force" hits North American big screen". Xinhua. China.org.cn. 30 January 2025. Retrieved 30 January 2025.
  10. ^ Well Go USA Entertainment [@wellgousa] (10 January 2025). "The epic saga continues with Wuershan's CREATION OF THE GODS II: DEMON FORCE. Exclusively in IMAX starting January 29, everywhere January 31" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  11. ^ Sina Jiangsu (16 January 2025). "《封神第二部：战火西岐》南京映前见面会 "封神大家庭"温暖互动感动观众". Sina.cn (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 20 January 2025. Retrieved 18 January 2025.
  12. ^ "Tickets Now on Sale For Creation of the Gods II: Demon Force in Limited IMAX Theatres". IMAX Corporation. 15 January 2025. Archived from the original on 18 January 2025. Retrieved 18 January 2025.
  13. ^ IMAX (24 December 2024). "大年初一，IMAX大..." Weibo (in Chinese). Retrieved 18 January 2025.
  14. ^ a b "Creation of the Gods II: Demonic Confrontation". The Numbers. Retrieved 1 February 2025.
  15. ^ "Daily Box Office". Entgroup. 2 February 2025. Retrieved 7 February 2025.
  16. ^ Frater, Patrick (23 July 2023). "China Box Office: 'Barbie' Opens in Fifth Place With $8 Million". Variety. Retrieved 7 February 2025.
  17. ^ Abrams, Simon (31 January 2025). "Creation of the Gods II: Demon Force". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved 31 January 2025.
  18. ^ Marsh, James (29 January 2025). "Creation of the Gods II: Demon Force movie review – Chinese fantasy continues to enthral". South China Morning Post. Archived from the original on 30 January 2025. Retrieved 31 January 2025.
  19. ^ Noble-Davies, Cain (3 February 2025). "Creation of the Gods II: Demon Force". FilmInk. Archived from the original on 7 February 2025. Retrieved 7 February 2025.
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