Review: The Legend of Hei 2 is an astonishing, energetic sequel

I was very late to the game for The Legend of Hei. I mean late-late. Like, I just watched it a couple weeks ago for the first time, in preparation for the release of the sequel. It's a movie I was faintly aware of, but never got around to. At a passing glance, I wasn't super drawn to the art style, I think. Which -- now having seen it and its sequel -- seems crazy to me. These movies are fantastic. I'm embarrassed it took me so long to see the light, but now I'm here, basking in it, and proclaiming that The Legend of Hei 2 (or II, pick your poison) is one of the best movies of the year.

For the uninitiated, The Legend of Hei followed this little cat-boy-spirit (the eponymous Hei, or Xiaohei, as he's referred to in the subtitles) as he found himself swept up in the spirit world. He's "kidnapped" by Wuxian, a super-powered human who takes Xiaohei under his wing. By the end of the movie, it's a full-on master/disciple dynamic going on. If you haven't seen the first movie, do yourself a favor and check it out (it's streaming on Tubi, albeit only the English dub, which is what I saw). But if you're chomping at the bit to dive right into the second chapter, you can do so without being too lost. There's not a ton of backstory you need to appreciate the sequel for what it is.

And what it is is a massive, dynamic, absolute banger of a movie. In a year that's been flush with really great animated sequels, The Legend of Hei 2 stands above the rest. This is what you want from a sequel. It takes the groundwork set up by its predecessor and builds on it in exciting ways. The action scenes are bigger and more explosive, the world-building is richer, the characters are deeper and more textured. This is truly a joy and a thrill to behold. I'm so grateful for this world and these characters, that I've gotten to spend two movies with them, and I hope there will be more.

A great place to start is with the setting, which is one of the things that makes this franchise feel really special. There's a sort of "kitchen sink" thing going on here. The world is populated by humans and spirits. The humans are modern, bordering on sci-fi. They've got guns, drones, all kinds of technological advancements. The spirits are more in line with the fantasy genre, wielding magic, a lot of them wearing robes, a lot of cool elemental specialists. But the spirits sometimes look like humans. They might live in cities. Most of them have smart phones. They go to the movies. And some of the humans, like Wuxian, are aware of and participate in the magical world, even manifesting magic powers. The friction between the two groups is at the core of the series, particularly this one. The power of balance is tipping ever more in the humans' favor, as their technology is allowing them to approach -- and possibly surpass -- the power of the spirits. 

We see this at play in the opening sequence, one of numerous astonishing action set pieces that finds a squadron of humans attacking a temple that houses a broken-off branch of a magical tree. Known as Ruomu Wood, it's stronger than iron and particularly destructive to spirits. The humans fashion it into their bullets, making them a greater threat than ever before.

When Wuxian and Xiaohei are summoned to the Guild headquarters (basically the governing body of the spirit world), we expect it's to help with the investigation into what happened. Instead, Wuxian is being framed for the attack. There's even footage that apparently proves he's there. As he's taken into custody, Wuxian leaves Xiaohei in the care of Luye, his former disciple. And so the story really begins.

Luye is a phenomenal character. She's cool, cunning, always one step ahead. She's a bit ruthless in her methods, but she gets the job done. Whereas Xiaohei is bubbly, silly, curious, and cute, Luye is serious, mysterious, inscrutable. Just like the first movie had a fun dynamic between its unlikely pairing, so is the case here, and maybe even more fun, and more compelling. We don't know much about Luye, but as she leads the way into trying to figure out who's actually behind the attack, we get occasional glimpses into her past, and what makes her tick. I'm obsessed with her, and I want more.

Most of the movie cuts between Luye and Xiaohei's quest -- jumping from area to area, having incredible fight scenes (there's one involving a shapeshifter that had me positively giddy -- I love how bouncy and energetic the action is), and delving closer to the truth -- and scenes of Wuxian in captivity, where he's playing video games with Naza (who I think is based on the same mythological character as Ne Zha -- they look very similar and both use magic rings to fight). It's a great interplay of over-the-top action and chill, fun hangout scenes, both enjoyable, and very funny when taken in juxaposition.

The way the story plays out and builds is propulsive, especially with the escalating scale of the action scenes. Even periphery characters who are barely named, or not named, leave big impressions. I cannot overstate how much I just want to be in this world.

Which brings me to the animation. I think part of my initial disinterest in catching the first movie was the sort of simplicity of the characters. There's really clean line work, and no shading on the characters. It leaves the impression of being a little flat or basic when you first see it (at least for me). But ultimately, that's part of the charm of the movie, and part of the beauty. Especially when these characters are charging into high-octane action sequences, there's something so pleasing and exciting about seeing this clean, clear artwork in motion. It's hard to explain, but it's very easy on the eyes.

I think what maybe surprised me the most on this go-round is the emotional impact the film ultimately had on me. There's an extended sequence that serves as a sort of coda to the story that adds extra layers of meaning and feeling to everything that came before. I won't get into it here, but it's such a beautifully conceived and edited piece that took my breath away, and made my heart bubble over. It's honestly kind of a big swing in a way, and speaks to the confidence of the filmmakers to know exactly where to put it, how to execute it, and to know that it would land and work. 

My queen, Luye

I've already said a couple times how I want more of this series, and I have to imagine we'll get more. This is a world that's so rich, so vast, so full of possible stories, that I can't imagine this is the end. And if, for whatever reason, it is, at least we had these two lovely, lively adventures with this colorful cast of characters.