Readers might recall the moment in the mid-2010s when Hollywood blockbusters suddenly seemed a lot less, well, American. The big-budget movies of the 1980s and 1990s were often so alluring to young Brits because of the exotic domestic details to be found in the cracks. (All that unfamiliar branded fast food!)

But in the early 21st century, as globalisation powered on, and China’s cinema market opened up to western produce, a memo went round the business: no more knobbly cultural specificities that might alienate that potentially enormous audience, or rile the censors guarding the gates.

Now that China’s own state-supervised cinema industry has ramped itself up to a Hollywood-rivalling scale, one can’t help but be a little hurt by the fact that the favour has absolutely not been reciprocated.

Ne Zha 2 – a $2 billion smash in its home country, and as of two weeks ago, the most successful animated film ever made anywhere – is, for the international viewer (or this one, anyway), an absolute headache to sit through. By turns frantic, gaudy and puerile, it’s supremely hard to latch onto emotionally, despite the scads of roared exposition that break up the otherwise relentless fight scenes in the second half.

Like its 2019 predecessor, its plot comes from a fantastical Ming Dynasty novel that’s apparently roughly equivalent to Britain’s King Arthur legends. I can’t say I’ve personally read it, though I’d be interested to hear from scholars if the source text features quite as many incidents of a pig loudly flatulating in a blind man’s face (two), supporting characters unwittingly drinking Ne Zha’s urine (three), or Ne Zha beating up a tribe of marmots after vomiting in their soup (once, though frankly once is enough).

In my two decades as a critic, I’ve almost never felt so strongly that a film wasn’t made for me. But cultural relativism as an excuse only gets you so far. I’m not sure deeper knowledge of 16th century eastern literature would have made me feel the character design here was anything other than charmless, or the allegedly groundbreaking animation much better than a video-game cutscene.

The film’s deadening quality stems in no small part from its battles, which unfold at an alienatingly vast scale that has human-sized characters resembling particles of dust getting blown around a car park. As a display of raw processing power it’s certainly a flex. As filmmaking, it’s as mindless as Hollywood’s worst.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/0/ne-aha-...E69seIAJNQdPYKg

They say it’s fake numbers only

That is on purpose. The message is don’t judge a book by its cover.

All the previous Nezha look cute and live action ones are even sometimes portrayed by girls.

I think you are the first one who say the characters are ugly.

What animated characters are not generic and not ugly? Let me guess, you love Japanese anime.

This story is based on a well known story from China and the look of most characters are already more or less established. How to be not generic ? Change the race of Nezha? I thought k don't like woke.

They already did not create a cute Nezha or some of the supporting characters are changed to look funny.

You don't understand the story?

They are actually talking about USA lah. The Chan sect is USA. That's why when Nezha reach their HQ, he kept saying so white which is referencing to White House. The HQ is the bagua but it also look like pentagon. The Chan sect is high and mighty everyone admire but in reality a lot of them are also demons pretending to be good. They claim to be demon hunters but in reality they got hidden agenda. The dragons are talking about Russia. They are blamed as bad guys no matter what they do. The few dragon who betray them and join the Chan sect are countries like Ukraine. Nezha is representing China. She look ugly and demonic but in reality just misunderstood as bad 😜

But the MC usually start very weak and kena bullied

Gu Long characters are the ones from the beginning already very powerful but his stories are more mystery wuxia.

That one Jinyong totally change his style as it's his last book

Normally the hero very loyal to 1 lady but Wai Siu Bo is opposite. Hamsap, lazy and corrupt. He is an example of using brains instead of brawn.

Everything Japanese good. Everything China just poor copycat, right?

It's more than 2 billion

Malaysia reach RM22 million within 5 days