Related to the first film in name only for the most part, Saviour of the Soul II is entertaining at times, but overall, its' haphazard nature and lack of real direction -- not to mention an overdependence on extremely dopey comedy -- makes this a release that only the most die-hard and well-versed fans of Hong Kong cinema will be able to derive any entertainment from.

This release's slim connection to the initial installment comes from Andy Lau, who once again plays a character named Ching, though it doesn't seem to be same Ching from the first film. This time out, he's a martial artist and con man who has his spunky god-son Tim (Lai Chi-Lam) and an conniving uncle (?) named Doctor (played by co-director Corey Yuen) tagging along as they go after "virgin ice", which grants invincibility.

The magical ice also allows Ching to see his dream girl, Madam (Rosamund Kwan), and attracts the attention of Richard Ng as a villain -- WTF? Who did the casting here? -- featuring the incredibly generically name of King of Evil, whose apparent power is making his arms flop around like one of those blow up thingies low-budget sleazy used car dealerships use to promote sales. Why? For your brain's sake, don't ask. Trying to make coherent sense of this movie's plot is enough to drive a crazy man nuts.

Saviour of the Soul II's on-screen display often hits the viewer with the effect of a fever dream or bad acid trip. At many points, one will be left scratching their head as to exactly what they just witnessed, a situation that is not remedied by the terrible subtitles on the Universe DVD, which are par for the course for their craptacular standards (or lack thereof) at this period in time. Overall, the particular brand of zaniness is fun enough in small doses, but after ninety minutes of having all matter of strange matter hitting their ocular cavities, the viewer tends to feel worn out.

RATING: 5