1989's Peacock King was a fantasy/martial arts mashup that managed to transcend schizophrenic storytelling and cheap special effects to produce one of the more unique kung fu pictures to come out of Hong Kong. Sadly, like many sequels, 1990's Saga of the Phoenix offers little of the spirit or fun of the original picture, instead coming off as simply a production that was rushed out to make a quick buck from gullible audience members like your friendly neighborhood semi-drunken reviewer.

One of Saga of the Phoenix's problems is apparent from the start, since it literally picks up right where Peacock King left off, so if you haven't seen the first film, you're going to be lost here as to who the characters are. Basically, it boils down to a demon named Ashura (Gloria Yip) being granted a week on earth before being banished for eternity. Accompanied by two monks, Peacock and Lucky Fruit (Yuen Biao and Abe Hiroshi) and an imp named Genie, Ashura tries to enjoy her short time on earth, but another demon (Ngai Suet) wants to bring her back over to the dark side.

Throughout its' whole running time, Saga of the Phoenix doesn't seem to know where to keep its' focus. Way too much time is spent on the antics of Genie. Instead of having cool fights featuring monks taking on demons, we have a little rubber puppet running around and causing so-called comedy with his antics like eating everything in a refrigerator. Hilarious. And having Yuen Biao, who really shined in the first film, encased in a block of ice for the majority of the sequel perhaps wasn't the best idea.

There is a bizarre charm to the proceedings here that leads to some goodwill from the audience, at least for a little while. But towards the end of the movie, everything fully falls off the rails, resulting in a subpar resolution that makes the perfect capper to a production such as this. Even if you were a fan of Peacock King, there is really no compelling reason for you to track down, much less actually sit down and watch, its' sequel.

RATING: 4