Released Date: 12 August 2004

Synopsis (Courtesy from Shaw) :

The ancient land of Huadu, ruled by a cruel empress (Qu Ying), is a place where men are subservient to women. Despite her ruthlessness, the empress and her chief eunuch, Chiu Ngai (Daniel Wu), live in fear of a prophecy saying that a boy should rise to become emperor and restore the reign of men. To prevent this, the empress sends out her warriors to kill any child who fulfils the terms of the prediction…

Char (Jaycee Chan), is the humble boy born to be emperor. He and his adopted brother Coal (Chan Po-Lin) perform in a traveling show run by their foster father Blackwood (Tony Leung Ka-Fai). Their friend Tao (Edison Chen) gives them a stone with a treasure map engraved upon it. The pair set out an epic journey to find fortune and glory…

They are joined on their odyssey by two lovely yet fierce female warriors, Blue (Gillian Chung) and Spring (Charlene Choi). Together, they survive a series of deadly challenges. The youngsters meet General Lone (Donnie Yen), a master swordsman intent on overthrowing the empire. To do so, Lone must be first have a duel with the Lord Of Armour (Jackie Chan) in order to gain access to the mysterious treasure.

Finally, the boy who would be emperor must lead an army against the forces of the empress…

Review:

Piggy-ride on the success of the Hong Kong box-office hit: The Twins Effect, this US$10 million sequel has fall short of viewers expectation as a timeless tales of romance, magic and fantasy.

Set in an age where men are the slaves of women, the story tells a commoner boy who is destine to rise against the evil Queen and claim the throne of the emperor to restore the reign of men.

With a typical plot that has been seen on the screen countless times, the Film maker is obviously trying to sell his film by employing a great ensemble of casts which features the greatest names in Asian cinema like Donnie Yen, Edison Chen, Tony Leung Ka-Fai, Jackie Chan and Daniel Wu.

These household names could have created a supposedly spectacular movie. However, the Director's daring decision to place amateurs like Jaycee Chan, the Twins (Charlene Choi & Gillian Chung), and Chen Po-Lin as the leads were indeed hard for most movie-critics to bear, with the exception of the scenic locations in Yunnan where the movie is filmed were pleasing to the eyes.

Menford, the award winning special effects powerhouse who had bring you "The Twins Effects I", had again disappointed Kung-Fu hungry audience with their choppy, Matrix-inspired and outdated special effects (used heavily here to enhance the action sequences and imaginary landscapes). However, do watch out for the face-off between General Lone (Donnie Yen) and Lord of Armour (Jackie Chan)!

Watch this movie only if you have crush with the Twins.

Ratings: C-