SINdie Review: Long Long Time Ago 2 – The Problem with Part Twos2 min read
Reading Time: 2 minutesEverything that you thought Jack Neo threw out of the window in Part One of “˜Long Long Time Ago’ for the sake of reinvention was brought back again in Part Two. These include preachiness, television-style histrionics, and in-your-face product placements. Resting on the shaky grounds of a paper-thin plot, the film very soon resembled a montage of national-education commercials, reminding us to respect your elders, work hard and foster racial harmony. If Part One and Two were made together, one wonders how the discrepancy could be so great, where Part One had most of the suspense, substance and special effects.
“˜Long Long Time Ago 2′ picks up where Part One ended – the pig sty. Zhao Di (the lead character played by Aileen Tan) builds a pig farm form scratch, with her children. This undertaking proved, very soon, to be rocky with Ah Kun (played Mark Lee), trying to make things difficult for her again by throwing all kinds of demands on Zhao Di. These include mending the leak in the roof and buying a new television set or the family. Unfortunately, many of these were little bumps that amounted to nothing and the plot only started half an hour into the film on the eve of Chinese New Year, when the kids, who were playing with sparklers and firecrackers, caused a fire in Ah Kun’s bonsai plant. Ah Kun presumptuously pushed the blame on Zhao Di and this led further sibling rivalry (is this the season for sibling rivalries?) However, partly due to Zhao Di’s submissive nature, there was a lack of a clear build-up in tis rivalry. Instead, we are taken on this virtual carousel of the government throwing new regulations, Ah Kun voicing a new complaint, the Lim patriarch weighing in, Zhao Di’s eldest daughter defending Zhao Di (and getting whacked by Zhao Di) and the chopping and cooking of pig feed.
via: SINdie
Image Credit: Golden Villiage
