QQ reported that the most controversial film during the Lunar New Year 2025 is Heroic Spirit, directed by Tieu Chien. However, the film that has sparked the most disappointment is Phong Than 2: Western Conquest, directed by O Nhi Thien, featuring Vu Thich, Tran Khon, Hoang Bot, and Na Nhin in leading roles.
Previously, the first part of the film received considerable praise for its storyline, character development, and cinematography. The film had a surprising box office success, grossing over 3 billion RMB despite being based on a less popular work.
Therefore, the second part of Phong Than is highly anticipated as the storyline will depict a war between humans and gods, set in a new historical era stretching back over 800 years in Chinese history. However, when the film was released, it left audiences feeling extremely disappointed.
On February 4, when Phong Than 2 premiered in the city of Thai Nguyen, Son Tay Province, China, two audience members reportedly stood up to confront the director O Nhi Thien directly in the cinema. One audience member asked, “Do you know how bad it is?”
“Because Phong Than 2 is so infamous for causing controversy, do you think we don’t know? We always support the film industry to succeed, but every day as the film is promoted, conducting activities to garner support, do you really think we don’t notice?” the audience member expressed to director O Nhi Thien.
According to QQ, Phong Than 2 has many weaknesses in its plot. Director O Nhi Thien, aiming to attract a female audience, has created a character in the form of the god Tien Ngoc, who is meant to be fierce and intimidating. However, the portrayal was overly softened, and the interactions with the character Co Phat lacked depth.
These two characters are supposed to be two opposing forces. Co Phat’s trembling, due to his confrontation with Tien Ngoc, does not align with the original essence of the character.
In the first part, Co Phat (played by Vu Thich) is a youthful deity, characterized by vibrant colors and a strong presence against the oppressive Truc Vuong. However, in the second part, the main character Co Phat has been transformed into a timid individual, lacking decisive action, which left audiences feeling disappointed.
Despite this, the film’s cinematography received numerous critiques. The cinematography was a highlight that helped Phong Than 1 achieve box office success. However, in the second part, viewers felt that the film relied heavily on many cliché scenes that detracted from the overall quality.
For instance, the character of the deity An Giao (played by Tran Moc Tri) initially presented a striking poster design but appeared dull on screen, lacking the cultural depth expected. The character of Thong Thien Giao also received unfavorable comparisons to Hades or Voldemort in Harry Potter.
According to QQ, part two of Phong Than: Western Conquest has been rated poorly in terms of quality, character development, and logic, lacking coherence in the dialogues and demeaning the audience’s intelligence. As a result, the film opened with a score of 6.5/10 on Douban, but currently holds only 6.1 points.
After 8 days of screening, Phong Than 2 has grossed over 1 billion RMB; however, today the film’s revenue is only around 20 million RMB. Given that the production cost was 1 billion RMB, the film is sure to incur losses.
