Well you know I absolutely needed to check out this box office beast for myself so it's time to start talking about Nezha too.

After being struck by heavenly lightning, the spirits of Nezha and Ao Bing manage to survive but they're slowly fading away.

In order to save them, Tai Yi sets out to rebuild their mortal bodies using the legendary seven colored precious lotus.

The process however is anything but smooth as countless obstacles stand in the way of their much needed return.

So I'll be completely honest here, I didn't even know this movie existed until I saw all over the internet just how much money it was making at the box office overseas.

I mean it crossed a billion dollars in 11 days, it's on track to become the first animated movie to cross the 2 billion dollar mark, and it's showing no signs of slowing down any time soon.

So before checking this one out, I obviously made sure I did all of my homework beforehand and watched the two previous films that make up this shared universe so far, the original Nezha and Legend of Deification.

And I'm not gonna lie, being a complete newcomer to this subject matter, I really wasn't sure what I was getting myself into here but I definitely enjoyed my time with both of those movies.

So when I sat down to watch this next film, I was hoping to get a worthy continuation of the previous story, see more of this impressive animation style, and above all else witness the most bonkers fight sequences that they were able to cook up.

And I'm happy to report that Nezha 2 mostly delivers in all of those mentioned areas.

Now I feel like we have to start by talking about the actual animation here because that is such a massive selling point of this movie.

The two previous films in the franchise really have top notch visuals and they somehow find a way to keep outdoing themselves with every new project they make.

If I'm being honest, it's probably the most impressed I've been with an animation style since the first time that I watched Spider-Man Into the Spider-Verse.

Because the world these stories take place in has such a signature and clean look to them, but the action sequences are the real bread and butter here.

They're visualized in such a satisfying and addicting way that almost all of the big fight scenes feel like you're watching a perfect cross between Dragon Ball Z and Shang-Chi.

They really hold nothing back here, giving you both those more intimate one-on-one showdowns and even your massive Avengers Endgame scale battles that make use of every single resource they've got.

When you boil it down, this is clearly a film that is meant to be seen on the biggest screen possible with a packed crowd and both of those aspects will definitely enhance your overall experience here.

Now let's talk about the story aspect of this film a little bit because the entirety of this franchise is loosely based on this 16th century Chinese novel that's called The Investiture of the Gods.

And take it from me, as someone who knows absolutely nothing about Chinese mythology and religion, you don't need to be some kind of a history buff to follow along and engage with the story that's being told here.

But since this is a sprawling fantasy epic, I'll admit that there's a good amount of exposition dumping involved and there are definitely a lot of characters to keep track of.

But they're all very unique from one another both in personality and in appearance, so figuring out where everyone falls within the pecking order shouldn't be too difficult of a task.

Now when you compare it to the original film, this movie's plot is a lot more focused on our main characters undergoing a series of interesting and daunting trials to achieve a certain goal.

Think of something like The Hunger Games or The Goblet of Fire and I have always been a fan of that kind of structure.

And what's interesting this time around is that even though there are a ton more side quests going on, it doesn't lose sight of the more emotional moments and making sure Nezha's personal growth has plenty of time to be showcased as well.

But that brings me to another aspect of the movie which deserves to be mentioned which is how it goes about handling all of its themes.

You know, coming of age stories about unprepared characters that are thrust into important journeys are nothing new to us obviously, but I think the film does tackle those ideas here in a refreshing way and I would be lying if I said I wasn't completely locked in from beginning to end.

The stakes are definitely higher compared to last time, no doubt about it, so our main characters decisions feel like they have more weight to them and because of that I would highly suggest that if you want to get the most out of this experience, you should at least watch the original Nezha film before diving into this latest entry.

Aside from it just being a good movie, it'll properly lay the groundwork and set you up for a way more satisfying payoff when you sit down to witness this absolute mammoth of a blockbuster.

Overall guys, Nezha 2 is a movie that I honestly didn't even know existed this time last week, but it could easily go down as one of the most entertaining of the entire year.

The world building is engaging, the animation is impressive, and the fight sequences are some of the finest that I've ever seen within the medium before.

The story was honestly a little less focused for me this time around, but the progression of various character arcs and the sheer spectacle of it all definitely has me invested in this franchise and excited to see whatever comes next.

Nezha 2 gets a Sully score of 4 stars.

So that's my review of the latest animated movie, what's an animated film that you think really flies under the radar?

I'm gonna go with Rango from 2011, but let me know in the comments below what you think.

Don't forget to like this video and subscribe to the channel if you haven't already, and I'll see you guys in the next one.