I said i was going to do the second one, and so here I am. It almost feels a little weird doing a sequel without putting it off for who knows how long either for release or just because something else has peeked my interest before I got to it. It’s gonna be a bit of a weird ride, and it’s another one of those movies that’s going to involve needing to do some reading (unless you understand Korean), but that doesn’t bother me. Let’s see how part two can stack up against part one, tonight we watch The Witch part 2: The Other One.

Technically it takes place after the last movie - but oddly enough, you are really only going to need to know anything about the last movie at the end of this movie. Instead, we follow a new character, or set of characters, in a familiar but different story. We set it up with the idea that we might have some super powered twins in the world after the shady spooks from the last movie kidnap a pregnant lady from a bus in the past. Skip ahead to a raid on a shadow lab, and a girl waking up all beat up and bloody leaving after all the carnage is done. After getting picked up by the rudest driver around, it turns out the not-so-nice kidnapping crew has chosen to ignore the warnings of the worst person - a girl who can punch you so hard it’ll remove you and the door from the car. After the would-be nappers are dealt with, the other lady who was getting nabbed takes her hero to a doctor and a relationship of sorts starts to form - but as always with any super powered person involved, trouble is brewing.

I can’t say that I don’t entirely understand the language this time around, as a duo of characters do choose to spit English back and forth from time to time during the movie. Past that, language barrier stuff will still apply to this review just like last time - I assume the Korean line deliveries from the actor are well done and intended, but I can’t know that for sure. This time around does add a more diverse set of characters for humor - like the just mentioned English crew bantering back and forth with a Captain America like play on cursing. Heck, the main character also gets drawn into the comedy when food is around. There’s a bit more non-powered conflict this time around as well - even if it tends to get ended by powers stepping in. Although team English can come off kind of corny thanks to the lines being a bit “too cool for school,” I do think that personality through body language is just as good if not slightly better then the last - which comes in handy during action sequences. Chemistry between the main trio also works really well, regardless of a language barrier (for me the viewer).

Character’s don’t end up wasting as much time with the mystery element this time around. The movie makes the sensible assumption you’ve watched the first, so things like characters being super strong and fast, or having psychic powers and quick regeneration health bars aren’t really addressed. It does still leave character personalities in tact as their main addition to the movie for the most part - the sadistic one is sadistic, and that’s pretty much all of it. There is some history set up between new characters, and perhaps some slight mystery to why the one mob style guy wants the normal gal lead’s place - but largely it feels like character interactions with each other end up feeling more tight than the actual characters themselves. Still, it’s becoming rather apparent to me that not every good drama requires incredibly deep characters, just a few good scenes of interactions between characters is all it really takes to get you endeared or rooting against a character.

There is more action abound this time around. The movie, knowing it’s dumped all the setup in the first part, promptly throws the action in across the board. It does still have slower moments of story, comedy, and build up but it’s not as end-heavy with the action presentation as the first. What it does have is the same idea of keeping the biggest power vs power stuff at the end - most the action sequences before that are either brief busy scenes or a bunch of people getting the witch slap to exit stage right at mach ten. When it does get to the point where it wants to get real down and dirty though, it really gets into it with the effects work - which could be argued as good and bad I suppose. I’ve seen far worse stuff, but at times the cuts or framing can make it slightly hard to follow. I don’t know what the “backup” just did to that suit’s head with the door, but I am positive it didn’t feel good at all. It’s still pretty cool either way though, and part of the escalation works really good from a character emotion standpoint which is nice.

Costumes are - well, modern again for the most part. Key players stand out, although I will admit I was getting a bit of face blindness on some of the characters this time around that I didn’t feel like I had in the last movie. Scenery is pretty decent, especially the nice looking “farm house” set, complete with big annoying billboard out in the woods. The practical stuff looks good and generally sticks around well on characters - such as bandages and cuts and the likes. Much like the last one, the movie is violent but not really gory - it’s mostly blood on screen. It took what the last one did and added to it, so it’s nice to see some evolving in there - although the car scenes do feel a bit either sped up perhaps maybe a little CG or something at times. Hey, safety first, it still works on screen in my opinion.

Audio is there.and like most movies for me it comes and goes with the credits. Help with the scene, then vanish into the background. Everything was audible, and balance appeared pretty good. I can’t speak to the line deliveries in most cases, since I don’t speak the language, and there is a bit of a “second language” feeling to the English lines - but in an odd twist it kind of adds to the goofy feel of the two characters that I think was intentional with them given their interactions throughout the movie. How much comedy that part will actually deliver to the viewer depends on them - comedy is subjective and all - but I did get a chuckle or two out of their antics. I also would be remiss to not admit that I just realized that me and a buddy misread a bands song being in this - it was actually the main theme to a sports show, not Witch 2. Ah well - it let me know they made a second one, and gave an excuse to me to have someone watch the first one as well, so misunderstanding victory, point me. For the thinking person, I’m really gonna have to wing it this time. I think there’s some stuff in there about bonding and family and potentially a way of serving as a counterpoint to the “raised in violence’ thought line of the first movie. I’m sure there is possibly more in there, but it was enough for me to try and keep track of who was who when it got to the point there was four or five different groups all riding the train towards conclusion by the end, so I really didn’t catch any of it.

You start with a little genetic super-weapon experimentation, give it a wholesome bonding experience heading to an intersection of three potentially terrible outcomes and add some action to the mix. I enjoyed it enough, found the main three-pack to have some pretty charming interactions, and think the new lead witch (at least for this movie) to be pretty good with the emoting between creepy and adorable. Overall it was a good time, and despite it not giving me more action with the original witch, it did in fact give me the more action I had expected. It builds the universe a bit more - and might confuse some folks because of it - and did have the potential to play it too close to the first one, so it’s nice that they did do some different angles while also feeling familiar. I guess the next step is to wait for an inevitable Witch part 3: the Conclusion!

@IMDB

The Witch: Part 2 - The Other One (2022)