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Viy 2: Journey to China
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Wikipedia article
'Viy 2: Journey to China' (, ), released in English-speaking countries as 'Iron' 'Mask' or 'The Iron Mask', is a 2019 Russian-Chinese fantasy adventure film., directed by Oleg Stepchenko. It is the sequel to 'Viy', the 2014 cinema hit loosely based on the Nikolai Gogol story 'Viy'. Produced by Gleb Fetisov, Alexey A. Petrukhin and Sergey Sozanovskiy, the film is directed by Oleg Stepchenko from a screenplay by Stepchenko, Petrukhin and Dmitri Palees. The film stars Jason Flemyng and Charles Dance (who reprise their roles from the first film), Rutger Hauer (in one of his final films before his death), Jackie Chan, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Helen Yao.
'Viy 2: Journey to China' was released in China on 16 August 2019 by Universal Pictures.
Plot
Set in the 18th century, the film follows the continuing exploits of cartographer Jonathan Green as he undertakes a scientific and supernatural journey that leads him from England to China.
Along the way, he discovers Russian Tzar Peter I in prison in the Tower of London under the watch of pugilistic Warden Hook, as his wife Lady Emma discovers the Chinese Princess posing as Jonathan's assistant Chen-Lan.
As Tzar Peter escapes and joins a Russian ship, he tails Lady Emma as she uncovers an imposter robbing the Chinese people while posing as Princess Chen-Lan.
Cast
* Jason Flemyng as Jonathan Green
* Helen Yao as Cheng Lan
* Yuri Kolokolnikov as Peter the Great
* Anna Churina as Miss Dudley
* Charles Dance as Lord Dudley
* Rutger Hauer as The Ambassador
* Jackie Chan as Master Et Al
* Arnold Schwarzenegger as James Hook
* Martin Klebba as Captain
* Christopher Fairbank as Grey
* Igor Jijikine
* Robert Gilabert Cuenca as Tower Guard
Production
Casting
On 5 April 2015, a press conference was held in Moscow with producers Alexey Petrukhin and Sergei Selyanov, actors Jason Flemyng, Rutger Hauer, and Helen Yao. During the conference, it was confirmed that the filming of the sequel, titled 'Viy 2: Journey to China', has been started.Major film stars were planned to appear in the sequel. Initial reports had Jackie Chan, Jason Statham, and Steven Seagal as appearing in the film. In November 2016, it was confirmed that Chan would co-star alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Release
Theatrical
The release of 'Viy 2' in Russia was to be held on 16 August 2018, but subsequently the premiere was postponed to 19 September 2019 while pending censorship approval in China. After the completion of the regulation of issues, the film premiered in China on 16 August 2019.'Viy 2' was released in the Philippines on 20 September 2019 as 'The Dragon Seal' by Pioneer Films.
The film was released in the United Kingdom under the title 'The Iron Mask' on 10 April 2020.
Home media
The film was digitally released on demand and on DVD in the United States as 'Iron Mask' on 24 November 2020.Reception
Critical response
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film earned positive reviews from of critics, with an average rating of . The website's critics consensus reads: "'Iron Mask' unites Jackie Chan and Arnold Schwarzenegger for a bizarrely misguided adventure that aims for epic fantasy with unintentionally hilarious results." At Metacritic, which calculated a weighted average score of 32/100 based on 4 reviews, the film received "generally unfavorable reviews".Ignatiy Vishnevetsky of 'The A.V. Club' gave the film a grade C+, saying that "two-thirds of [the film] is funny on purpose" but that it was "eventually dragged down by compounding inertia."
Al Horner of Empire Magazine gave it 2 out of 5 and wrote: "It could have been a tantalising coming-together of two icons of action cinema. Instead, The Iron Mask feels oddly anemic."
Peter Bradshaw of the Guardian gave it 2 out of 5 and wrote: "We are stuck with endless, weightless green-screen shenanigans involving a dragon whose eyelashes are used to create tea (I think that's right) and a cast of thousands who drift across various CGI landscapes."
Accolades
Arnold Schwarzenegger was nominated at the 41st Golden Raspberry Awards for Worst Supporting Actor.Sequel
A sequel, entitled 'Viy 3: Travel to India', will be released in 2022.
Notes
References
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