Wolf Warrior II howls in Hollywood
If Hollywood hears a wolf at the door, it may well be Chinese director-producer-star turned wolf-pack leader, Wu Jing, whose recent effort, Wolf
Warrior II, has gobbled up the competition to become a genuine cultural phenomenon, not only in China but also for Hollywood.
Some critics have been shocked by the film’s box-office performance. It has raked in $650 million since July 28 to last weekend in China alone.
Film Journal International contends that’s because “Wolf
Warrior II is like a propaganda movie, with Leng even unfurling a Chinese flag at one point to assure safe passage through a war zone”.
But many critics shrugged off the idea.
Rotten Tomatoes.com only gave the movie a 50 percent on its “tomatometer”, while it scored 88 percent on their audience-approval score.
“Like Sylvester Stallone before him, and John Wayne before Stallone, star Wu Jing has successfully exploited the crowd-pleasing potential of enhancing militaristic actionadventure heroics with a heavy dose of flag-waving patriotism,” Variety says in its report about the movie, published on Aug 11.
“The big difference here, of course, is that the flag waved by Wu and others in this shoot-’em-up extravaganza is that of the People’s Republic of China and Wu’s heroic Leng Feng is not a Green Beret but rather a once-andfuture member of his country’s elite Wolf Warriors special-ops unit,” the report says.
Italian-American co-star, Frank Grillo, who compellingly plays the blood-thirsty mercenary antagonist, Big Daddy, rebuts the accusation as well.
“It’s Chinese nationalistic — not propaganda. It’s no more propaganda than Rambo.”
Grillo, best known for his portrayal of famed Marvel comic book character, Crossbones in Disney’s blockbuster Captain America franchise, sings Wu Jing’s praises in an interview.
“He’s a special man, who’s got his finger on the pulse of what politically and emotionally charges his country. He understands China’s zeitgeist.”
Wu also dismisses this critiplace cism, while readily admitting his film is “a combination of a commercial action movie and a Chinese military propaganda movie”.
During a recent news conference, he angrily retorted: “Why is that a problem? America makes movies that promote the American spirit. Why can’t I do that for China?”
And many of his countrymen agree.
Although Wu may still be learning the narrative nuances that would enable his films to appeal to international audiences as well, Chinese audiences voted with their wallets, sending Wolf Warrior II snarling to a record-breaking first as the highest-grossing movie in China’s history.
“Wu Jing’s sturm und drang is making Hollywood sit up and take notice,” Grillo says.
“I’ve got about 15 calls from Hollywood-studio people, casting people and producers, asking, ‘Can Wu Jing speak English’. Wu Jing can do anything. He’s breathing very thin air right now and is in a room with very few other people.”
Celina Jade, Chinese-American singer-turned-actress, who plays the beautiful doctor in the movie, echoes Grillo’s words.
In an interview, she recalls: “Wu Jing called me the very last minute and said: ‘I’m doing a movie and I need a lead actress. Can you fly tonight?’ I really wanted to help because my acting career wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for this guy pushing me forward ... I knew this was my opportunity to help him back.
“On top of that, my mom is Chinese, and she was worried I was losing my heritage and roots. She wanted me to do it.”
She emphasizes that Hollywood has noticed this movie is far more technically sophisticated
It’s Chinese nationalistic — not propaganda. It’s no more propaganda than Rambo.” Frank Grillo, Italian-American actor
than a typical B-movie and easily outstrips Wu’s franchise-founding predecessor, Wolf Warrior. That’s because Wu clearly styled himself after Stallone’s Rambo with more than a pinch of Jackie Chan thrown in for good measure.
“It is an amazing movie first,” both Grillo and Jade say, using the same words, before the controversy.
The film uses high-level cinematography, complete with sweeping aerial and crane shots, massive underwater and high-action military set pieces. It features deadly drones, seagoing vessels and marauding tanks.
There’s also no shortage of gut-pummeling, hand-tohand combat scenes and elaborate stunt sequences designed by Marvel’s top stunt master, Sam Hargrave (Captain America, Hunger Games), along with China’s fight-scene choreographer, Wai Leung Wong (Operation Mekong).
Hargrave says: “It’s a big movie and a big challenge. With 50 to 100 explosions, it’s like the Fast and Furious — with a tank!”
Clearly, Wu’s type of explosive, flag-waving, nationalistic action-adventure strikes a deep chord with Chinese audiences.
What remains to be seen is whether, like Jackie Chan before him, Wu Jing can make the leap from homegrown superstar to a global box-office draw. Grillo has a hypothesis. “The next iteration for Chinese and American cultures is: we go in and make movies that both cultures can connect to.”