Wolf Warrior 2

Wolf Warrior 2 wants to have it both ways. It wants to be about Chinese exceptionalism, but also wants to show the world a China and the her people, that are at one with the world community. It's a movie that wants to tug on the heartstrings of audiences at home and abroad, but fumbles the latter due to eschewing the universal human element in favor of focusing on exclusively the people of China (and their symbols and institutions).

But it was a pretty entertaining action movie, and interesting propaganda piece (I didn't see the first movie, but it didn't seem to matter much). The cgi was dodgy, but the action and fight choreography were really slick and inventive. There were also a couple cool plot wrinkles late in the movie that were really good, along with one of the most well done third act product placements I've ever seen.

**SPOILERS**

The main story line followed the hero, as he tried to save a few VIPs, along with African and Chinese workers trapped in the conflict zone. It was pretty straightforward stuff.

Now the secondary story line was where almost all the juicy propaganda was placed, the main thrust of which was is in how the Chinese people, and their government, were depicted as sticking by Africa and its people as western governments had abandoned it.

All the Westerners in the movie were in Africa under the sponsorship of stateless private, and non-governmental groups (UN and unspecified business interests) the latter of which were behind the bad guys. And it's the Western bad guys that were aiding and abetting African insurgents, who were murdering hundreds of their fellow Africans in the movie, and threatening to undermine the work that the Chinese government backed businesses were doing on the ground.

Not surprisingly it's the second plot, the propaganda plot, which was more effectively pulled off... building to a jingoistic pro Chinese climax that obviously struck a cord with audiences there.

Unfortunately, that came at the expense of giving the lead character a really organically heart felt ending. Yeah he avenges the death of his lover, but that's handled in a cold, matter of fact way that was unsatisfying. The same went for the burgeoning father/son relationship between the hero and the charismatic African boy whose mother he promised to save. Yeah he did it, but it was all so matter of fact. The execution was done as if they were merely boxes to be ticked. There was no heart behind the craft... that went elsewhere.

**END OF SPOILERS**

And that's a shame because the film could have had a real universal heart that resonated with audiences across the globe, instead of just in China. I'm not begrudging the movie it's jingoistic ending, that's cool, but it didn't have to come at the cost of leaving he rest of us out in the cold. The films loss and ours.

But again, Wolf Warrior 2 is a fine effort nonetheless. It's an action movie, and a pretty darn good one at that.

Cringe content... i have so many many issues that i can't diacuss all of them . in short the acting, dialogue, camera work was horrible. i wonder how this movie collected that much money!. china has a lot of very wonderful movies that i love. this movie only has some ok action scenes.although some of them are pointless.

A pretty good movie given the quality of most Chinese movies. Great efforts are put into producing exciting and vivid scenes of shootings and fights. However, the story is way too simple and unreal. The bad mercenaries are just bad and obsessed with killing the hero and people round him. Ironically, the warlord who hires them keeps telling them not to mess with Chinese but mercenaries totally ignores his order for reason unknown to us. An obvious dilemma is the producer wants to show that average African people love Chinese people and African warlords are afraid of China, which is politically correct in China. But still, there must be a Chinese-hating crazy paranoiac.

The hero, on the other hand, is really heroic and capable of fighting. But he never uses his brain. He, with the help of a security head and a rich second generation, keeps fighting against a small army with snipers, tanks and drones. And the hero wins in the end.

A massive improvement when compared to its forgettable predecessor, Wolf Warrior 2 brings essential upgrades to almost all aspects and makes for an action-packed & thoroughly entertaining sequel. All the jingoistic touches & national glory is still there but this time, it goes international as the story lets the Chinese military step out of its own borders and play the role of global peacekeepers, something that USA loves to portray itself as.

Co-written & directed by Wu Jing, the film makes a solid impression in the opening scene itself - a masterly shot & brilliantly choreographed underwater fight segment filmed in a single take and it only elevates from there on. The plot exhibits a better structure, focuses mainly on the lone wolf than the wolf pack and is more balanced in its narrative approach. Wu also ups the action, destruction & body counts with a dynamic display of violent gunfights & athletic prowess.

The setting moves from mainland China to Africa and its depiction is no different from how Hollywood perceives the Africans to be: people without nationality and smeared in blood, sickness & poverty. Nevertheless, the enhancements in other aspects helps keep the interest alive and it never runs out of action, thanks to its never-ending set pieces. Adding fuel to fire is its kinetic camerawork & improved pacing. The gweilo cast overacts as usual but Frank Grillo plays the baddie with finesse.

Overall, Wolf Warrior 2 is bigger, better & bolder than the first entry in all the ways imaginable, and is an explosive extravaganza that's going to appease most genre enthusiasts if not all. Some issues from the previous chapter are still around such as lame dialogues, dodgy CGI, mediocre acting & more. But the advancements in so many departments at once, plus its consistent delivery of intense action makes this sequel a winning material. It isn't without its flaws but after the bore its original was, it sure is a welcome delight.

First,to be clear,I am a Chinese. I love my country of course, but I also love movies. That's why I think this movie is so bad at telling a story. I think this might be the terrible director's fault. I want my country to be strong, I also want my people to be respected by others. But not this way. Not a personal heroic mindless patriotic violent way. This kind of movie misled my people, they became super impulsive in some international issues because this kind of movies keeping showing off in China. There's a old saying that says, modesty makes one progress, but pride makes one lag behind. I hope that one day Chinese can also gain the world's respect by civilization or culture, not the self confidence gained by advanced weapons.