[vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”29215″ img_size=”800×450″ alignment=”center”][vc_column_text]The allure of action movies from the 80s was that they were full of wall-to-wall action, insane explosives, and intense shoot out scenes. If this is something that you miss from these kinds of movies, then you should definitely check out Wolf Warrior 2 from 2017. This Chinese film was co-written, co-produced, and directed by Wu Jing, who is also the start of the movie. As a sequel to 2015’s Wolf Warrior, we follow the story of a Chinese soldier named Leng Feng who travels the world on special missions. The sequel finds him in an African country protecting the medical aid workers from rebels and arms dealers.
The Success of Wolf Warrior 2
Wolf Warrior 2 was huge. Not only did it receive general praise for its patriotic plot, special effects, action sequences, and the performances, it was a huge commercial success. The movie became the highest-grossing Chinese film ever and broke box office records, such as the biggest single-day gross for a Chinese film. It became the fastest film to cross the 5 billion box office marks. In U.S. dollars, it grossed $874 million and is the third highest-grossing film of all-time in a single market. Wolf Warrior 2 is just behind Avengers: Endgame and Star Wars: The Force Awakens. It’s exceeded Avar, Black Panther, and Titanic. It’s also the first and only Chinese film to be included in the 100 all-time highest-grossing films worldwide list. It was also selected as the Chinese entry during the 90th Academy Awards in the Best Foreign Language Film section. Yea, so Wolf Warrior 2 was a big deal.
The Plot
It’s not hard to see why. The movie tells both a heartbreaking and an uplifting story. Leng Feng went from being in the military, to being sent to prison, to then being a pseudo soldier for hire. His life takes him to Africa, where he is integrated into the way of life there and even becomes a godfather to a young boy. Alas, rebels are tearing the villages apart and you have Frank Grillo, who plays a really big baddie. As an arms dealer, Grillo’s “Big Daddy” is willing to kill just about anyone, including the man he was hired by.
Leng gets hooked up with a Dr. Rachel Smith (Celina Jade) and a young girl named Pasha. The two go to assist a factory full of Chinese nationals, as it’s been announced that all Chinese citizens needed to be evacuated due to the rising concerns with the rebels. Initially, Leng meets resistance from the soldier at that factory, as well as the factory’s manager. But, it doesn’t take long for everyone to realize that they need Leng in order to make it out alive. Keep in mind this happens about halfway in the movie and from there on out, it’s a non-stop battle with very little moments of reprieve in between.
What Made the Movie Special
Wolf Warrior 2 was not only a great action flick, but one that really touches the heart of being a human and setting aside your differences. The film is very patriotic, but does not discriminate. There is one part in the film where the factory’s manager looks to split his workers down the middle. Chinese on one side and Africans on the other. While the African workers wonder what will happen to them, the factory manager callously alludes to the idea of getting the Chinese workers to safety and leaving the rest to fend for themselves. Leng puts a stop to this and proclaims them to all be one and that he will get every single one of them out. Even at the end, Leng fulfills his promise to those in that factory.
There were so many explosive scenes and moments where I thought Leng and others were absolutely done for. Jing, Jade, Hans Zhang, and Ding Haifeng did an amazing job in Wolf Warrior 2. Grillo was an absolutely ruthless killer and the perfect ingredient in this film, because the stakes and threats were incredibly high for Leng because of Big Daddy.
Rating: 4/5 Stars
Wolf Warrior 2 is on Hulu and is a movie you should check out if you love insane action. I personally put on the subtitles for everything that I’m watching, whether it’s a foreign film or not; just so I never miss anything. But, keep in mind that the film is primarily in Chinese, so if you are not a big fan of subtitles, I hope you make an exception for this film.