Zhan lang II (2017) Reviews

• A decent action flick amongst the Nationalist themes

  dziemke2017-08-01

  As far as action movies go, this was pretty good. Director Wu put a lot of time and energy in this and it pays off. The fight scenes, chases, and suspense was well done and the movie never seemed to stop the action. Acting was not Oscar winning but sufficient. Throughout the movie is interspersed China feel-good themes that even Beijing would be happy with... national pride, respect of China from others, participant in international law, etc. But what country doesn't have their own feel-good flicks? US certainly has their share. Overall a big improvement from the first movie. Not sure this movie will be popular outside China but maybe that doesn't matter.

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• A terrific action flick reminiscent of classic 90's Jackie Chan films

  kamenhaven2017-07-31

  Eschewing overwrought nationalistic propaganda in favor of non-stop, balls-to-the-wall action, Wolf Warrior 2 is a superior sequel that hits the ground running from the start and never lets up. From the opening Captain Phillips-inspired pirate underwater takedown, a convenience store fight, a jeep-chase through a shanty town to a factory gunfight at night and another at daytime, there's enough action here to fuel three Michael Bay films. The Russo Brothers (directors of Captain America sequels) apparently consulted on the action, hence its high production values. Other positives include Celina Jade as the female lead and Frank Grillo as the villain, a racially diverse cast respectful of its premise set in Africa as well as moments of levity and broad comedy that should appeal to a wide audience. The film's biggest draw, of course, is Chinese action-superstar Wu Jing. As a leading man, Wu Jing is kind of a perfect package. He has the pretty-boy looks to draw the female crowd but also a natural, convincing tough-guy persona. As a trained martial artist he has the physicality of Donnie Yen and the on screen charisma of Jet Li. Most importantly, Jing plays the kind of action hero that's just all too rare these days, the one that takes just as much punishment as he dishes it. Yet he sells it with the kind of world-class commitment that is simply awe-inspiring, like Jackie Chan or Tom Cruise who repeatedly endanger themselves simply to entertain their audience. It's all rather impressive until you realize he also directed the movie. Still, there are minor flaws. Like every other Chinese films of late, flashbacks and dramatic scenes are rendered like bad 90's soap dramas – cut to slow-motion with colored filter, bad sound FX and obvious sad music cues so laughably bad its beyond parody. Noticeable green screen work occur here and there, as well as some obvious bad CGI during explosions. However these are minor occurrences that shouldn't detract from the overall experience. Modern action films have become too sophisticated for its own good. Plots are overly convoluted with unnecessarily complicated character backstories, bloated runtimes, headache-inducing shaky cam action chopped up into indecipherable bits, lead actresses have to be badass fighters to be a strong female and villains having overly complex motivations to be evil. Wolf Warrior 2 is a reminder of simpler times, where it's perfectly OK to have a straightforward story backed-up by identifiable character archetypes, damsel-in-distresses who gets saved by the male hero without being considered weak and inferior to them and cartoonish, two-dimensional villains who just enjoy being evil. Like, its OK if the male protagonist becomes a lone, one-man killing machine who takes out an entire army. It's not realistic but who cares? As long as it's fun. In a summer where we've had a loud, incomprehensible Dunkirk, a War of the Planet of the Apes without enough war and an insufferable Spiderman: Homecoming filled with obnoxious Marvel fanboy worship, consider Wolf Warrior 2 a fresh alternative - a perfectly satisfying old-school action film that won't tax on brainpower but won't disrespect your intelligence either.

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• Where heroism meets nationalism

  willShouldDid2017-08-12

  As a Jacky-Chan style kung fu plus gun fight movie, in the most part it works OK. Still, the progress of the plot feels heavily cliché and thus very predictable - 1. almost unrelated opener fight scene just to grab attention. 2. illogical decision makings such as breaking into where the hostages are held in a car, which could just kill as many innocent people, including the key rescue target 3. left any other hostages to die, without proper explanations, leaving me in awe... And they did die horribly. 4. The biggest mid-cliffhanger might be how the protagonist restores his health. Alahhh, exactly The Last of US, only that the little girl was given no character. 5. Boss fight scene needs some extended featuring, thus the boss is such a good kung fu fighter. And yes exactly when he gained the upper hand and said something disrespectful, he was killed by our hero. To be honest I'm good with the 2-hour length of action with some nice sparks of affection and light-hearted humor. However, I'm lightly fed-up by the strong nationalism in this film. As a Chinese, I would love to learn that China is improving in all aspects, but this fantasy film shovels the concept into your face.

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• 8 for those fans of Chinese-style action movies

  yaoyinglun2017-07-29

  A movie which might be regarded as Chinese nationalist propaganda but some scenes in the movie are based on the real world cases such as Chinese citizens' rescue and evacuation missions in Libya 2011 and Yemen 2015. Nevertheless, its action scenes are worth for rating 8 if you are really a fan of Chinese style action movies.

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• One of the best Chinese-produced movies

  melodygloriez2017-07-31

  Went to watch the movie yesterday as I heard it was a big hit in China. I am not the biggest fan of Chinese movies, but this one really impressed me. I have watched Wolf Warrior which I would consider as a good movie, but II is way much better. It is the first Chinese movie that is built on the context of African country and actually shot in South Africa, bearing the risk of suffering the disturbance on the set. The way the plot unfolds and the courage and patriotism is delivered to its audience makes it more than a simple action movie. Love this movie and will go for it a second time.

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