Wolf Warrior

战狼

China, 2015, colour, 2.35:1, 3-D, 89 mins.

Director: Wu Jing 吴京.

Rating: 6/10.

Okay vehicle for Mainland martial artist Wu Jing delivers plenty of pulpy action amid slick technical packaging.

STORY

Somewhere in southern China, 7 Aug 2008. In an operation against drug lord Wu Ji (Zhou Xiao’ou), PLA Special Forces sniper Leng Feng (Wu Jing) saves the day by shooting him dead, despite being ordered to hold fire. Reprimanded afterwards, Leng Feng is put in confinement. Meanwhile, police try to arrest drug/human trafficker Min Deng (Ni Dahong), the elder brother of Wu Ji, in a Southeast Asian country but are massacred by Min Deng’s mercenaries, led by Tomcat (Scott Adkins), a former US Navy SEAL. Min Deng sends Tomcat and his men to kill Leng Feng. In confinement, Leng Feng is invited to join the Wolf Warriors – the elite of the PLA Special Forces – by its current commander Long Xiaoyun (Yu Nan), a lieutenant colonel. Soon afterwards, Leng Feng finds himself in a military exercise, supervised by Shi Qingsong (Shi Zhaoqi), a PLA Special Forces senior colonel, pitting the Wolf Warriors against other PLA Special Forces. Leng Feng acquits himself well but his squad is then attacked for real by Tomcat and his men, who kill squad commander Yu Fei (Liu Tengyuan) before escaping. Tomcat’s plan is to lure Leng Feng and his comrades into a heavily mined forest by the Chinese border. Shi Qingsong gives the Wolf Warriors six hours to get Tomcat and his men before he carpet bombs the whole area. Meanwhile, Min Deng has also crossed the border into China, as part of a plan to create a genetic chemical weapon that targets Chinese.

REVIEW

An okay vehicle for Mainland martial artist Wu Jing 吴京 that delivers plenty of B-movie action without ever coming close to being an A-grade production, Wolf Warrior 战狼 boasts slick packaging – courtesy veteran Hong Kong editor Zhang Jiahui 张嘉辉 [Cheung Ka-fai], also credited as postproduction supervisor, and d.p. Ao Zhijun 敖志君 [Peter Ngor] – and some supporting cast who are better than the material they’re given. Wu’s second outing as a director is as weakly scripted as his first – the killer-on-an-island Legendary Assassin 狼牙 (2008) – but, more importantly, it confirms that, despite all his physical skills, Beijing-born Wu, 41, is just not solo star material.

Despite the input of two well-known online military novelists – Dong Qun 董群 (aka Fenwuyaoji 纷舞妖姬) and Gao Yan 高岩 (aka The Last Guardian 最后的卫道者) – the screenplay is back-of-a-coaster pulp: a maverick sniper in the PLA’s Special Forces is targeted by the mobster brother of a man he shot during a drugs crackdown. Wu’s role evokes, but is not directly connected with, his earlier one in the TV drama series Blade 我是特种兵之利刃出鞘 (2012), about a Special Forces unit, and the Chinese title (literally, “War Wolves”) links the film to other Wu films like Legendary Assassin and the SPL 杀破狼 duo (2005, 2015), both of which also have “wolf” in their original titles. However, try as he may to forge a screen persona of his own, Wu still doesn’t have the magic ingredient or distinctive star quality to carry a film: he’s at his best as part of an ensemble (as in the SPL films, Wind Blast 西风烈, 2010, or Shaolin 新少林寺, 2011) or as a guest star (as in Magic to Win 开心魔法, 2011, or Badges of Fury 不二神探, 2013).

Early scenes try to give Wu’s character some depth – especially a prison sequence opposite actress Yu Nan 余男 – but once the action starts he simply falls back on his two facial expressions (heroic/determined; boyish/charming) with little help from any dialogue. The film’s most notable performance comes from Yu, as the commander of the tough-guy Wolf Warriors unit: though she doesn’t get involved in any action this time, she brings memories of a string of action roles in the past (Wind Blast; Angel Warriors 铁血娇娃, 2013; No Man’s Land 无人区, 2013) and manages to keep a straight face walking around in a uniform or combat duds. Similar acting heft is provided by veteran character actors Shi Zhaoqi 石兆琪 (as a PLA senior colonel) and Ni Dahong 倪大红 (as a psycho druglord), though the latter’s role is almost thrown away after a promising start.

Instead of trying to make the story even vaguely believable or emotionally involving, the script is more interested in plugging a gung-ho warning against “those who challenge China’s borders”, with the reminder that they will have “nowhere to hide”. The Wolf Warriors even wear English-language arm patches declaring “I Fight for China”, which is useful to distinguish them from the (all foreign) baddies during the climax in a heavily-mined forest.

The Zhang-supervised editing is tight but not rushed, in both action and non-action scenes, and the movie is further pushed along by a generic but effective score by Fang Ming 方鸣 that flip-flops between heroic and propulsive. Action, by Wu’s regular choreographer Li Zhongzhi 李忠志 [Nicky Li], skillfully blends martial arts with soldierly stuff; only in the finale, with Wu in an old-fashioned mano a mano with UK martial artist (and Hong Kong veteran) Scott Adkins, does it disappoint, given the long lead-up to their traditional confrontation.

The end credits promise Wolf Warrior II 战狼II, which, given the surprise box-office success of this one (RMB545 million in China), seems on the cards.

CREDITS

Presented by Chunqiu Time Films (CN), Beijing Dengfeng International Cultural Diffusion (CN), Nanjing Military Political Department TV Art Culture (CN), Wuhan Legend Film & TV Art (CN). Produced by Chunqiu Time Films (CN), Beijing Dengfeng International Cultural Diffusion (CN).

Script: Wu Jing, Liu Yi, Fenwuyaoji [Dong Qun], The Last Guardian [Gao Yan]. Photography: Ao Zhijun [Peter Ngor], Deng Liguang. Editing: Zhang Jiahui [Cheung Ka-fai], Li Lin, Deng Wentao, Yan Tingting. Music: Fang Ming. Art direction: Yang Haibing. Costumes: Gao Yusheng. Action: Li Zhongzhi [Nicky Li]. Sound: Wang Yu, Liao Jiawen. Visual effects: Liu Hao (Beijing Mengjing Xingkong Culture Media), Jin Xu (Illumina Technology [Beijing]). 3-D conversion: Zhang Fuzhi, Zhan Zhenyi (China Film). Executive direction: Liu Chang. Assistant directors: Xiao Ruoming, Lang Congrui. Postproduction supervision: Zhang Jiahui [Cheung Ka-fai].

Cast: Wu Jing (Leng Feng), Scott Adkins (Lao Mao/Tomcat), Yu Nan (Long Xiaoyun, Wolf Warriors commander, lieutenant colonel), Ni Dahong (Min Deng), Zhou Xiao’ou (Wu Ji, Min Deng’s younger brother), Ma Qiang (Li Zhijun), Shi Zhaoqi (Shi Qingsong, PLA Special Forces senior colonel), Fang Zibin (hostage), Wang Sen (Shi Sanba/Rubberneck Shi), Liu Tengyuan (Yu Fei, Wolf Warriors commander), Zhang Yongda (Shao Bing, Wolf Warriors deputy commander), Zhuang Xiaolong (Brick), Zhao Yi (chief of staff), Liang Zi (Eagle), Guo Guangping (Leng Feng’s father), Ru Ping (Feng’s mother), Doudou (young Feng), Zhang Heng (male staff officer), Tian Miaomiao, Deng Ziyi, Shan Yuanyuan (female staff officers), San Mao (boy soldier), Kevin Lee (Kuang Niu/Mad Cow, mercenary), Christopher Collins (Niuzai/Cowboy, mercenary), Joseph Eninganeyambe (mercenaries’ driver), Kyle Shapiro (Houzi/Monkey, mercenary) Samuel Thivierge (assassin), Alberto Bossum, Afshin (Interpol agents).

Release: China, 2 Apr 2015.