Wolf Warrior (2015)

I kind of liked it at the beginning. But there were some ridiculous scenes, like the CGI wolf fight and there was always that annoying voice over the Chinese must have learned from the Godzilla movies. Whatever happened, someone would comment and give the movie a news report feeling. In the middle of the movie the American mercenaries clash with the Chinese troops and I was expecting an epic cat and mouse game. Then the Chinese commander ordered his troops to "regain their honor" by squashing the enemy before they have time to flee. So, I got sick of the propaganda and I turned it off. It's too bad because this movie had the potential to be a fun action movie.

...because those CGI wolves were really lame.Other than that, I've no complaints about this movie. It's a popcorn action flick about a one-man army, similar to many of those mindless Stallone and Schwarzenegger flicks. Not necessarily my type of movie, but it's one of those films you'd want to pop up on a lazy Friday night when you have friends over and are enjoying some pizza and cold beer.Note: Yes, this film has some China-nationalistic overtones, but it's no different from every other action flick that Hollywood likes to churn out. If your "evil China-propaganda alert!!" is being triggered by this movie, then you've obviously been brainwashed by one too many anti-China 'news' report and this movie is NOT intended for you.

After learning about the humongous business the 2nd part of the movie is doing in China, I decided to watch the first part. And oh man, how boring was it!! Extremely poor acting, inconsistent story, actions which are neither believable nor fun made it a below average flick. Maybe the nationalistic viewpoint and the positive portrayal of the armed force made it a commercial success in China but the appeal ends there. The worst of all was the sexist tone of the movie. Dialogues like a woman cannot be the commander of elite troop or a soldier asking her out were definitely demeaning.

Part military action film, part government propaganda, Wolf Warrior shows what blockbuster films from China have become as they expand their film viewing audience. The story is about Leng Feng (Jing Wu), a skilled sharpshooter who uses his sniper skills to take down drug lords. He disobeys orders to kill the brother of a ruthless drug lord Min Deng (Dahong Ni). Despite his disregard for authority, he is invited to join the elite Wolf company. Min Deng swears vengeance on Leng Feng and escapes arrest with the help of his group of mercenaries lead by Tomcat (Scott Adkins). The wolves go on training with a large military activity that includes cyber warfare and advanced weapons showing off the might of the Chinese military as well as their intelligence with computer hacking.Coordinated by Long Xiayun (Nan Yu), the wolves are able to outshine their competitors and win the first practice fight. The drill becomes dangerous when an actual pack of wolves attacks the soldiers at night and they have to fight them off with live bullets and bayonets. On the next day, the drug lord's mercenaries strike and kill one of the wolves leaders who had a daughter. The mercenaries escape but not before showing off their advanced weapons that can take down a helicopter. The wolves get very patriotic as they load up from a weapons drop and head out to fight the mercenaries. They are ambushed and suffer more losses.Check out more of this review and others at swilliky.com