Producer: Jackie Wu
Screenwriter: Jackie Wu
Producer: Dong Yu Dong
Starring: Jackie Wu, Yu Nan, Scott Adkins, Kyle Shapiro, Ni Dahong, Zhu Xiaowu, Zhaoyai Shi, Deng Qiyi, Tian Miaomoao, Ma Kiang, Jean Jiachen, Samuel Thivierge, Kevin Lee
Duration: 90 min.
After the warm reception of his directorial debut Jackie Wu, “The Legendary Killer” (2008), 7 years passed and in 2015 he returned to the director’s chair for his next work, “War of the Wolves" (Wolf Warrior). While Legendary Assassin was a typical Hong Kong movie, the advertisement "Wolf Wars" gave us a clear idea of what to expect by showing Woo in various heroic poses, against the background of the Chinese flag. A vague suspicion arose that the entire film was essentially a 90-minute advertisement for the Chinese army.
With Jackie Wu, starring a British actor, martial artist, Scott Adkins (credited as Scott Edward Adkins for some reason), giving the film significant potential. At one point there was thought that Vincent Zhao would join the cast, but ultimately it remained just a thought. However, the prospect of seeing the fight Woo против Adkins was enough to go to the premiere.
Those expecting an updated version of Sammo Hung's masterpiece, Eastern Condors, will be disappointed. It becomes obvious too quickly, budget"wolf warrior"The reason is that when compared to a similar film, Moon Lee's 1991 Angel Force looks much better. Despite the 3D with explosions and pyrotechnics,"War of the Wolves" is far from the budget of other mainland-oriented films such as Changeling (2013).
The story itself begins with the character Jackie Wu, a sniper who skillfully “takes out” a terrorist “somewhere in Southeast Asia” who threatens to shoot a hostage in the head. The command considers his actions risky, but ultimately Woo transferred to a special forces detachment, "Wolf Squad". Trouble begins when the brother of the terrorist he killed Woo, discovers his location, and sends a team of elite mercenaries, led by Adkins, behind his head. To at least somehow explain to the audience the motivation of the terrorists, a comment is given that they are planning to create a virus based on the DNA of the Chinese, which will kill exclusively the Chinese. Well, let it go.
First 15 minutes"wolf warrior" lights up. There are a lot of explosions, all of them real, and some scenes use a first-person view. Likewise Scott Adkins and his team show up in style, tearing a couple of police cars apart with a minigun.
Unfortunately, after such a strong start, the film begins to go downhill. Woo recruited into the "Wolf Squad", which conducts exercises in the jungle. The leaders of the opposing teams were Zhaoyai Shi и Yu Nan, which appeared in The Expendables 2.
Their teachings are interrupted Adkins with his gang, doing such "horrible things" as graffiti with Chinese characters that read "Chinese Boy Scouts", although none of the mercenaries can speak Chinese, let alone write. To confuse the viewer even more, Woo and his team constantly mention that "wolves are on the way." There are many symbols in the film hinting at wolves, I was expecting another team that would show strong action. Instead, we see a pack of CGI wolves attacking brave Chinese soldiers.
We know that soldiers are brave because when Adkins и Woo will really collide Scott being a decent bastard, he still takes a minute to say Jackie"You're not the smartest soldier I've ever met, but you're the bravest". Talk about breaking stereotypes. The constant spouting about how this happened in great and beautiful China throughout the entire film. In most cases, this is forgivable. Unlike many films in which it is awkward to shoehorn in "China is great!" Messages"Wolf Wars"The greatness of China has been there from the very beginning, so nothing unexpected. However, it is an eyesore, especially in the credits,"Those who threaten China will not be able to hide!"
From the moment of arrival Woo in "Wolf Band", the film is essentially limited to two locations - in the jungle, and at the base Yu Nan with excellent CGI scenery. We expect to see powerful hand-to-hand fights between the teams Woo и Adkins, isolated in the jungle but, unfortunately, this does not happen. Instead, almost 99% of the action consists of rather boring gunplay. So boring that the first 15 minutes are quickly forgotten, and the vast majority of shootouts are not remembered at all.
When the key characters finally run out of ammo and get into hand-to-hand combat, a stabbing begins. In less than a minute it will all be over. Adkins hardly makes one lunge, Woo, blazing with righteous anger at the enemy’s hand bandaged with the flag of China, does not leave him a single chance. It pains me to say that Woo, knowing his experience in Legendary Killer, which he also worked on with choreographer Nicky Lee, could feature an epic final fight with Adkins. But it didn’t work out.
Jackie Wu for 7 years he also did not improve as a director. Some episodes are laughably bad. In one scene, a grenade explodes with a slow-mo effect, and on the screen Yu Nan she too explodes in slow motion. Woo also does not understand how to attract an audience with drama. In another scene, one of his team members shows him a photo of his daughter that he keeps in his helmet. In less than 5 minutes, the character is killed, and Woo sees a flashback to a previous scene, which the audience is forced to watch again. The scene should evoke emotion, but it doesn’t.
The credits are designed in the style of Jackie Chan, with takes of fights, accidents, trial and error. I usually favor movie cliches, but in this case, I was just waiting for the end of the film. It's true that those who threaten China won't be able to hide, but if they're faced with the prospect of watching Wolf Warrior, I'm sure they'll be damn hard to find.
Paul Bramhall's score: 4.5 / 10
Posted by Paul Bramhall (cityonfire)
Translation: Maxim Kovalishen
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Tags: wolf warrior, Jackie Wu, Scott Adkins, Yu Nan
Tags: wolf warrior, Jackie Wu, Scott Adkins, Yu Nan
I just got there and looked - weaker than weaker, probably the North Korean “Order 97 or whatever it’s called” looked better...
I watched it yesterday. What can I say... it’s clear that I watched the whole film for the final battle, which, alas... was very much a blur. The beginning of the fight is even more or less exciting, but the ending.... one disappointment... I expected something completely different. Adkins was not really allowed to show himself in all his glory, and his signature feints. And the battle is too short in time for the final... I leave it in the collection solely out of respect for Adkins and... for Wu Jing))). Although, as a director, he could have made a more action-oriented movie...
I watched it yesterday. What can I say... it’s clear that I watched the whole film for the final battle, which, alas... was very much a blur. The beginning of the fight is even more or less exciting, but the ending.... one disappointment... I expected something completely different. Adkins was not really allowed to show himself in all his glory, and his signature feints. And the battle is too short in time for the final... I leave it in the collection solely out of respect for Adkins and... for Wu Jing))). Although, as a director, he could have made a more action-oriented movie...
den50393, the review and comments say this.
Real knife fights between two professionals are usually even shorter (minus the pretentious phrases and the final fooling around).
I'm wondering if this is related to Wu Jing's recent leg surgeries? Maybe he simply cannot show the expected class.
Wave,
IMHO, he never really showed any class at all. Almost all of the Chinese wushu champions in the movies are wire ropers and rope walkers. And Wu Jing is no exception. Ropes and classical choreography with standard elements of all kinds of taolu - this, of course, is all understandable, but you just need to know a sense of proportion and be able to do it so that it is not banal and does not resemble Dancing with the Stars without signs of gravity. China has long forgotten how to properly film a fighting game while standing on the ground.
Personally, he was always interesting to me as an actor, his eyes were sharp and cunning, his face was charismatic and recognizable.
Ravenside, the fight against Donnie Yen in “S,PL” is quite good and without cables. And this is due not only to Yen, but also to Jing, IMHO. (well, and the director. Who directed it, Yong, Hungg?)
Ps I almost got confused with Colin Chow in “Flash Point”.
Wave,
I first wrote about the fight with Donnie Yen in a comment, and then deleted it myself))) Because it is clear that this is probably the only fight where Wu Jing does not use his legs, and therefore there are no cables there. If only you hang the knife on cables.
Come on guys. Adkins starred in the film, which took 1st place in China and exceeded its budget many times over. This is a victory by default already. And the fact that the film itself is so-so - I honestly don’t know, I haven’t watched it yet... In short, in any case, this is a plus for everyone.
The fact is that many people are probably confused by the fact that in the film there are 2 cool martial arts masters, one of whom is the director, and no fights were shown in the action film. This is kind of absurd.
I just wanted to watch it because of Adkins, Jackie Wu is not attractive at all. And since he doesn’t even fight, there’s no point. Thanks to the reviewer, saved time.
I looked without translation. You don't have to look. At all. Even with translation.
Ravenside,
It's a shame if that's the case. But with such a cast, everyone will feel the need to see for themselves. In any case, I certainly do.
Wave,
You will be greatly disappointed, my young Padawan.
Ravenside,
Surprisingly, I really liked the film as an action movie about special force action in the forest. I didn’t delve into the film itself, to hell with the dramaturgy and the script. Moreover, there is enough pro-Chinese propaganda there. I looked purely at the action, and not just hand-to-hand combat.
There was very little hand-to-hand combat, but the overall impression was good. Sense and to the point... Well, almost everything. Much. Although there are excesses and blunders. A mafioso standing like a pillar in the middle of a dense firefight. Shooting from a Gatling like a Kalashnikov. The CGI on the wolves was terrible. On the ropes, after the impacts, they flew too far (almost 5-7 meters or more). In short, there are mistakes, but the main actions are excellent.
I also looked at the morals and training in the Chinese army (at least as it is promoted in the movies).
Ps Nobody expected fights from “Fast and Furious 7” like in “Ong Bak” and “TYUG”. But for some reason everyone agrees that Tony did the right thing by breaking out of Thailand. So it is here. I believe that it was not in vain that Adkins starred in such a film, although both him and Jackie Woo could have been replaced with weaker fighters without losing the quality of the action.
Wave,
The fact that Adkins starred here is just not bad, it’s better than sitting at home)))