Chinese action film “Wolf Warriors 2” leads international box office

A week after its debut, the Chinese action film “Wolf Warriors 2” has won hearts not only in China but all around the world, a remarkable achievement for Chinese domestic films which have been long criticized for lagging behind international blockbusters.

The film is the top grossing film at the Chinese box office, raking in about 987 million yuan (about $147 million) in the week ending July 30, Xinhua reported.

The global revenue of Christopher Nolan’s “Dunkirk” was $73 million as of July 30. The huge gap has naturally made “Wolf Warriors 2” the top movie, according to US entertainment trade magazine Variety.

“Wolf Warriors 2” received a score of 7.5 out of 10 on the Chinese media review site Douban.com and the Internet Movie Database. On Rotten Tomatoes, some 91 percent said they liked the film.

Directed by and starring professional martial artist Wu Jing, the film features a retired Chinese special forces soldier and tells the story of how the soldier completes his rescue mission against mercenaries in an unidentified African country during civil war, as Chinese military vessels were sent to evacuate Chinese nationals. The international cast also includes Frank Grillo and Celina Jade.

While many Chinese were inspired by the patriotism and bravery of the Chinese soldier during the mission, international audiences gave more credit to the story, the scenes, and the cast—and especially Wu. Some compared the film to “Jason Bourne.”

“The film’s biggest draw, of course, is Chinese action-superstar Wu Jing. As a trained martial artist he has the physicality of Donnie Yen and the on screen charisma of Jet Li. Most importantly, Wu 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,” commented a user on Internet Movie Database.