Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		1.5
Overall		3.0

Wolf Warrior 2 Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman December 12, 2017

Industry rags like Variety and The Hollywood Reporter are currently trumpeting the box office magic of Coco, and no doubt will be repeating their mantras about huge ticket sales once Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi opens in just a few more days, but one of 2017’s most astounding successes is a film that is perhaps not all that well known in the United States, Wolf Warrior II (as its title is transliterated in the film itself). I frankly wasn’t all that enthused about Wolf Warrior, a pretty generic action adventure yarn that featured Wu Jing (also known as Jacky Wu) as Leng Feng, a well meaning if kind of zealous sharpshooter whose exploits led him into being recruited by a secret black ops organization. Wolf Warrior was frenetic and extremely noisy, but it didn’t offer much in the way of surprises or even basics like character development, and while it did relatively well (close to $100 million globally), it certainly didn’t portend the kind of reaction its sequel would generate, especially since it’s at least arguable that Wolf Warrior II, like its progenitor, doesn’t really stretch genre boundaries much, if at all. But for whatever reason Wolf Warrior II evidently really resonated in the Asian market especially, leading to a box office take which may actually approach a billion (like, with a “b”) when all is said and done. There’s a kind of fish out of water aspect to this sequel which may remind some viewers of another old sequel, Shaft in Africa, since in this outing Leng Feng travels to the so-called “dark continent” after once again having run afoul of all those pesky rules and regulations prohibiting things like, you know, killing people who aren’t behaving very well. Wolf Warrior II has an interesting location and a number of incredibly intricate set pieces that feature some pretty astounding stunt work, but as to why this particular film became one of the all time reigning box office champs in China and beyond may be somewhat of a mystery to Western viewers.

Though it may not initially be totally clear, there’s a bit of a structural artifice at play in Wolf Warrior II, one evidently constructed in order to provide a slam bang opening for the film. That debut sequence offers Leng Feng as the sole hero able to fight off a horde of (Somalian?) pirates who surround a freighter, disabling its propellor and shooting at the crewmen, evidently killing (or at least wounding) several. Leng Feng literally jumps into action, diving into the ocean and coming up underneath the pirates’ skiffs, quickly dispatching an insane number of them, with quite a bit of the action taking place underwater. That certainly provides ample proof of Leng Feng’s ability to handle bad guys, a tendency the film doesn’t budge from once the timeline is more or less clarified to reveal that Leng Feng has once again been booted from his “official” capacity and is a freelancer of sorts, this time on the way to Africa.

Had Wolf Warrior II simply coasted on its considerable adrenaline pumping action scenes, its popularity might have been more understandable to those on this side of the pond who are fond of “popcorn” fare at their local cineplex. But as with any number of other relatively recent Chinese action films, Wu Jing (who also co-wrote, co-produced and directed Wolf Warrior II) wants to stuff the film with an almost baffling number of subplots, as well as a general jingoistic tenor that unabashedly and unapologetically plays up the supposed superiority of the Chinese military types. In fact, there’s an almost screed like ambience to some of the underlying plot proceedings at hand in the film, with Feng Leng serving as an archetype of all that is Good and Honorable in someone fighting for truth and justice, even as he relentlessly pummels an assortment of bad guy types virtually senseless.

The main villain in this piece is a mercenary known as Big Daddy (Frank Grillo), who along with his acolytes is wreaking havoc in Africa, something that is putting Chinese nationals there in danger. While the Chinese military gets involved, their hands are evidently tied by some of those pesky rules and regulations that Feng Leng has no trouble ignoring. That would probably provide more than enough “plot” for any traditional action adventure outing, but Wu Jing also introduces a deadly virus decimating the populace, one that involves local doctor Rachel Smith (Celina Jade). Just to make things all the more convoluted, Feng Leng is also in search of a missing loved one. What’s kind of amusing about all of this is that Wu Jing more or less plops all of these plot points down indiscriminately, as if understanding subliminally that none of it really matters, since the main thrust of the film’s allure is in the set pieces and stunt work.

Wolf Warrior 2 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Wolf Warrior II is presented on BLu-ray courtesy of Well Go USA with a AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.35:1. The IMDb lists Red cameras as having been utilized, reportedly capturing at 6K which was then finished at a 2K DI. Whether due to the source resolution or some other reason, this is a really beautifully sharp and well detailed looking transfer for the most part. Even the underwater material in the pre-credits vignette has rather surprising detail levels that overcome any inherent murkiness. The colorful locations used offer plenty of opportunities for wide vistas and impressive depth of field, and while the palette has been graded from time to time to the ever popular blue tones, quite often there's a refreshing lack of tweaking and everything pops quite naturally, with excellent saturation. Fine detail is typically excellent when the camera is stationary and close-ups are employed. My only niggling qualm is once again with regard to some fairly soft looking CGI, especially with regard to some of the water set sequences that supposedly feature large fleets of ships. This is just the latest in a long line of Asian releases which had 3D theatrical exhibitions but which are being presented on domestic (US) Blu-ray as 2D only. There are some obviously gimmicky effects throughout the film which were designed to be "in your face" moments, many of them utilizing CGI, and many of which tend to look even softer in this flat presentation.

Wolf Warrior 2 Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Wolf Warrior II features a bombastically effective DTS:X track, one that offers superb directionality and a glut of precisely placed midair effects, especially when elements like helicopters are involved. The regular outbreak of either hand to hand combat or outright shooting also provides excellent opportunities for some well done sound effects which are liberally sprinkled through the surround channels. Dialogue and score are also rendered with precision and smart prioritization on this problem free track.

Wolf Warrior 2 Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Behind the Scenes Featurettes

  Director Wu Jing (1080p; 4:15)

  
  

  Filming in Africa (1080i; 4:24)

  
  

  Action Scenes (1080p; 2:43)

  
  

  Wu Gang (1080p; 3:14)

• Trailer (1080p; 1:36)

As tends to be the case with most Well Go USA releases, the disc has been authored so that all of the supplemental material follows each other automatically. After the trailer for this film plays, the disc moves on automatically to trailers for other Well Go USA releases, trailers which also play at disc boot up.

Wolf Warrior 2 Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Wolf Warrior II has a lot of energy from virtually the get go, which may lead some to wonder why Wu Jing spends so much time on so many needless sidebars. The film is kind of relentless in a way, but adrenaline junkies should enjoy its nonstop array of excellently staged set pieces. Technical merits are strong, and Wolf Warrior II comes Recommended.