Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		0.5
Overall		2.0

Wolf Warrior Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman September 2, 2015

Wu Jing, also known as Jacky Wu, may not in fact be an idiot, but his Wolf Warrior is nonetheless a tale full of sound and fury, signifying nothing. Pretty much the definition of a “popcorn movie”, Wolf Warrior should appeal to those who don’t mind an absence of plot and/or character, but who really like things that go boom (not necessarily just in the night). The film is really noisy, with a ton of shootouts but a perhaps surprising lack of martial arts moves. Wu Jing portrays sharpshooter Leng Feng, a well meaning soldier who defies an order to stand down during a tense interchange in a potential hostage situation, but who takes it upon himself to take out a gun wielding bad guy. Perhaps surprisingly his superiors aren't all that pleased that he single handedly defused the situation, and instead march him toward a court martial. A high ranking female officer (Yu Nan) who works for a kinda sorta top secret black ops organization offers Leng Feng a way out by joining her group, which of course he does. Meanwhile, the criminal mastermind brother of the guy Leng Feng took out in the opening sequence is out for revenge, and he has a coterie of Western mercenaries (including Scott Adkins) to help him achieve his goal.

Wolf Warrior wastes little time in trying to develop character (despite some fitful efforts to give Leng Feng a backstory) and seems content to offer the barest thread of a plot, a plot which exists seemingly to provide tenuous links between large action set pieces. Wolf Warrior tips over into pure jingoism on several occasions, and plays something like a modern Chinese action film as imagined by a propagandist (would Leni Riefenstahl be making action films in this day and age?). It’s all patently silly, as evidenced by little moments like the bad guy’s jowls vibrating hilariously as he takes out a good guy with a machine gun. That’s entertainment—at least in the furious world of Wolf Warrior.

Wolf Warrior Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Wolf Warrior is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Well Go USA with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.39:1. According to several online sources, the film was evidently presented in 3D during its theatrical exhibition, but once again domestic Blu-ray consumers are being offered only a 2D iteration. The image here is very sharp and well defined, with Wu's tendency to be drenched in sweat at virtually every moment throughout the film just one example of the sort of "fine detail" the viewer will experience. The palette is occasionally tweaked, including in some flashback interstitials that supposedly help to develop Leng Feng's character. Contrast is occasionally pushed, leading to slight clipping of highlights. Some the CGI and/or green screen work is pretty iffy looking.

Wolf Warrior Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

According to the IMDb, Wolf Warrior screened theatrically with a Dolby Atmos mix, but the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix included on this Blu-ray is incredibly effective nonetheless, offering excellent immersion and regular bursts of very convincing LFE. The film is awash in sound effects, many of which dot the surrounds impressively and help to create a very busy but enjoyable mix. Dialogue (such as it is) is rendered cleanly and is well prioritized.

Wolf Warrior Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer (1080p; 1:33)

Wolf Warrior Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The pull quote adorning the cover of this new Blu-ray release touts the film's "breathtaking martial arts", and while there are some hand to hand combat scenes here, there's a lot more gunfire and explosions, something that may surprise fans who will be drawn to the film due to its star duo (it should be noted that Adkins' role is more or less a glorified cameo). Wolf Warrior is just downright silly just about every step of the way, but it might satisfy adrenaline junkies who have set their expectations fairly low. Technical merits are generally excellent for those considering a purchase.