《战狼2》英语观后感

　　Alex H.

　　A Review on Wolf Warriors 2

　　Floating in mid-air then falling down to the marble earth this afternoon was the blue-white cinema ticket, a proof of me having watched the hit film Wolf Warriors 2 at 7 p.m. on 23rd, August when I attempted to tidy up my personal zone in the room. Naturally, this precious evident faced the fate of going straight to the dust bin as any others, since the saying goes 'Discarding useless and sometimes useful items from time to time is the best improvement to life, my U-life dogma.

　　But there is no way to suppress the impulse of sitting down at my desk and putting something down about the film even in the middle of the night.

　　First of all, admittedly, it is a nice movie. It is neither extraordinary, super nor perfect. But it did not matter. Although the latest super-film I have watched in the cinema as far as I remembered is Interstellar. (Of course there were better ones but I did not go for a movie very often.) All of these did not change my affection and compliments to Wolf Warriors 2.

　　I won't spend a single word on the plot. It is now taken granted that Wolf Warriors 2 has been watched when mentioned in a conversation as long as the interlocutor is a Chinese. I don't want to be disingenuous: the story-line is an absolute cliché with a fixed mode that has fallen out of both fashion and favour in the west decades ago: individualistic heroism, single-handed, patriotism, mêlée against the vicious White and all. What needs to be pointed out is these are either completely novel or relatively new to the film industry in China: Against White? Conventional. An actioner? Too Unusual. Military mêlée? Never before! In modern timeline? Neither! Heroism? A No-no. Localised individualistic heroism? Unheard-of! Patriotism yet within an acceptable scale accompanied by comedic elements? Revolutionary.

　　All above?

　　Ground-breaking and pioneering.

　　Although all mentioned techniques are familiar, it is the first time that they have been done by Chinese and presented in a totally Chinese style. It is also the first time they are so combined ever. I am not ashamed of ‘Shanzhai’, counterfeit and plagiarism, since it is an unavoidable process to those who come after: Copy before innovation. What matters in this sense is whether the entity has arrived in the latter stage in the end. Wold Warriors 2 possessed features of copying but also noticeable innovation and originality. Although some of the plots and the handling of the various elements are still immature, they are way advanced, almost a world ahead of their predecessors. WW2 is a juvenile but potential and worth encouragement. And I’m not going to hold back mine this time: Suffice it to say, it is the first time I have found excitement and seen hope in a China-made commercial movie in the theatre. I was wonderstruck and more than content.

　　As China enjoys the boosting of economy, modernity and living standard, there comes a growing national pride and a need for us to express and emphasize this self-recognition. We are really starting taking pride in the achievement we’ve made and how far we’ve been so far for the first time in history as Chinese. Such desire reaches a record-breaking culmination, a level it has never been on before. The Chinese are demanding for a corresponding culture. We are desperately seeking for an identifier as a movie that reflects up-to-date status. We want our nationalism and patriotism to be inspired and amplified at some moment in the screening room and to have such a film to talk about and find consensus in just like the Americans and find in and identify themselves with Lambo, Roger Stevens, and Cowboy. The existing ones are either so improperly propagandistic that the spectators want to throw up and very much to be exclusive from them, or too old-school and out of date that it is already a brand-new modern urban shame to mention them. WW2 seized this opportunity and met the long empty spiritual need in the nick of time with appropriate ingredients and apt measures under Goldilocks conditions.

　　WW2 IS a miracle. But it's one that all Chinese hope will last, even we, the cynical youths. “Because for most of us, it's the first pride since the 21st century.”And trust me, it is a cultural milestone for all Chinese.