City Beat | Wolf Warrior 2 may be timely reminder of how Hong Kong can promote national education
Action film with a ‘man’s man’ as hero has become highest-grossing Chinese film eclipsing another patriotic movie, The Founding of an Army, and its ‘pretty boys’
One direct lesson is that Wolf 2, even if by accident, signals the end of the industry’s overreliance on the disparagingly named “little fresh meat”– good-looking but not-so-masculine young male stars. Their bargaining power – commanding 100 million yuan or even more per film – and screen dominance over all these years may no longer be assured, given the phenomenal success of a movie that does not rely on them.
By coincidence, or as if it was pre-planned, it so happened that Wolf 2 was released on the mainland when another “theme movie” – The Founding of an Army, which promotes official cultural values – was screened across the country, including here in Hong Kong. Surprising contrasts are evident in comparing Wolf 2 with this historical film financed by mainland investors but directed by Hong Kong’s Andrew Lau Wai-keung.
Both movies share similar features: strong patriotic messages, elaborate action and war scenes,
tributes to the 90th anniversary of the People’s Liberation Army and release in theatres at the “golden time” of the summer holidays.