Earning over 867 million US dollars in its domestic cinematic run, which has been extended multiple times to satisfy audiences across the Middle Kingdom, "Wolf Warrior 2" has undoubtedly been the most popular movie in China this year and, on Friday, the film was put forward as China’s nominee for the Best Foreign Picture at the 90th Academy Awards, which is to be held on March 4, 2018.

Not only has the film broken Chinese box office records, it has broken the country’s decade-and-a-half streak of nominating portentous art house cinema, which began with Zhang Yimou’s "Hero" in 2002, a lavish historical epic, and continued with an almost rotating line up of already respected directors: Feng Xiaogang, Chen Kaige and the aforementioned Zhang Yimou were all nominated multiple times and, the directors who were only nominated once, such as Huo Jiangqi and He Ping, have already won the Golden Rooster.

So who is the man who has taken Chinese cinema by storm?

Born in Beijing, Wu’s career began in the same fashion as that of Jet Li, Bolo Yeung, Tiger Chen and many others before him as he dedicated his early life to martial arts – in this particular case, wushu. Following in the steps of his father and grandfather, he became a talented practitioner of the martial arts and won several tournaments with the Beijing Wushu Team.

It wasn’t until he got scouted by Yuen Woo-Ping for his 1996 film “Tai Chi Boxer” that he got into cinema. Though he has a solid directorial career, Yuen is best known for his work as a martial arts choreographer in Hong Kong, Chinese mainland and American cinema, and his early experience working in the era of the Shaw Brothers taught him to always favor legitimacy – a trait Wu Jing isn’t short of.

Though it was a major role in a film by a respected director, Wu’s career didn’t take off as expected. His next major credit came in a 2000-TV series while working in cinema under the name Jacky Wu, he became typecast in a similar vein to that of others, such as Brad Allen and Kevin Nash, who try to crossover into acting (from stunt work and professional wrestling respectively) but whose skillset keeps them in physical, mostly non-verbal roles. The peak of this was the 2005 film "SPL" – renamed "Kill Zone" internationally – where he appeared as the mute, knife wielding, bleach blond assassin Jack and went head-to-head with megastar Donnie Yen in the film’s standout scene.

This brought him more work and larger roles in the Hong Kong film industry. Though regularly explicitly cast as a mainlander, or as the centerpiece of a large ensemble cast, in order to hide his lack of Cantonese proficiency, Wu’s screen presence and fight choreography – often planning those scenes himself or in conjunction with the director – earned him recognition from martial arts movie icon Sammo Hung and Benny Chan, the last of the Hong Kong action movie wunderkinder.

Perhaps it was luck, or maybe it was fate that in 2008 when China held the Summer Olympics and began its latest period of opening up, Wu Jing made his directorial debut with "Legendary Assassin." Now with control behind the camera, he was able to work with co-director Chung Chi Li, and make a film that played to his strengths rather than work around them – and with scenes like the one-vs-all finale, which references the Wachowskis’ underrated "Matrix Revolutions", he displayed a cineliteracy and knowledge of genre far above that of the standard star turned director.

From here, his career continued much like it did in Hong Kong, only with the Mandarin dialogue allowing him to appear in more heavy conversation roles, up until the release of "Wolf Warrior" in 2015. Not only was this his first solo directorial gig but also both his first true lead performance and one of the first movies to receive assistance from the People’s Liberation Army. The film, which pits him against cult actor Scott Adkins, was budgeted at a modest 12 million US dollars and became solidly successful, grossing over 80 million US dollars in China alone, as well as enjoying success on streaming services like Netflix worldwide.

The success was immediately seen in Wu’s next two films, "SPL II: A Time For Consequences" and "The Deadly Reclaim" – renamed "Call of Heroes" outside of China – as they reunited him with Wilson Yip (working as producer) and Benny Chan respectively, only, unlike in their earlier films, he has a starring role: No longer the mute assassin of "SPL", Wu played a sympathetic policeman who goes undercover to bust a people trafficking ring in "SPL II" and receiving a Special Appearance credit for "The Deadly Reclaim" – and then came "Wolf Warrior 2".

Wu may not have the pedigree or the credentials of other directors competing for an Academy Award, and with a career such as the one he’s forged for himself over two decades, he’s more than earned the right to represent his country at the most prestigious night in cinema. It may not have much of a chance, but the fact "Wolf Warrior 2" has even reached this far, is an honor in and of itself.

"Wolf Warrior 2" is currently still in cinemas in China and receiving limited releases across the globe.

Source: IMDb