Wu Jing returns to fulfill the two major roles he held on the first Wolf Warrior film, that of the roles of director and lead actor. Jing reprises his role as Leng Feng, with the film depicting him at the start of the feature as being discharged from his Wolf Warriors squadron for killing an evil land developer who was threatening the lives of the innocent. The imprisonment and subsequent death of his love interesting from the first Wolf Warriors leaves Feng feeling empty, so he goes off to a city in Africa to use his fighting skills to protect cargo boats from pirates. There, he befriends a local youngster and is held in high regard by the locals.
If that all sounds peachy keen, well, problems do arise by way of a local militia group looking to overthrow the government that has no problems with slaughtering the innocent in an effort to get their way. When this organization begins firing on local citizens, Feng volunteers himself to go rescue individuals trapped at both a local hospital as well as assorted people trapped at a factory. For anyone else, taking on the men that are ruled over by the ruthless Big Daddy (Frank Grillo), would be a suicide mission. For Feng, it's a much-needed chance to get some purpose injected into his life and help save some innocent lives.
It's a little odd that Wolf Warrior 2 opts to play things so distanced from the first one to the point that Leng Feng is the only character from the first movie to come back in a major capacity now that he's been discharged from his fellow Wolf Warrior comrades and his girlfriend is dead. At least that does mean this follow-up differentiates itself from the first one in terms of characters present and it's even better at making its own distinct identity compared to its predecessor on a visual level. The camerawork, lighting, and fight choreography (the Russo Brothers provided guidance on the latter element) have definitely been taken up a notch compared to the last Leng Feng adventure.
The fight scenes are probably the best aspect of this installment as the story proceeds to toss Leng Feng through all kinds of mayhem like a well-shot car chase and an assortment of hand-to-hand combat scenes, though some occasionally choppy editing does mar these segments of the movie. It is a pity that the characterization of Leng Feng hasn't gotten as much of a quality boost between the first and second Wolf Warrior as he still comes across as stock action hero without much in the way of distinct personality to help make him stand out, though Wu Jing is still doing solid work in role. It's similarly a shame that the sequel still only has room for one woman in the cast just like its predecessor, with Celina Jade taking over duties as the requisite romantic interest as a woman that Leng Fong is shocked to discover is a (GASP!) doctor! Her character is written in a predictable manner that feels fitting for a number of the more rote plot details of Wolf Warrior II, including a revenge subplot that keeps fading in and out of the story.
Jade and Jing don't have exactly the most riveting chemistry on the planet but at least the film doesn't waste too much time on their romantic subplot, even if that does leave a climactic kiss between the two feeling out of place. No, Wolf Warrior II is very much all about the action, especially when it comes to showering down violence on any poor souls that cross the path of the villains and their army. Civilians get shot up in extremely gruesome ways as part of orders given by the generic antagonist played by Frank Grillo. Having much more personality to his name is a henchman named Bear, played by Oleg Prudius, who delivers every single one of his lines in such an over-the-top style that he's like a John Kricfalusi character come to life. If only more of Wolf Warrior II had the sense of personality this character has as too much of it is consumed by generic traits that just aren't all that much fun to watch, though at even its most tedious moments are at least filmed in a decent manner.
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