Warning: This article contains spoilers
Since the promotion stage, Operation Jiaolong has repeatedly emphasized that it is the legitimate sequel to Operation Red Sea, and even directly quoted clips from the previous film in the trailer. However, every viewer who has seen this film will admit that the two films have basically no connection at the story level, and the characters from the previous film that were inserted into the film have almost zero presence. The reason why the main creative team is so busy "making connections" is probably not only to take advantage of the IP of the previous film, but also because they lack some confidence in the work.
This poster highlights the major selling points of "Operation Jiaolong": the big screen debut of a Chinese nuclear submarine, "specially made" IMAX filming, and the sequel to "Operation Red Sea".
From a purely technical perspective, "Operation Jiaolong" will only be higher, faster and stronger than "Operation Red Sea". The entire film was shot with IMAX cameras, with an exclusive IMAX frame, full of sincerity. The coolness of the photography is beyond imagination, with close-ups, mid-shots, long shots, and drone perspectives. Even if you shoot a few soldiers driving a car, you have to switch to several different perspectives, from back to front, from top to bottom, and when you enter a submarine, you have to use long shots, follow shots, and other sports shots, one after another. I just want to ask all the audience, are you dizzy? Anyway, I was dizzy in various ways, and I was forced to be "washed" by the director's aesthetics for more than two hours.
That's not all. If "Operation Red Sea" gave many viewers a new understanding of my country's strong military strength, then "Operation Jiaolong" is even more popular. Climax, fish noise, position 0XX, forward Ⅹ degrees, superconducting magnetic fluid, shaftless pump thrust... all kinds of military terms are overwhelming, and there are many that I can't remember. Before the release, many netizens complained that "Operation Jiaolong" was more like a "science fiction film", which may be because ordinary people do not understand the rapid update of military equipment in the contemporary era, but the overly "hardcore" style may indeed narrow the audience range of this film.
Stills from Operation Jiaolong
But this is not the main problem of "Operation Jiaolong". If we really compare this film with "Operation Red Sea", we will find that the technical details are not a problem. The most terrible thing is that the audience stayed in the theater for 2 and a half hours and still didn't understand what "Operation Jiaolong" was about.
Although the protagonists of Operation Red Sea faced dangers, their goals were clear: to save their own people and to resolve humanitarian crises abroad, demonstrating the responsible attitude of a major country. However, in Operation Jiaolong, the characters' motives became a "mystery." Foreign terrorists, especially General White, never received even the simplest explanation as to why he carried out the so-called "Star Plan" from beginning to end.
Moreover, this plan is really incredible. It is to detonate a nuclear bomb in an underwater base, causing an underwater volcano to erupt and trigger a tsunami, disguising it as a natural disaster, thereby destroying the security of Asia-Pacific countries. Is this plan really feasible? Even if this plan is really so terrible, does the entire Asia-Pacific rely on a submarine and a few Jiaolong members? This is too hasty.
Stills from Operation Jiaolong
This is not to argue with the creative team. A military war film can certainly have wild imaginations. But at least, a story that is not complicated should be told clearly and understandably. This requirement is not too much, right?
However, the creative team seemed a little absent-minded. If the reporter character was used to connect the entire story in Operation Red Sea and brought out a series of values about war and peace, the character creation in Operation Jiaolong was relatively rough. The war trauma left by Du Jiang in the previous film was easily healed, and the grudges between Yu Shi and Huang Xuan were easily resolved, so that the audience could not react at all, let alone empathize with the characters in the movie.
Please forgive me for using the actor's name instead of the character's name, because after watching the movie for two and a half hours, I didn't figure out who played who until the end credits appeared on the big screen. In Operation Red Sea, every member of the team will not be so "blurry".
The lack of rigorous creative attitude of the film's main creative team is concentrated in a turning point of the film. That is, when the submarine was severely damaged and everyone was in a desperate situation, Zhang Hanyu, who played the captain, actually... took out the harmonica and started playing? I understand that this is a kind of romantic expression, but such a plot appears in a hardcore military movie, which is really full of disobedience. The most unacceptable thing is that the way the submarine resolves the crisis is actually "Everyone keep working hard and restart all systems." Ah this... It turns out that such an advanced submarine can solve the problem just like my computer at home by restarting it?
In this regard, "Operation Jiaolong" seems to have fallen into a similar dilemma as the "Investiture of the Gods" series. In order to demonstrate the strong technical strength of the Chinese film industry and to meet certain potential needs of the film market, the creators have intentionally or unintentionally "put the cart before the horse" in terms of the means and purpose of artistic creation. The final result is that the film presented to the audience has many "gimmicks", "selling points" and "topics", but the content level is becoming increasingly lackluster.
Stills from Operation Jiaolong
At this point, I have to feel a little sorry for Operation Jiaolong. This film could have continued the success of Operation Red Sea and continued to explore the role that Chinese cultural concepts can play in promoting world peace, but Huang Xuan, Du Jiang and Yu Shi all obviously took the path of Hollywood "Rambo"-style lone heroes in the film, always talking with their necks stiff, and they just lacked the "I am a tough guy" written on their faces.
On the basis of not lacking technical and financial support, perhaps the object that this film should really learn from is "The Wandering Earth". The Chinese people's love for their homeland and peace is engraved in their genes, and their friendly and tolerant attitude towards others is unique. In this case, we may no longer need to over-emphasize our own "strength" with images, but might as well work harder on the in-depth exploration of human nature and thoughts. Even if we expand on the misunderstanding between the captain and the deputy captain, and the relationship between the captain and the young sonar soldier, it will be more pleasing than the simple and crude bombardment now.
Stills from Operation Jiaolong
Throughout the Spring Festival, "Operation Jiaolong" seems to have no advantage in terms of momentum and box office, which may be unexpected for many people. Because no matter from the subject matter, cast or performance, the film has no shortage of fans. Perhaps, it is not just the director of the film, Dante Lam, who should change his mindset - just "large quantity and fullness" is not a true respect for the audience.
