1/5 stars
The Chinese military drama Formed Police Unit has finally arrived in cinemas, some three years after it was originally shot.
Production stalled following a scandal involving its original star Zhang Zhehan, who was swiftly removed from the project. All of his scenes were either re-edited or reshot entirely.
The tabloid antics of the film’s one-time lead are the least of its problems, however. Formed Police Unit is a woefully ill-conceived and culturally tone-deaf attempt to celebrate China’s international standing.
An anti-government rebel leader is standing trial for genocide, but he vehemently denies doing anything beyond protecting his people from a corrupt leadership. It is soon revealed, however, that he is in the pocket of Kevin Lee’s dastardly British-accented mercenary.
Regardless of who is to blame, tensions on the streets are reaching fever pitch and the embedded United Nations forces are in desperate need of support.
The plentiful slow-motion sequences of flying bullets and exploding armoured vehicles are the only saving grace in this otherwise embarrassing misfire.
Formed Police Unit clearly exists to serve as little more than a propaganda tool to celebrate the resourcefulness and capability of China’s armed forces and the country’s willingness to undertake international operations to help uphold the greater good.
The characters are noble, clean-cut and unwavering in their dedication to the cause. Even when conflict is introduced, as is fleetingly the case between Huang and Wang’s characters, it is quickly resolved by their dedication to the task at hand.
This image of China as a globally significant, selfless, compassionate power is significantly undercut, however, by the film’s insensitive depiction of the Santa Leonne people as a faceless rabble of helpless peasants.
To add insult to injury, the team at one point go undercover wearing blackface – perhaps the single most egregious display of cultural insensitivity possible in 2024.
Nobody is disputing China’s capacity or willingness to participate in global affairs but, on the evidence of Formed Police Unit, its marketing department remains pitifully out of touch.