The Chinese Co-Production Genre

I watched "Skyscraper" and "The Meg" recently, two of the latest American films that heavily involve Chinese talent. One is a co-production between Hollywood and Chinese studios, and one isn't but shares a lot of the same earmarks. I think I've seen enough of these now that I'm comfortable pointing out certain trends in them that are threatening to become full-blown cinematic tropes. The old stereotypes about the Chinese are out, but they're quickly being replaced by different ones, not necessarily better ones.

Most of these co-productions are action pictures, patterned off of older, established hits from the '80 and '90s. "Skyscraper" and "The Meg" are pretty obvious takes on "Die Hard" and "Jaws" respectively. You take a headliner like the Rock or Jason Statham, put them in China, and let them play out the familiar disaster or man-on-a-mission scenario with a lot of help from the locals. The most prominent Chinese character is almost always an admirable, competent female counterpart who is also a love interest, though anything remotely physical is kept offscreen.

The Chinese leading lady, whether it's Jing Tian, Fan Bing-Bing, or Li Bing-Bing, always conforms to a very specific physical type, such that it can be difficult to tell the actresses apart. They're mostly mainland Chinese actresses, not Hong Kong, Taiwan, Asian-American, or Asian-European actresses. As a result, their English is heavily accented and they can be difficult to understand. Nobody else in the picture ever comments on this. To the contrary, you'll often have the American leading man or a comedic sidekick try to say a few phrases in Chinese, to illustrate how difficult the language gap can be to overcome. The Chinese heroine is always flawless and hyper-competent as a scientist, pilot, business woman, or administrator. Nobody ever questions her abilities, though her motives may be briefly suspect.

Male Chinese characters tend to be treated less delicately, though there's always an emphasis on polite mutual respect with the American characters. There have been few buddy pictures featuring male Chinese stars, probably because there are few Chinese actors with remotely the same pull as the American headliners. Jackie Chan made "Skiptrace" with Johnny Knoxville, but that one wasn't even properly released in the U.S. Instead, you usually see a few local authority figures like cops or soldiers played by Chinese actors, who help out at a crucial moment. You also have the older male visionary industrialist type, played by Chin Hahn in "Skyscraper" and Winston Chao in "The Meg," who often bankroll a lot of the mayhem, or at least the scenery.

China itself is always featured heavily in these films, specifically shiny new cities full of high-tech toys. Back in 2006, shots of Shanghai clotheslines were deleted from "Mission Impossible III" because Chinese critics complained that it made China look like a poorer developing country. Conspicuous consumption is verboten - "Crazy Rich Asians" barely got an official Chinese release - but otherwise making the Chinese look prosperous and modern is a must. There are a lot of beauty shots of architecture and public works, often meant to help tourism efforts. Chinese product placement also pops up occasionally, even when it makes no sense. "Transformers: The Last Knight" memorably had Chinese branding everywhere, making it a laughingstock on Chinese social media.

Ideally, none of this should affect the rest of the content in these films, but it always does. Whether it's a random Chinese scientist showing up for five minutes and two lines in "Kong: Skull Island" or Mark Wahlberg being obliged to use a Chinese smart phone, the pandering is never subtle. What I find more aggravating, however, is that these productions' efforts to please the Chinese censors and sponsors often results in bland characters and storytelling. There's never a hint of interpersonal tensions, racial or otherwise. Political issues are verboten, of course. Rough-edged leading men like Jason Statham get toned way down when interacting with the Chinese characters, who are often so idealized as to barely have personalities at all. Brainless action films aren't exactly hotbeds of great acting, but the stilted line readings and kid-glove treatment really start to grate after a while.

I realized about halfway through "The Meg," one of the few recent Chinese co-productions that actually features some decent banter and self-aware cheesiness, how much of a disservice that these films do to the Chinese. They come off as humorless, passionless automatons, who are totally interchangeable. I've never found any of them memorable or worth caring about. Where are the goofy, roguish types who are the loveable heroes of such recent Chinese hits like "The Mermaid," "Monster Hunter," and "Lost in Thailand"? Why does the imported cinematic image of the Chinese have to be the boring porcelain princess?

Because the thing is, the Chinese talent has been steadily improving and there's no reason why these co-productions always have to feel as awkward and as compromised as they often do. Because the requirements are so stifling, it limits the kinds of films that can be co-productions to a few very predictable types - action spectaculars and disaster movies. I've enjoyed some of them in spite of this, but I'm looking forward to the day when the involvement of Chinese talent isn't confined to the narrow forms we see now, and might be a real benefit instead of the unappetizing pander-fest it currently is.

---