In China, an action hero beats box office records

Beijing

CHINA'S new favourite action hero single-handedly routs pirates off the African coast in undersea combat. He wakes up fit to fight after nearly dying from a flesh-eating plague. He wields guns galore, poison arrows and a tank to wipe out the mercenaries led by the villainous Big Daddy, a swaggering, sneering US soldier of fortune.

But in the end, what saves the hero of Wolf Warrior 2, China's most popular movie ever, is a Chinese flag wrapped around his arm.

The success of the two-hour film, featuring a red-tinged Rambo named Le…