Summary
- Jackie Chan and John Cena lead the action-packed movie Hidden Strike, which was filmed in China, not Iraq, despite the storyline.
- The film faced challenges during production, including adverse weather conditions.
- Yinchuan, known for its deserts, was a primary location, offering a realistic backdrop for the story. Beijing, including iconic landmarks like the Forbidden City, was also used for certain scenes.
Jackie Chan and John Cena take the lead in Hidden Strike, an action movie that was filmed in some unexpected locations. Portraying Luo Feng and Chris Van Horne, the two former Special Forces soldiers forces to rescue a large group of workers trapped at an oil refinery in Iraq. As events unfold, they come to realize that the attack on the refinery was a planned coup to take over the country's oil business. The action-packed yet filled with comedy movie is a mix of violence, intense fights, and desert-filled landscape, leaving viewers curious about its filming locations.
The production crew faced many challenges while filming Hidden Strike, from weather conditions during filming to controversies that kept a question mark around the development and release of the final product. Completed in 2018, the film was kept on shelves until it managed to secure a limited release in cinemas worldwide in 2023 and is now available to stream on Netflix, making it a must-watch for fans of both action and comedy storylines. Hidden Strike showcases some impressive locations, which may leave those viewers wondering where the movie was filmed.
Where Was Hidden Strike Filmed
Hidden Strike was entirely filmed in China, specifically in Yinchuan, Ningxia, and Beijing. The movie that made its debut on the 28th of July 2023 on Netflix actually wrapped up filming back in 2018. Jackie Chan and John Cena's action movie was even set to drop under a different title, Project X-Traction, but ended up on screens as Hidden Strike in 2023.
Even though Hidden Strike's story takes place in an Iraqi refinery, the movie was shot in various locations across China. The idea was to film on location across China to maintain the movie's authenticity. The shoot, however, was not smooth sailing all the time: the team had to face major weather changes that caused hazardous conditions, including a mudslide, which delayed the production. Ultimately, the scenes were filmed, and the movie wrapped up successfully, even if it did take five years to reach screens.
Ningxia, China Location Explained
Because Hidden Strike's storyline is set in Iraq, it was important to portray the setting as a desert landscape to maintain realism. The country, located in the Middle East, also includes alluvial plains and mountains, all part of a hot and dry weather climate. The region of Ningxia in the Northwest of China offered this same diversity, allowing for realistic shots in a location that looked similar to the story's intended backdrop.
Directed by Scott Waugh, the action scenes, which blend Ningxia's landscape with CGI, permitted viewers to fully immerse in the world of mercenaries and rebel forces threatening the Chinese-owned refinery in the Middle East. Many shots were captured around the region, featuring popular sites that seamlessly blend in with the storyline that is actually set on the other side of the world.
Yinchuan, China Location Explained
Yinchuan is actually the capital of the Ningxia region in China. Surrounded by 3 major deserts, it comes as no surprise that the area served as primary location to film many scenes from Hidden Strike, evoking the landscape of Iraq that was essential to the film's story. Yinchuan is also famous for its permanent site of the China-Arab States Expo back in 2021, which perfectly melds the movie's story location with its actual filming location.
With its vivid landscapes and dry weather, shooting major scenes in Yinchuan was a success for Hidden Strike. From armory battles to fighting on a narrow pipeline, the location, the visual effects, and the actors' chemistry allowed for a gripping portrayal of an Iraqi war of rebels, and the fight to save innocent refinery employees' lives.
Beijing, China Location Explained
As part of filming, Hidden Strike's production crew also journeyed to Beijing, the capital of China. Situated in Northern China, Beijing is a renowned global city, one of the most important tourist destinations in the world, and now one of the filming locations of Hidden Strike. Some of the city's iconic locations can be briefly spotted, such as The Forbidden City and the Great Hall of the People. Viewers familiar with Beijing would surely recognize lesser-known locations featured in the film too. As well as filming on location in the city, Beijing's China Film Group Studios was also used to film some of the action scenes in Hidden Strike.
