Why Many in China Hate Iron Man 3′s Chinese Version

Thursday, May 2nd, 2013

The latest Iron Man movie has a second version with Chinese footage badly edited in for the Chinese market — only the Chinese seem to hate it:

In Dr. Wu’s office, you can see Tony’s Iron Man on a TV screen, surrounded by Chinese children and what looks like… Dr. Wu. The good doctor then calls Tony, but J.A.R.V.I.S., the A.I. butler, answers. It’s worth noting that in even in the subtitled version, there are no subtitles in this sequence; J.A.R.V.I.S. speaks in Mandarin Chinese. While speaking with J.A.R.V.I.S., Dr. Wu actually says in Chinese, “Tony doesn’t have to do this alone — China can help.”

There’s also this extra long shot of Dr. Wu awkwardly pouring a glass of Yili brand Chinese milk. But it’s pure product placement. Before the movie starts, there are two China specific ads: One of them is a Chinese milk commercial that, as The Hollywood Reporter points out, asks, “What does Iron Man rely on to revitalize his energy?” (The answer is a Yili milk drink.) The second commercial is for a Chinese manufacturer of tractors and cranes.

Comments

  1. Kudzu Bob says:

    Good for the Chinese. Nobody likes having his intelligence insulted.

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