War (2007)

Strong and Moving!

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

An FBI Agent seeks vengeance on a mysterious assassin known as "Rogue" who murdered his partner. War has a pretty good cast of actors and especially 2 really good leads such as Jason Statham and Jet Li of course unfortunately however the movie kept throwing twist after twist at you that you started scratching your head at one point for sure. Plus let's not get started on the horrible, awful and full of facepalm ended that felt like there was actually more to it. Both Li and Statham deserved better and lucky for them they got it with The Expendables!!! (3/10)

Super-Slick, Double-Starred Action Flick. A Kung-Fu Wannabee that Lacks the Grit and Fun of Hong Kong Movies and is Poorly Directed by a Graduate of the Music-Video World of Hyper-Editing, Close-Ups and Hysterical Hubris that Believes that Gloss is Great and Alternating between Fast and Slow Scenes is Fantastic Filmmaking.It Squanders the Opportunity to Capitalize on the Box-Office and Fanboy Appeal of Jet Li and Jason Statham. So much so that it Borders on the Blasphemous. They have Exactly two Scenes Together. One Talking, One Fighting. Neither are Remarkable in any way.The Revenge Story is Standard Stuff with a Bloated Plot about a Yakuza/Triad War with Our Two Anti-Heroes bouncing in and out of the Story between a lot of Serious Talk and Melodramatics about Tradition, Family, Alliances, and Bullet Casings.Not an Awful Movie but a Monumental Waste of Money and Kick-Butt Talent. Worth a Watch for Fans of the Stars but is Overall Disappointing.

FBI Agent "Jack Crawford" (Jason Statham) is obsessed with finding the assassin named "Rogue" (Jet Li) who killed his partner "Tom Lone" (Terry Chen) along with Lone's wife and child. His obsession is so severe that it eventually results in the breakup of his own marriage. However, as fate would have it the assassin just happens to reappear in San Francisco several years afterward at the same time that a war breaks out between the Japanese Yakuza and one of the Chinese Triads. In no time Jack Crawford has his hands full as the body toll rises and Rogue begins appearing—and then disappearing—like a ghost. At any rate, rather than reveal any more I will just say that I thought that this was an outstanding movie—at least for the most part. Unfortunately, the director (Phillip G. Atwell) apparently got carried away and it really tended to unravel towards the end. As a result, instead of ranking this movie quite high, I have to downgrade this film to just slightly above average.

War starts as two FBI agents Jack Crawford (Jason Statham) & Tom Lone (Terry Chen) confront an international assassin known only as Rogue, in a shootout Rogue is shot in the face by Tom & falls into the sea. Not long after Rogue finds Tom & kills him & his wife & baby, Crawford is devastated & vows revenge. Three years later in San Francisco & two opposing Japanese gangs, the Triads & the Yakuza are at war & the super smooth assassin Rogue (Jet Li) is at the center of it all as the bodies pile up, after having plastic surgery Ceawford is unsure of who Rogue is & works with the local police to get to the bottom of Rogue's involvement & try to prevent an all out war as two priceless gold horse statues seem to be at the center of everything but Crawford isn't the only one with revenge on his mind...Also known as Rogue Assassin in some countries this was directed by Philip G. Atwell this action crime thriller had the potential to be something great but it isn't, War wastes it's two great leading men & turns what could have been a great twist into into a silly gimmick. The whole film feels so routine, there's the standard FBI partners, one is killed & the other seeks revenge while his marriage & family life suffer. Seen it all before. The themes brought to the table by the Japoanese Triad & Yakuza angle like loyalty & the martial arts that all Japanese gangster seem to know is again standard fare seen in dozens of other better action thrillers. The attempts at drama with Crawford's relationship with his wife & the Triad & Yakuza's ancient rivalry is just weak & slows an already dull film down even more. The action set-pieces are disappointing too, Jet Li just walks around in a suit & looks cool but there's little action until the end & even then I am struggling to think of anything memorable. War just goes back & forward too much, the narrative is bitty with too many people in suits talking & acting hard. I understand that Rogue is trying to play both the Triads & Yakuza off each other for reasons revealed in a twist ending that could have been great if it were not sandwiched in the middle of a sword fight, the reveal has no dramatic pay-off & while the idea is quite clever the makers mess it up big time & to be frank the twist deserves to be in a better all round film. The character's are standard fare, the usual heroes & villains with nothing between, the dialogue is forgettable & as a whole War takes itself a bit too seriously.War really is second rate stuff considering it's talent, I love Jason Statham (not in a gay way) & think he's a great action film star who doesn't take himself seriously & has all the moves but he is wasted here & Jet Li is an incredible martial artist but again is wasted here with one or two average fights & nothing else. The two barely meet each other on screen & when they do it's rather bland & there's no chemistry there at all. It's hard to believe two of the biggest action film stars currently working made such an average & routine crime drama action thriller. War looks like a modern film with quick editing, flashy fast cars, cool fashions & the latest technology on display but it's all rather hollow & War just feels empty which is a shame as War should have been a lot better with it's two stars & a potentially great twist.With a supposed budget of about $25,000,000 this looks alright but it's nothing special, although set in San Francisco this was filmed in Vancouver in Canada. Previously Jet Li & Jason Statham appeared together in the enjoyable The One (2001) & will do again in Sylvester Stallone's upcoming action film The Expendables (2010).War is a pretty bad action thriller that could have been great but for a wasted twist ending & the wasted action star potential of Statham & Li I wouldn't even call War average, not something I would want to see again.