War (Widescreen Edition)
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Movie Reviews of War (Widescreen Edition)
Movie Review: Tom Lone is dead . . . make a new life . . .
Summary: 4 Stars
With conflicts on several fronts, director Philip G. Atwell's, War (2007), is a violent, relentless, crime drama, with a bold and stimulating storyline, that is hard to anticipate. Mostly set in San Francisco, the principal players are the FBI, a California based organized crime group run by Li Chang (John Lone), a group of Yakuza run from Japan by Shiro Yanagawa (Ryo Ishibashi), and a mysterious killer known only as `Rogue'.
FBI agents Crawford (Jason Statham) and Tom Lone (Terry Chen), encounter Rogue on the San Francisco waterfront. Crawford is shot, but Lone returns fire, and the shooter they believe is Rogue is hit, and falls into the ocean. Rogue is known for using bullets with titanium shells, and Crawford finds one at the scene. Tom Lone and his wife and daughter, later become the target of a vicious hit. Lone's house goes up in flames, and three burned bodies are found in the remains. Sifting through the debris, Crawford finds another titanium shell.
Skipping forward three years, a group of Yanagawa's Yakuza is attacked at club. The killer approaches a dying gangster, and shoots him in the head, expending a shell. When, Crawford arrives on the scene, he finds another titanium shell. The man known as Rogue has apparently returned.
Once employed by Yanagawa as a hit man, the man that Crawford believes is Rogue (Jet Li), now goes by the name of Victor Shaw, and has made his services available to triad boss Li Chang. With Rogue's assistance, a valuable cargo is stolen from Yanagawa, and more of his men are killed. A gang war between the Yakuza and the triads is about to erupt, and the FBI is in the middle, trying to deal with both of them. Rogue says that he has no master, and that seems to be the case, as he fans the flames, playing each side against the other. Things come to a boil, after a massive shootout in a tea house (masterfully directed by Corey Yuen), as Yanagawa flies in from Japan to oversee matters.
War is a stylish, well-written and executed affair, that dazzles and thrills, while building up to an inventive twist. Jet Li is a charismatic performer, that lets his actions do most of the talking, as he showcases his fighting and shooting skills. Jason Statham is very solid in a serious role, again demonstrating that he is capable of much more that just cartoonish action flicks. It is rather disappointing that third billed Devon Aoki, who plays Yanagawa's daughter, does not do any real fighting, in what is a actually a supporting role. On the other hand, Terry Chen makes an enormously impactful contribution, in a very brief appearance. The remainder of the cast, do nothing but add to the momentum and effectiveness, of what is a very entertaining ride.
The DVD is well stocked with bonus material, including two commentary tracks, and a number of cool extras, including a compilation called The Action of War, that in total, provide a fairly comprehensive look at the creative process involved in this very fine production.
Movie Review: [3.5] Not what I expected, but not bad overall
Summary: 4 Stars
Let's be honest, it's all about Jet Li vs Jason Statham when referring to War, at least, that's what I thought until I watched the movie. Overall, War was a pretty good film, but when it came to Li vs Statham, it just wasn't anywhere as good as I had hoped. You would think the film's title refer's to an all-out conflict between Statham and Li, but that's not exactly what War is about. In fact, there isn't as much interaction or fight between the two, and the final fight of the film is just over a minute in length, and does not showcase these guys abilites near the extent that could be possible. The bright side of the film is that the story is always interesting, and I would never have guessed the twist of the climax in a million years.
Jason Statham plays a character that you would come to expect out of the actor. He is involved with several action sequences, but there really isn't much martial arts for Statham, and that was a shame seeing his abilities in the Transporter movies. Jet Li doesn't exactly play a straight out villain (such as his role in Lethal Weapon 4) that we probably expected while seeing the previews for War. His character is definetly interesting, maybe even confusing, right up to the unexpected twist. Ironicly, I loved his character (Rogue) but Jet Li appeared rather average in the role, where as I enjoyed Statham's performance more than his character (Jack Crawford).
Getting back to my original point, this is ment to be an action film, and I think many of us (myself included) expected martial arts in the mix. There is really very little and the final fight in the wearhouse consists of Li and Statham tossing each other around. About 3/4 of the action are shootouts, which was nothing much above the ordinary as far as good shootouts go.
War comes off good in areas you wouldn't expect much out of in an action film, but not so great as far as action goes. Even if the overall performances and scenes with Statham and Li could have been better, its still fun to watch a film with the combination of both stars included. Die hard fans will appreciate this film for that, all other action fans, don't hold your breath.
Acting - 3
Action - 3
Characters - 4
Story - 4
Overall - 3.5
Movie Review: Mayhem, With A Twist
Summary: 4 Stars
Hey, if you're interested in seeing a mostly-violent flick with a big body count, gratuitous in nature half the time, and a lot of hostility, anger, betrayal, a big twist near the end and tons of testosterone, then this movie is for you. If you want a quiet, low-key thriller, skip this one.
This is somewhat brainless blood-and-guts, slice 'n dice. In other words: know what you're going to get here. We get many, many gunshots to head., long range to up-close-and personal, swords into mouths and through back of head and through just about any other body part, a car chase, motorcycle chases, a few bare breasts and a bunch of attention-grabbing scenes of brutality, which definitely outnumber the quieter scenes.
Jason Statham seems to be the new macho man of the day, playing this kind of role in numerous films the past few years. Jet Li.....well, you know him. Statham versus Li? Yes, but not really. The two are only in the same scene twice, once for a couple of minutes of Jason giving threats and Jet standing there passively, and then in the finale fight scene. The latter, unlike most of these action films of today, is not overdone and go on and on. It's just about the right length.
The best part of this ultra-violent movie dealing with rival Asian gangs and FBI agent (s) in the middle in the BIG twist near the end of the film. At least it makes this a little more than a brainless action movie. I think it's kind of cool, although don't try to analyze it for credibility.
Movie Review: I was entertained...
Summary: 4 Stars
I really enjoyed this movie. I went in expecting a violent action film and that is exactly what I got. A popcorn flick. Yes, the camera could get annoying, but not enough to ruin it (certainly no more than the jerking camera in Bourne Supremacy). Statham and Li fight their way to an ending that, for once, was not completely predictable. There was a GREAT twist in the plot - yes! there was a plot - at the end that improved the overall experience of the film. I was happy that the filmakers didn't feel the need to tone it down for a PG-13. Sometimes, a movie just needs to be R; like this one.
My criteria for a good movie is simple - was I entertained? YES. Then again, I thought Crank (Widescreen Edition) was entertaining too, if you don't take it too seriously. I would watch this again, once the DVD comes down to a reasonable price ($19.99 for a DVD with no special extras is too much).
Movie Review: Good action movie.
Summary: 4 Stars
This movie has everything you are looking for in an action movie: A villian, a vendetta, martial arts, plenty of gun fights, car chases, yakuza tattoos, chicks, ninjas and assasins, awesome cars and a twist in the plot. What more could you ask for??? The best part of this movie was in fact the casting.
After reading these negative reviews on here, I decided to judge for myself. I was impressed. You would expect more martial arts in this movie, however the blend of Asian gangsterism and concepts of honor were enough to make up for the lack of chop-suey. The plot was a good one: revenge and vendetta ... going to get the bad guys.
I really have no bad things to say about this movie. It was a really good action film with a cool plot and very good characters. I mean what do you expect? If you want to see martial arts you can view one of the many hundred films out there. This is a shoot em up action film that does not relent.