War (Widescreen Edition)
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Movie Reviews of War (Widescreen Edition)
Movie Review: OK but maybe Jason Statham should have been replaced?
Summary: 3 Stars
This review is from: War (Widescreen Edition)
Everybody seems to be very disappointed in this movie given the outstanding martial arts capabilities of the two leading actors. Perhaps that's why this movie fails to impress viewers as EVERYBODY expected a martial arts showdown. I actually thought the movie was pretty good and the surprise twist at the end definitely caught me by surprise as I'm sure so did many others. Jet Li's performance in this movie is a typical "Jet Li" type of role as a somewhat stiff, no-emotion, few spoken words antagonist with quick but short killing skills either by hand or a quick gun shot. I think the role of Rouge suits him. The plot of Jet Li's character Rouge bouncing back and fourth between the Chinese Triad gang and the Japanese Yakuza gang in order to insight violence between them reminded me of Clint Eastwood's classic role in "A Fistful of Dollars".
Given Jason Statham's recent performances in Transporter 1 and 2 showcasing his fantastic martial arts skills, this wasn't exactly the type of role everybody was expecting of Jason Statham. In fact I think "War" could have replaced Statham with a different lead actor of much less capable fighting skills such as Colin Farrel, Christian Bale or a Tom Cruise type of actor since Jason Statham's character of Crawford struck me as more of an angry detective type that is more harassing with a gun and his angry words instead of his hands. Makes you wonder how different the anticipated reaction would have been if Jason Statham was NOT in this film? If you can watch and enjoy this movie for what it is and stop expecting the martial arts showdown everybody was waiting for, this movie is worth watching.
Movie Review: For Lovers of Violence Only
Summary: 3 Stars
WAR sets up the viewer with promises (Jason Statham, Jet Li in his first movie as a straight actor i.e. post-martial arts), but for the most part those promises are not delivered. What is put on the screen for what seems like an endless evening is more killing with guns, knives, fire, explosions, and every other kind of death device imaginable delivered by minimal story and substandard acting. It is loud, gory, and boring - until the final few minutes when the story actually gains a plot.
Lee Anthony Smith and Gregory J. Bradley came up with a minimal tale taking place in San Francisco, a rivalry between a Chinese gang and a Japanese gang, peppered by revenge, contraband goods, and a hefty dose of non-balletic fighting. Jason Statham sleepwalks his way through his role as FBI agent Jack Crawford with an attitude and a grudge, assisted by his partner Special Agent Wick (given a nice turn by Mathew St. Patrick of 'Six Feet Under') and Benny (the always fine character actor Luis Guzmán, even here!). The head of the wealthy Chang gang (John Lone of 'The Last Emperor') is obtaining a prize antiquity from Japan's Shiro Yanagawa (Ryo Ishibashi) and gang and Rogue (Jet Li) is the agent. After what seems like hours of car chases, motorcycle chases, constant killing, beheadings, sleazy tearoom scenes, etc the identity of the Rogue (apparently much changed by multiple plastic surgeons who likewise loose their lives...) is made clear - a fact that provides some answers to Agent Jack's grumpy personality.
This is a film without a core and one that is easy to understand its box office failure. And unless the viewer is in need of a 103 minutes of steady violence, this film is a must miss - even for fans of Statham and Li. Grady Harp, January 08
Movie Review: In WAR Sometimes You Never Know Which Side Your Opponent May Be On
Summary: 3 Stars
WAR is trumpeted as a collision between the two reigning stars of the martial arts world, Jet Li and Jason Statham. Their meeting is less a collision than a bump. For most of the film, they speak to each other on a cell, challenge one another with enigmas and quips, but do not meet face to face until very near the end, and when they do, their collision is fraught with overlapping identity confusion and plot inconsistencies.
Statham is FBI agent Crawford whose partner and family were murdered by a mysterious assassin called the Rogue (Li). The plot involves how the Rogue acts as a fulcrum to create a war between the Triads and the Yakuza. Statham as Crawford pursues a leaky trail to find out his partner's killer and to head off this war. There is surprisingly little true martial arts anywhere. One would think that the climax would feature a showdown between the leads. What we get instead is the usual cinema mix of car crashes, motorcycle chases, sword fights, and gun duels, all of which have their charm, but given that this film highlights the skills of Statham and Li, one would think there would be less mass violence by nameless lackeys and more mano a mano between the stars. The plot hinges on identity swapping and this is where I was confused. I hoped to get a martial arts version of HIGH NOON. What I got was a preachy version of I LED THREE LIVES.
Movie Review: Two Great Action Heroes But No Real Fights Between Them
Summary: 3 Stars
Jason Statham stars as a cop with grief after loosing his partner in a shootout. The man responsible is an assassin named rogue, Statham's character takes it personal and is on the run after him. Simple premise but gets a bit confusing thru the course of the film
When I first saw the trailer for this movie I thought this was goanna be the next big action movie in a long time. Really you have Jet Li on one side who is an extraordinary martial artist and on the other you have also another great action hero Jason Statham what can go wrong? Well for starters the problem here is the pace of the story, it's very slow and it feels too familiar. For the first hour there really isn't any action, I was constantly trying to stay wake. The movie isn't completely bad, it's actually recovers its pace at the end, around the last half hour it becomes one gruesome action movie. From a cool car chase scene, to a shootout at a bar, and the last fight scene involving katanas. But when it comes to the fight scenes that you want to see between Statham and Li they are not what you're expecting. The movie does redeem itself big time with its final twist which will surely have you thinking during the credits. But other than that it seems and feels as if the writers didn't take much time with it. Rent it
MY PERSONAL RATING: 3 OUT OF 5
Movie Review: Could have been worse, and could have definitely been better
Summary: 3 Stars
Reuniting The One co-stars Jet Li and Jason Statham, War follows FBI Agent John Crawford (Statham) who sets out on a vengeful vendetta against a legendary, and ruthless, assassin named Rogue (Li) after he murders his partner. Eventually, the two face off, but sadly, everything in between is kind of disappointing. There are some nice twists to be found in War, but when your two main attractions are Jet Li and Jason Statham, you'd more than likely expect some heaping moments of high flying, over the top, martial arts action. You get it, but you don't get enough of it, and a majority of the action in War just comes off as being watered down. The two leads are enjoyable though, as Li succeeds as the ruthless Rogue, and Statham continues to find himself an action film favorite. There are some notable supporting actors to be found in War as well, including the gorgeous Devon Aoki (Sin City) and a surprising appearance from John Lone. All in all, War isn't a bad action choice one bit, but with the pairing of Li and Statham, the end result is mildly disappointing.