I rated this a 6, and it's all for Jet Li's awesome (as always) action sequences. But even that modest rating might be too high considering the absolute awfulness of the script.
I cannot stress "awful" enough, here. From the so-cliche-it-hurts plot (dueling-crime-families, a la "Yojimbo" and "A Fistful of Dollars", melded with a tired cop-avenging-his-partner's-murder story), to ... read more
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Pitting Hong Kong legend Jet Li against UK tough guy Jason Statham seems like a surefire way to generate on-screen heat, and action fans will get a good deal of just that from the action-heavy War. Unfortunately, they also have to slog through a clichéd-riddled story about world-weary FBI agent Statham, who's gunning for Li, th0
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Pitting Hong Kong legend Jet Li against UK tough guy Jason Statham seems like a surefire way to generate on-screen heat, and action fans will get a good deal of just that from the action-heavy War. Unfortunately, they also have to slog through a clichéd-riddled story about world-weary FBI agent Statham, who's gunning for Li, the master assassin that killed his partner years before, and who's currently neck-deep in a turf war between yakuza and triad gangs. Philip G. Atwell's style-over-substance direction doesn't help matters either, though he does have a way with shootouts and other combative set pieces. As for Li and Statham, their scenes together are surprisingly limited; there's also a twist in the film's final third that begs for serious suspension of disbelief. In short, those that found the duo's last movie team-up (2001's The One) lacking won't find much here to supplant that memory. The DVD includes three commentary tracks: one by Atwell, one by screenwriters Lee Anthony Smith and Gregory J. Bradley (it's the liveliest of the lot) and an audio trivia track that delves deep into the film's production, which is also covered in detail by nine separate featurettes. A gag reel and deleted/extended scenes round out the supplemental features. -- Paul Gaita
“I rated this a 6, and it's all for Jet Li's awesome (as always) action sequences. But even that modest rating might be too high considering the absolute awfulness of the script.
I cannot stress "awful" enough, here. From the so-cliche-it-hurts plot (dueling-crime-families, a la "Yojimbo" and "A Fistful of Dollars", melded with a tired cop-avenging-his-partner's-murder story), to the hamfisted dialogue, to the mindblowingly retarded "twist" ending, "War" is a magnificent failure.
But the action is solid, stylishly staged and photographed, and if you're a Jet Li or Stratham fan then "War" is still worth watching. Just go into this one with low expectations (even by action movie standards)... and perhaps switch the audio to Spanish or whatever for the last 15 minutes s” read more
Crystal added this to a list 5 years, 4 months ago
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