War Review
by Homer Yen (homer_yen AT yahoo DOT com)August 29th, 2007
"War" - No Real Winner
by Homer Yen
(c) 2007
When I was in college, I had an acquaintance that
was always into these entrepreneurial
enterprises. One time, it might have been health
supplements. One time, it might have been
stainless steel knives. And one time...well, you
get the point. Yet, I welcomed his visit every
time. In part, it was just nice to have a chance
to see him every now and then, even if his
primary motivation was to promote one of his
goods. And, in part, I could always count on him
showing me something different even though you
know what to expect.
I think about Jason Statham and Jet Li, and I am
reminded about my college acquaintance. It's
nice to see them every now and then. And I know
that they earnestly want to stamp their presence
among the population of action stars. But, Jason
Statham never veers away from the standard action
stuff. And, Jet Li always finds himself in a
deficient American film. By now, if you decide
to walk in, you know what to expect.
It starts well enough as we see Statham and his
cop-buddy get maximum miles out of their
partnership when the beginning of the film puts
them in the middle of a shootout. And since
audiences can better recognize Statham, let's
just say that you'll probably see more of him and
less of that other Asian guy (actually, Terry
Chen) as the film progresses.
A revenge theme quickly settles in. Fighting
erupts here, shootings occur there, car chases
are on the left, and corrupt cops are on the
right. The whole exercise became pretty chaotic
and disorganized. There are some flashes of
potential. With so many potentially disposable
enemies, there should have been ample
opportunities to watch Li do some serious
hand-to-hand combat with his enemies. However,
his character's motivation remained ambiguous
through 99.5% of the film, so his enemy is never
really clearly defined. Meanwhile, he relies
heavily on swords and guns, so we don't get to
see much of his lightning quick punches.
Actually, in many ways, this is really an
appropriate late-August film. For one, we're
right in the valley when the summer blockbuster
offerings have all been played and the Oscar
contenders are readying themselves for release.
So, this is the season of low expectations.
Additionally, if you need to get out of the
summer heat and want to kill 2 hours, there's
nothing wrong with an action-flick that puts cops
in the middle of a battle between Triads and
Yakuzas.
Yet, hopefully, there are better days ahead for
these action stars. Also terribly wasted is
Devon Aoki, who plays the daughter of the
Japanese Yakuza leader. She has one good scene
that shows off her supermodel form, as she
confronts two men with a dagger in one hand and a
pistol in the other. But, her role is pretty
unnecessary and only offers one good line as she
thinks about what kind of salad to order while
tussling with these two men. Neither Statham nor
Li get much wattage or mileage out of this film.
Their performances are ok. The action is ok.
It's just ok. And we deserve more than ok.
Grade: C+
S: 0 out of 3
L: 3 out of 3
V: 3 out of 3
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Originally posted in the rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup. Copyright belongs to original author unless otherwise stated. We take no responsibilities nor do we endorse the contents of this review.
