September 25, 2007
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Good God, y'all.It comes as absolutely no surprise to someone as dodgy as yours truly that the majority of the movie-going public didn't really jive with Philip G. Atwell's mildly thrilling Jason Statham/Jet Li vehicle War. To be fair, the film is a bit bloated, long-winded, spending more time developing its convoluted storyline than giving its action-oriented stars an opportunity to bust some heads. Sadly, Corey Yuen's stylish choreography is lost in the proverbial shuffle thanks to Atwell's questionable decision to apply rapid fire editing techniques to almost every frame of footage used. The few fights we're given to chew on are often abrupt, tensionless affairs, elements that really shouldn't exist in a movie that features a hand-to-hand showdown between Jet Li and Blood Heat's Kane Kosugi. That said, I did find a few moments of genuine entertainment buried deep within the folds of this film's swollen midsection, though I doubt the sum total of that hidden reasure would be worth a second viewing. The next time two genre-friendly heavyweights are featured in the same picture, perhaps the filmmakers should focus on their subjects' strengths as opposed to their glaring weaknesses. I'm just saying.
Recipe For Mediocrity: One Pointless, Far Fetched Twist + A Lack of Kinetic Fights + Devon Aoki's "Acting"
The Hitman's Handbook: Always carry a plastic mask in case someone shoots you in the face.
The world will not tolerate ugly, deformed assassins.
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