The Art of War
1/4
Starring: Wesley Snipes, Marie Matiko, Anne Archer, Maury Chaykin, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Donald Sutherland, Michael Biehn, James Hong
Rated R for Strong Violence, Some Sexuality, Language and Brief Drug Content
"The Art of War" was a military treatise that was written nearly 2500 years ago by Sun Tzu, and its ideas have been used ever since. But that is incidental to the film that takes its name from Tzu's work. For the most part, Tzu's philosophies have little to do with the film itself; they're barely mentioned a few times at the end. The real story is a complete bore.
Alex Shaw (Snipes) is an operative for the United Nations whose assignments are always on the shady side of the law. Now, shortly before the signing of a trade agreement between China and the West, which was facilitated by the Secretary-General (Sutherland), a Chinese Ambassador (Wong) is assassinated. Shaw is fingered for the crime, and he and a pretty translator named Julia Fang (Matiko) are on the run trying to unravel the conspiracy and stay alive.
The most cardinal sin the film commits is the fact that the film's story is boring. Economics rarely provide interesting backbones for movies, unless they're about bank robberies. "The Art of War" is no exception. No action movie is going to succeed without an engaging story.
Having a dumb and dull story is hardly the film's only problem. The script is bland; the best lines are when one of the characters quotes Sun Tzu. The action sequences, while helped by a constantly moving camera, fail to raise the pulse more than a few degrees. Director Christian Duguay has an annoying tendency to use a sort of "heat vision" flashback device to allow us to see things that we might have missed. It's either a lack of faith in the audience or that he realized in the editing room that his direction was sloppy. My guess is that it's probably both.
The film's lone bright spot is the acting. Everyone gives a good performance, with special mention going to Marie Matiko and Maury Chaykin. Both are quite good. Wesley Snipes does what he can, but he's clearly slumming for a paycheck. Anne Archer, never an actress with great range, is pretty good as Shaw's icy boss. Donald Sutherland isn't very good; his weird hairdo is more memorable than he is.
Watching crappy action movies like "The Art of War" or "The Corruptor" (another bad action movie featuring Chinese gangs) make you appreciate skillful action movies like "The Rock" or "Air Force One." Action movies are supposed to make you grip the armrest as you "ooh" and "ahh" at all the impressive pyrotechnics. This stinker only acts as a sleep aid.
Starring: Wesley Snipes, Marie Matiko, Anne Archer, Maury Chaykin, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Donald Sutherland, Michael Biehn, James Hong
Rated R for Strong Violence, Some Sexuality, Language and Brief Drug Content
"The Art of War" was a military treatise that was written nearly 2500 years ago by Sun Tzu, and its ideas have been used ever since. But that is incidental to the film that takes its name from Tzu's work. For the most part, Tzu's philosophies have little to do with the film itself; they're barely mentioned a few times at the end. The real story is a complete bore.
Alex Shaw (Snipes) is an operative for the United Nations whose assignments are always on the shady side of the law. Now, shortly before the signing of a trade agreement between China and the West, which was facilitated by the Secretary-General (Sutherland), a Chinese Ambassador (Wong) is assassinated. Shaw is fingered for the crime, and he and a pretty translator named Julia Fang (Matiko) are on the run trying to unravel the conspiracy and stay alive.
The most cardinal sin the film commits is the fact that the film's story is boring. Economics rarely provide interesting backbones for movies, unless they're about bank robberies. "The Art of War" is no exception. No action movie is going to succeed without an engaging story.
Having a dumb and dull story is hardly the film's only problem. The script is bland; the best lines are when one of the characters quotes Sun Tzu. The action sequences, while helped by a constantly moving camera, fail to raise the pulse more than a few degrees. Director Christian Duguay has an annoying tendency to use a sort of "heat vision" flashback device to allow us to see things that we might have missed. It's either a lack of faith in the audience or that he realized in the editing room that his direction was sloppy. My guess is that it's probably both.
The film's lone bright spot is the acting. Everyone gives a good performance, with special mention going to Marie Matiko and Maury Chaykin. Both are quite good. Wesley Snipes does what he can, but he's clearly slumming for a paycheck. Anne Archer, never an actress with great range, is pretty good as Shaw's icy boss. Donald Sutherland isn't very good; his weird hairdo is more memorable than he is.
Watching crappy action movies like "The Art of War" or "The Corruptor" (another bad action movie featuring Chinese gangs) make you appreciate skillful action movies like "The Rock" or "Air Force One." Action movies are supposed to make you grip the armrest as you "ooh" and "ahh" at all the impressive pyrotechnics. This stinker only acts as a sleep aid.
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