War Release Date: August 24, 2007 Starring: Jet Li, Jason Statham, Devon Aoki, Nicholas Elia, Terry Chen, Luis Guzman Directed by: Philip G. Atwell
PREMIERE'S REVIEW (posted 8/27/07)
It's a bleak time for fans of big, dumb action movies. Gone are the glory days of Ahnuld, Bruce, and Mel; now we just have — oh wait, is that Bruce? Though English actor Statham may be an action-hero contender, it would be great if he could pick a movie worth seeing more than once. Take this trigger-happy kung-fu flick, which has him chasing after the impossibly good assassin (Li) who killed his partner. While the film has some exciting scenes, and Statham is likeable in a gruff, Willis-ian way, the movie has one too many twists and an abrupt, unsatisfying ending that ruins the experience in the end. Director Atwell also never met a visual trick he didn't like, though, thankfully, he never met a dumb quip that he did, hence the welcome lack of them. Ultimately, though, War is like Statham's other actioners The Transporter and Crash — fun, but not big or dumb enough to be glorious.
Copyright © 2008 Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S., Inc.