By Kevin McCarthy

You have to appreciate a simple title like WAR.  And while I wouldn’t call this a war movie, the film does live up to its simple yet bad ass label.  The antithesis of a chick flick, WAR places Jason Statham as FBI Special Agent Jack Crawford and Jet Li as hitman-for-hire Rogue in the middle of a gangland power struggle in San Francisco.  That should be all a man has to know.  If you’ve seen any of the TRANSPORTER movies, you know Statham is an especially talented fighter.  And further entries such as CRANK and SNATCH have cemented the guy as a true hard ass.  He can almost hold his own against Jet Li, which is no small feat in and of itself. 

Li is on a level all his own, but since he already fought himself (in a favorite guilty pleasure of mine, 2001’s THE ONE), Statham is at least a competent opponent (Jet Li is 47, after all).  This isn’t RUSH HOUR.  You won’t be wishing scrawny, annoying Chris Tucker would catch a beating just once instead of improbably keeping pace with his Asian counterpart (okay, Jackie Chan is 53).  If the flying and magic of Li’s wuxia films is not your cup of tea, then this is the movie you’ve been waiting for.  Instead, WAR is a frothy concoction of guns, swords and double-crosses sure to tide any action fan over for at least a little while.  Unfortunately, the film does little to separate itself from the pack.

The title refers to the escalating hostilities between Japanese gangs the Triad and the Yakuza. Rogue, a legendary killer once employed by Triad boss Shiro (Ryo Ishibashi), has just resurfaced in San Francisco after a three-year absence.  The last time anyone heard of him, he had murdered Crawford’s partner and his partner’s family.  Dead-set on vengeance, Crawford descends into the fray not looking to quash a gang war but to get his hands on Rogue – who for his part has lived up to his name by playing both sides and inciting a full-blown war in the streets.  Anyone familiar with Kurosawa’s YOJIMBO (or its 1996 Bruce Willis remake LAST MAN STANDING) knows what I’m talking about.  The action is fast and bloody.  The plot, though not brilliant, is involved enough to keep your interest through the 103-minute running time.  The filmmakers know what’s putting people in the seats and I personally appreciated the old school action feel. 


As an actor, Jet Li begins to falter when he’s not trying to look silently menacing.  The script thankfully calls for Statham to take the reins with most of the scenes they share, but Li’s English just isn’t up to snuff, and it’s an unfortunate distraction.  The rest of the strong Asian talent in the film is fluent, but Jet Li’s halting, strange tenor is an almost laughable counterpart to Jason Statham’s guttural Londoner accent.  The rest of the supporting cast isn’t remarkable, but certainly sufficient.  Luis Guzman has a small role, which audiences should enjoy, if only for face recognition.  Come on, who doesn’t appreciate Guzman, though?  The guy is as lovable as he is misshapen.  John Lone plays Crawford’s partner.  It’s a shame he doesn’t stick around for long because the two have great chemistry – not to mention he’s an accomplished martial artist (another THE ONE alum, actually – please go see it if you haven’t). 


The fight scenes should have been bigger.  The director seemed too concerned with his mediocre plot to hand the reins over to famed fight coordinator Corey Yuen, who has worked with both actors to grand effect in the past.  It’s unfortunate because this is by far the biggest chip WAR has to play.  The director Philip G. Atwell tries to create a sense of immediacy by pulling right in on the combatants, but it’s almost too much to take in.  I’m a huge advocate of just pulling back and letting the actors show what they can do.  I point to the five-minute tracking shot from THE PROTECTOR as the best fight sequence of last year.  Not just because of its length, but the shot gave Tony Jaa a freedom of movement that would have been head-spinning had the filmmaker’s employed Atwell’s approach.  The shaky cam is another overused device.  My friend left THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM feeling ill for just this reason.  But try as he might, Atwell doesn’t ruin the film.  It’s still not great, but they probably could have gotten away with worse, given the strength of the title and the leads.  All in all, I don’t regret going to the matinee, but I doubt WAR will be much more than a footnote in the catalogue of Jason Statham, let alone Jet Li.  It’s a good renter.  Or you could rent THE ONE.  I’m just saying.