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War

Written by Nobuhiro Hosoki

 

One on One interview with Director Phillip G. Atwell

"War" is  a  tale of betrayal and revenge with Chinese Triads and Japanese Yakuza blowing out the explosive action. When you hear about the rivalry involving "Transpotter" guy Jason Statham pitted against the most powerful martial action star, Jet Li, it'll get all your adrenalin in the expectation of nothing short of a jaw-dropping action showdown. The tension keeps building in each sequence as more of the action stars jump in, but a strong final confrontation never comes.

The story lies in the hand of an FBI agent, John Crawford (Jason Statham), whose partner is killed by a mysterious hitman named Rogue who changes his physical appearance so as not to be caught. Three years after his obsessed partner's death, Rogue has resurfaced at a night club where he whacks most of the Japanese gangsters inside. Crawford has finally found his avenging shot, but he suspects  this incident might also involve something more than personal payback.

It dates back some thirty years, when a Yakuza, Mr. Shiro (Ryo Ishibashi) slaughtered members of the Chang (John Lone) family and stole various treasures including a pair of golden horse sculptures that are now heading to California. Intriguingly, both gang families think Rogue is working for them, yet he's a totally lone wolf.

Jet Li is picture-perfect for the role of the badass killer, ranging from  bare knuckles to sword fights. Even though stunt choreographer Corey Yuen has worked with both Staham and Li before, he unfortunately couldn't bring out the essence of  an eventual face-off involving those two. Another thing that bugs you throughout the film is the Japanese accents of all the Yakuza including Devon Aoki, who can barely deliver just like the rest of the gang. Lucy Lu might have had a better accent in "Kill Bill" than these of Japanese descent. In the end, the concept of this match-up should be surefire material--well, when you draw the sword, you'd better slash!

Directed by Philip G. Atwell
Written by Lee Anthony Smith and Gregory J. Bradley
Director of photography:Pierre Morel
Martial arts choreography by Corey Yuen
Edited by Scott Richter
Production designer: Chris August
Produced by Steven Chasman, Christopher Petzel and Jim Thompson
Released by Lionsgate.
Running time: 103 minutes.

Cast: Jet Li (Rogue)
Jason Statham (Crawford)
John Lone (Chang)
Devon Aoki (Kira)
Luis Guzmán (Benny),
and Saul Rubinek (Dr. Sherman).