War-(Jet Li/Jason Statham movie)~Pics/posters/trailers thread
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hitmanyr2k
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Not being screened for critics = kiss of death.
hitmanyr2k
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Of course, this film is going to have negative critical reception.
I am going to see this film for the paper-thin story with crazy cool action.
Cmon man, have you SEEN the action clips of this movie?
The action looks like the worst aspect of the film. It's giving me that old Ecks vs. Sever vibe...something I was hoping to never experience again.
spidey-dude
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have you seen snatch????
First review: http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/Movies/article/249357
3 Stars out of 4.
War. What is it good for?
In this case, exactly 103 minutes.
But that's all-the-way-through good, from explosive start to bloody finish, without so much as a momentary lag in the action or the story – which does, admittedly, become a tad complicated as it progresses. But not disturbingly so, and let's face it, how much do these things really matter in this sort of escapist enterprise?
War is a story of revenge served up hot and nasty by the inexplicably British FBI agent Jack Crawford (The Transporter's Jason Statham) on the elusive Asian assassin who killed his partner and his partner's family.
Revenge, too, for the assassin himself, known as "Rogue" (the incomparable Jet Li), though what for and against whom is quite deliberately unclear. He seems to be both working for and at the same time secretly betraying everyone in an all-out war between the Chinese triads and the Japanese Yakuza.
As to what's crawled up their collective butts, well, it has something to do with loss of honour, a pair of unremarkable ceramic horses and bad blood between bosses Chang (John Lone, looking considerably longer in the tooth than in his Last Emperor/M. Butterfly days) and Shiro (Ryo Ishibashi from the original Grudge films), the latter represented by his ruthless, ass-kicking daughter (Devon Aoki, Sin City's Miho).
I warned you this would get complicated – right down to the double twist ending you will only half see coming.
Which, as I also told you, hardly matters, since the fight scenes are relentless – from guns to swords to bikes and cars to fire bombs and flying fists – all expertly staged by a fledgling feature director whose only prior credits are videos for Eminem, N.W.A. and 50 Cent, and a single episode of The Shield.
It's the primary antagonists who sell it. Unlike the over-inflated, old-school action stars like Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone and Jean-Claude Van Damme, or stick-figure superheroes like Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale and Brandon Routh, Statham and Li seem like the real deal, legitimately dangerous guys who walk the walk better than they talk the talk – and then, without missing a beat or a breath, could rip out your heart and show it to you before you die.
And they are backed and surrounded by a vast team of stunt people – enough to fill an entire screenful of credits. Which begs a question: The film was apparently shot in Vancouver – if nothing else, the presence of Canadian actors Saul Rubinek and Andrea Roth (Rescue Me) would seem to confirm that. But the extensive list of stunt people is almost immediately followed by a list of security personnel that seems twice as long.
So I'm just wondering, what were all these security people for? To protect all the stunt people? From the people of Vancouver? I would have though that badasses Statham and Li could have handled that pretty much on their own.
3 Stars out of 4.
War. What is it good for?
In this case, exactly 103 minutes.
But that's all-the-way-through good, from explosive start to bloody finish, without so much as a momentary lag in the action or the story – which does, admittedly, become a tad complicated as it progresses. But not disturbingly so, and let's face it, how much do these things really matter in this sort of escapist enterprise?
War is a story of revenge served up hot and nasty by the inexplicably British FBI agent Jack Crawford (The Transporter's Jason Statham) on the elusive Asian assassin who killed his partner and his partner's family.
Revenge, too, for the assassin himself, known as "Rogue" (the incomparable Jet Li), though what for and against whom is quite deliberately unclear. He seems to be both working for and at the same time secretly betraying everyone in an all-out war between the Chinese triads and the Japanese Yakuza.
As to what's crawled up their collective butts, well, it has something to do with loss of honour, a pair of unremarkable ceramic horses and bad blood between bosses Chang (John Lone, looking considerably longer in the tooth than in his Last Emperor/M. Butterfly days) and Shiro (Ryo Ishibashi from the original Grudge films), the latter represented by his ruthless, ass-kicking daughter (Devon Aoki, Sin City's Miho).
I warned you this would get complicated – right down to the double twist ending you will only half see coming.
Which, as I also told you, hardly matters, since the fight scenes are relentless – from guns to swords to bikes and cars to fire bombs and flying fists – all expertly staged by a fledgling feature director whose only prior credits are videos for Eminem, N.W.A. and 50 Cent, and a single episode of The Shield.
It's the primary antagonists who sell it. Unlike the over-inflated, old-school action stars like Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone and Jean-Claude Van Damme, or stick-figure superheroes like Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale and Brandon Routh, Statham and Li seem like the real deal, legitimately dangerous guys who walk the walk better than they talk the talk – and then, without missing a beat or a breath, could rip out your heart and show it to you before you die.
And they are backed and surrounded by a vast team of stunt people – enough to fill an entire screenful of credits. Which begs a question: The film was apparently shot in Vancouver – if nothing else, the presence of Canadian actors Saul Rubinek and Andrea Roth (Rescue Me) would seem to confirm that. But the extensive list of stunt people is almost immediately followed by a list of security personnel that seems twice as long.
So I'm just wondering, what were all these security people for? To protect all the stunt people? From the people of Vancouver? I would have though that badasses Statham and Li could have handled that pretty much on their own.
Super_Ludacris
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*is generally suprised I subscribed to this thread*
I may check it out
I may check it out
bullets
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i saw this today . i thought it was a good movie but not as good as i expected it to be however i was suprised by the ending . jet li does alot more shooting than kicking. i dont think his recent efforts have been laughable . i liked fearless and unleashed . the editing was a bit annoying though
I SEE SPIDEY
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The movie was pretty boring at times and it didn't have nearly enough action/fights. It was better than I expected but I would have rather had a bad fun action flick than a so-so thriller.
KenK
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I think conceptually, it had a lot of potential, and I have to admit, the ending did throw me for a loop a bit.
I figured there was gonna be a reveal that Jet Li's character didn't really kill Craford's partner and family, but I didn't think Jet Li would turn out to BE Crawford's partner after assuming Rogue's identity, and benefitting from the fact that no one ever really knew what he truly looked like.
My problem was the fact that there wasn't really a proper epilogue to the whole film. It's bad enough Matthew St. Patrick's character (the black agent) was just picked off and there's no reflection from anyone on that death, but then you have the whole nighttime showdown between Crawford and Rogue revealing himself to be his partner, Lone, Crawford stops the sniper and then Lone shoots him. Then the very next scene is Lone walking out of a building in broad daylight and driving off! End of movie. HUH?!?! That just seems like poor editing on someone's part. I mean, who thought that was a fluid transition from one scene to the next? I know it's just supposed to be an action movie, but would it have killed them to be a little more narratively competent?
My problem was the fact that there wasn't really a proper epilogue to the whole film. It's bad enough Matthew St. Patrick's character (the black agent) was just picked off and there's no reflection from anyone on that death, but then you have the whole nighttime showdown between Crawford and Rogue revealing himself to be his partner, Lone, Crawford stops the sniper and then Lone shoots him. Then the very next scene is Lone walking out of a building in broad daylight and driving off! End of movie. HUH?!?! That just seems like poor editing on someone's part. I mean, who thought that was a fluid transition from one scene to the next? I know it's just supposed to be an action movie, but would it have killed them to be a little more narratively competent?
TheVileOne
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Not like Resurrecting the Champ had a huge release, and not like this movie is doing spectacularly . . . because it isn't.
It came in behind good movies like Superbad and Bourne Ultimatum which are both doing great.
Apatow Productions, Seth Rogen, and Paul Greengrass can basically do no wrong at this point. They are virtually bulletproof.
It came in behind good movies like Superbad and Bourne Ultimatum which are both doing great.
Apatow Productions, Seth Rogen, and Paul Greengrass can basically do no wrong at this point. They are virtually bulletproof.
The Chris
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I haven't seen this yet but it sound like a mega disappointment. Barely any kung fu, the fight with Jet and Jason is short, horrid ending? Why!
Why wasn't Luc Besson apart of this, he produced Jet's two best non-hong kong films (Unleashed and Kiss of the Dragon) and The Transporter films. WHY!
Why wasn't Luc Besson apart of this, he produced Jet's two best non-hong kong films (Unleashed and Kiss of the Dragon) and The Transporter films. WHY!
Warhammer
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If Luc Besson was behind this film, it would've been loads better.
Btw, I think that you should watch the film before putting judgment on it.
You may like it. You may not. You'll never know.
War was definitely not what I expected.
PLOT RUNDOWN:
To get things straight, for the people who lost track during the film, in the beginning of the film, Crawford (Jason Statham) is an FBI agent who's partner is killed by a member of the Yakuza named Rogue (who was believed to be a rumor in the beginning of the film). Rogue comes to Crawford's partner's house and kills him, his wife, and daughter (as well as burns down the house). Crawford, his wife, and his daughter arrive at their house, and see the house burned down. Jason Statham (looking for revenge) finds a bullet that Rogue apparently uses (he found the same bullet in the opening scene of the film) and concludes that Rogue is the killer. Three years pass, and Crawford's obsession for Rogue has cost him his marriage. Him and his FBI team search for Rogue throughout the film.
As the movie progresses, we learn that Rogue (Jet Li) is apparently an assassin working for the Yakuza, who ends up betraying them by joining the Triads, then is secretly betraying (while still appearing loyal to) the Triads by actually working with the Yakuza the whole time. We then see that Rogue is actually setting up both sides, and starting a war (hence, the title) between the Triads and Yakuza by double crossing both of them, and appearing loyal to the other force. As Crawford (Statham) and his FBI team track down Rogue, they find out that various plastic surgeons turn up dead, and also track down one in Tiaquna, Mexico. They learn that Rogue takes on many faces via plastic surgery, in order to be the perfect assassin.
One night, Rogue (Jet Li) and a few Yakuza assassins go to the Triads's headquarters to kill them and their leader. As he proceeds to kill them all, until we then find out that Rogue is not a tough as nails assassin/who he seemed to be throughout the entire film, by saving the wife and daughter (huge important to the finale of the film) of the leader of the Triads [John Lone (aka Ricky Tan. I was cracking this joke to my friends throughout the whole movie. Even when John Lone died, I said "Damn, he ain't gonna be in War 2!")] As Rogue double crosses and kills the other Yakuza assassins, who want to kill the Triad leader's wife and daughter, there appears to be a member of the FBI taking pictures of the entire event. Crawford and his FBI team go to the Yakuza headquarters and show the evidence of Rogue's double cross to the Yakuza leader.
As Rogue goes to the Yakuza headquarters to tell that he completed his task by killing the Triad leader, the Yakuza leader makes it apparent that he knows of the double cross. Rogue and the Yakuza leader have a duel with swords. As Rogue is taking the upper hand, he reveals the details of the murder of Crawford's partner. He reveals he actually is Crawford's partner
wow
. Flashbacks of the beginning is shown, and show that the partner actually ended up killing the original Rogue (who was sent to kill him, his wife, and his daughter). It is revealed that he changed his face and voice, and took on the mantle of Rogue, in order to get in deep enough to seek revenge on the leader of the Yakuza (who ordered the attack from the start). As Rogue is about to kill the Yakuza leader, he mutters "You should have left the wife and child" (which comes full circle to the reason why Rogue didn't kill the Triad leader's wife and daughter). The Yakuza leader then reveals that he ordered the attack based on a tip from Crawford (who was revealed to be working for the Yakuza since the very beginning! 
). Rogue then kills the Yakuza leader.
Ultimately, Crawford and Rogue have a final confrontation in an warehouse, where they fight. As they fight, Rogue reveals who he really is. A very shocked/ashamed/sad Crawford says that he double crossed Rogue, but never meant for the Yakuza to kill him. Only to "rough him up." This ends up showing that Crawford's search for Rogue, throughout the film, was not only vengeful, but redemptive. As they continue fighting, Rogue says that he is now the assassin Rogue, and no longer the partner/friend that Crawford once knew. As one of Crawford's snipers positions himself to kill Rogue once he is in the open, Crawford yells "no!" and takes the bullet for his old partnerconfused. Then, after basically no proper resolution, we see Rogue drive off in daylight in his car. The End.
To get things straight, for the people who lost track during the film, in the beginning of the film, Crawford (Jason Statham) is an FBI agent who's partner is killed by a member of the Yakuza named Rogue (who was believed to be a rumor in the beginning of the film). Rogue comes to Crawford's partner's house and kills him, his wife, and daughter (as well as burns down the house). Crawford, his wife, and his daughter arrive at their house, and see the house burned down. Jason Statham (looking for revenge) finds a bullet that Rogue apparently uses (he found the same bullet in the opening scene of the film) and concludes that Rogue is the killer. Three years pass, and Crawford's obsession for Rogue has cost him his marriage. Him and his FBI team search for Rogue throughout the film.
As the movie progresses, we learn that Rogue (Jet Li) is apparently an assassin working for the Yakuza, who ends up betraying them by joining the Triads, then is secretly betraying (while still appearing loyal to) the Triads by actually working with the Yakuza the whole time. We then see that Rogue is actually setting up both sides, and starting a war (hence, the title) between the Triads and Yakuza by double crossing both of them, and appearing loyal to the other force. As Crawford (Statham) and his FBI team track down Rogue, they find out that various plastic surgeons turn up dead, and also track down one in Tiaquna, Mexico. They learn that Rogue takes on many faces via plastic surgery, in order to be the perfect assassin.
One night, Rogue (Jet Li) and a few Yakuza assassins go to the Triads's headquarters to kill them and their leader. As he proceeds to kill them all, until we then find out that Rogue is not a tough as nails assassin/who he seemed to be throughout the entire film, by saving the wife and daughter (huge important to the finale of the film) of the leader of the Triads [John Lone (aka Ricky Tan
. I was cracking this joke to my friends throughout the whole movie. Even when John Lone died, I said "Damn, he ain't gonna be in War 2!")] As Rogue double crosses and kills the other Yakuza assassins, who want to kill the Triad leader's wife and daughter, there appears to be a member of the FBI taking pictures of the entire event. Crawford and his FBI team go to the Yakuza headquarters and show the evidence of Rogue's double cross to the Yakuza leader. As Rogue goes to the Yakuza headquarters to tell that he completed his task by killing the Triad leader, the Yakuza leader makes it apparent that he knows of the double cross. Rogue and the Yakuza leader have a duel with swords. As Rogue is taking the upper hand, he reveals the details of the murder of Crawford's partner. He reveals he actually is Crawford's partner
wow. Flashbacks of the beginning is shown, and show that the partner actually ended up killing the original Rogue (who was sent to kill him, his wife, and his daughter). It is revealed that he changed his face and voice, and took on the mantle of Rogue, in order to get in deep enough to seek revenge on the leader of the Yakuza (who ordered the attack from the start). As Rogue is about to kill the Yakuza leader, he mutters "You should have left the wife and child" (which comes full circle to the reason why Rogue didn't kill the Triad leader's wife and daughter). The Yakuza leader then reveals that he ordered the attack based on a tip from Crawford (who was revealed to be working for the Yakuza since the very beginning! ). Rogue then kills the Yakuza leader.Ultimately, Crawford and Rogue have a final confrontation in an warehouse, where they fight. As they fight, Rogue reveals who he really is. A very shocked/ashamed/sad Crawford says that he double crossed Rogue, but never meant for the Yakuza to kill him. Only to "rough him up." This ends up showing that Crawford's search for Rogue, throughout the film, was not only vengeful, but redemptive. As they continue fighting, Rogue says that he is now the assassin Rogue, and no longer the partner/friend that Crawford once knew. As one of Crawford's snipers positions himself to kill Rogue once he is in the open, Crawford yells "no!" and takes the bullet for his old partner
confused. Then, after basically no proper resolution, we see Rogue drive off in daylight in his car. The End.In short, War was definitely nothing like you expected from viewing the trailer/TV spots. [blackout]It had 298430 plot twists.[/blackout] The big positive of the film was the action, though. It was very enjoyable, in my opinion.
Rating:
2/4 Stars
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