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'War' is too strong a word for this sleeper

By Wesley Morris
NY Times News Service, New York
Friday, Aug 31, 2007, Page 16

Jason Statham PHOTO: COURTESY OF WARNER BROTHERS

You could fill a small junkyard with the films Jet Li (李連杰) and Jason Statham have made separately. Perhaps to cut down on waste, they've teamed up for a single trip to the dumpster. The occasion is War, a title the movie never quite lives up to. Spat or Tiff might be more accurate.

Directed by Philip Atwell, the movie barely utilizes either man's strengths. Statham gets one or two fight sequences (he remains clothed for both) and has dialogue so terrible not even he can trick you into laughing at it. Li, meanwhile, seems to be playing a robot of himself. He barrels dutifully from scene to scene, speaking his halting English with a dispiriting lack of joy. Even his kicks have no crackle. He gives us business when we've come for pleasure.

The screenplay contains a lot of exposition but no explanation. We know this much: the Yakuza and Chinese Triads are at each other's throats over ancient treasures. Li plays a character named Rogue, a psychopath whose pulse never rises. Rogue is also a whore of a hit man – he'll kill anybody on either side of this skirmish if asked. He spends a lot of time with a prissy Triad boss, played by John Lone, who does all he can to take the part seriously ("Revenge is a must!" he snarls).

Jet Li and Jason Statham pair up for War. PHOTO: COURTESY OF WARNER BROTHERS

But Rogue has no problem causing trouble for the boss. He furtively foments conflict between the Triad and the Yakuza, who keep him on their payroll. Conflict even takes the form of a deadly motorbike chase.

It turns out that Rogue has killed the partner of FBI agent, John Crawford, and the partner's family. Crawford has spent years trying to catch the killer. His ex-wife is still annoyed, and her lines could be from Brokeback Mountain Two: "Look, your obsession with this man has cost you your marriage!" (For what it's worth, the movie is set in San Francisco.)

Film notes: War DIRECTED BY: Philip G. Atwell STARRING: Jet Li (Rogue), Jason Statham (Jack Crawford), John Lone (Chang) Devon Aoki (Kira), Luis Guzman (Benny), Saul Rubinek (Dr. Sherman), Ryo Ishibashi (Shiro), Sung Kang (Goi) RUNNING TIME: 103 MINUTES TAIWAN RELEASE: TODAY

His marriage over, Crawford chases Rogue from one terribly assembled shootout and swordfight to the next. These scenes are so ugly and rushed that we can't figure out what's going on.

No one who's witnessed any of the graceful yet blistering combat in the Bourne movies should stand for action sequences that look like they've been edited with an Uzi.

Fun here is fleeting. Mathew St Patrick, as Crawford's new partner, shows some teasing spontaneity. And Devon Aoki, as the Yakuza head's daughter, has a good scene, holding a knife to one underling and a gun to another, obviously stressed out.

"I just got off a 14-hour flight. I want a salad," she says. "Dressing on the side." The best acting in the whole picture is the confused looks those two dudes give her.

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