The Art of War (2000)

Director:

Christian Duguay

Writers (WGA):

Wayne Beach (story)
Wayne Beach (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

25 August 2000 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Thriller

Tagline:

Who is your foe?

Plot:

Shaw is an operative for the United Nations' covert dirty-tricks squad, using espionage and quasi-ethical tactics to secure peace and cooperation...

Plot Keywords:

FBI | United Nations | Murder | Reverse Footage | Embassy

Awards:

2 wins & 9 nominations

Cast

Wesley Snipes	...	Neil Shaw
Donald Sutherland	...	Douglas Thomas
Maury Chaykin	...	Frank Capella
Anne Archer	...	Eleanor Hooks
Marie Matiko	...	Julia Fang
Michael Biehn	...	Robert Bly
Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa	...	David Chan
Liliana Komorowska	...	Jenna Novak
James Hong	...	Ambassador Wu
Paul Hopkins	...	Ray, FBI Agent
Glen Chin	...	Ochai
Ron Yuan	...	Ming
Bonnie Mak	...	Anna Li
Uni Park	...	Tina Chan
Erin Selby	...	Hong Kong Reporter

Also Known As:

L'art de la guerre (Canada: French title)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong violence, some sexuality, language and brief drug content.

Runtime:

117 min | Germany:116 min (cut version) | Germany:117 min (uncut version)

Country:

USA | Canada

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital EX

Certification:

Malaysia:18PL (uncut version) | Malaysia:U (cut version) | Portugal:M/16 | South Korea:15 (video rating) (cut) | South Korea:18 (original rating) | Netherlands:12 (TV rating) | Netherlands:16 | Argentina:13 | Australia:MA | Canada:14A | Chile:14 | Denmark:15 | France:U | Germany:18 (bw) | New Zealand:R18 | Norway:15 | Peru:14 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | UK:18 | USA:R | Iceland:16 | Philippines:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Hong Kong, China

Company:

Morgan Creek Productions

Trivia:

Before appearing in this film, Michael Biehn read a copy of Sun Tzu's "Art of War" in K2 (1991).

Goofs:

Plot holes: When Shaw returns Capella's sidearm outside the Chinese Club he presses the magazine eject so the magazine falls to the ground. When driving away, Shaw holds up the "last bullet" that would have been in the chamber signaling that he'd removed all the bullets from the pistol. But since he ejected the magazine from the pistol right before returning it to Capella, that would mean he'd have pulled the slide back to eject the one round while the magazine had still been in the pistol which would have just chambered another round. So Capella's pistol actually still contained a single round rendering Shaw's actions inconsequential.

Quotes:

Neil Shaw: You can never spend too much on good intelligence.
Bly: Or a good hooker.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Tropic Thunder (2008)

Good plot and acting, but confusing presentation

Most people can't differentiate between a bad film and a film they don't like. Many people didn't like this motion picture because of its liberal subtext. That doesn't make it a bad film. Most people don't realize that this was a Canadian production and that probably explains the political slant. However, as action films go, it was intelligent, high tech, stimulating, bordering on believable (seldom are action flicks actually believable), with plenty of violence. I didn't particularly agree with its `New World Order' message, but it was still a solid film.

The main criticism I have of the film is the editing. In an attempt to make the story more intriguing, it is pasted together in a convoluted way that makes it very difficult to follow. All the factions and motivations are eventually explained, but one has to pay very close attention or see the movie a few times to catch them all. The screenplay suffers from an excess of subplots, which makes following the story that much more difficult. The biggest sin committed by the producers and director was that they did not understanding their audience. This film targets action lovers, who are a visceral lot. They want to be stimulated, not confused and intrigued. They also tend to be more conservative politically (God, Guns, Guts). So naturally, the film bombed.

Wesley Snipes delivers a strong performance in the intelligent action hero role. Snipes seems to be locked in the action genre when he is really too bright for the roles he plays. He should take a lesson from Samuel L. Jackson and look for scripts that are more dramatic. Jackson still does action films (Shaft), but he picks parts portraying complex characters and scripts with strong character development, instead of straight macho testosterone parts. Snipes would have done well in some of the roles Jackson has had. Anne Archer does a fine job as the manipulative career diplomat, pulling everyone's strings behind the scenes. Donald Sutherland is a bit flaccid in this film, but his character really didn't have a lot of bite.

Overall, this film is a strong entry into a genre dominated by mindless body count. I rated it an 8/10. Those who like their action flicks to be completely believable subtract two points. Subtract another two points for those who don't like confounding story lines. For those who abhor screen violence, don't even bother.