War (2007)

User Review

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  TheMovieDiorama

  4 / 10

  War might just be the most generic battle to ever be conceived. Triads vs. Yakuza. Set in San Francisco. With a British Statham attempting to be American. And Guzmán's unnecessary involvement to add that little mix of Puerto Rican spice. Should've been titled "World War", am I right? Two rivalling crime groups, that are well renowned globally, should've made for an interesting crime thriller. Alas, the story is so monotonously generic that your mind will start to conjure up its own war, in a bid to keep you entertained. An FBI agent investigates the murder of his partner, in which he soon becomes embroiled in a ferocious rivalry between two gangs. Traitors, undercover individuals and plenty of "FBI, put your hands on your head! Nobody move!". A plethora of typical plot points that you would expect to find in an episode of 'CSI' or 'Hawaii Five-O'. The frantic editing, which makes most of the action unwatchable, only enhances the cheap production that unfortunately is perceived. Statham and Li rarely interact with each other, and strangely feels like watching two separate films. Their plots only intertwine towards the film's conclusion, and even then it felt substantially underwhelming. That's not to say the story is incomprehensible, in fact it's rather simple to follow. However the dull storytelling and boring plot prevents you from becoming invested. Neither the Triads or the Yakuza have personality, and you don't care for the feud. The third act manages to add some excitement, predominately from Li and some excellent fight choreography (can easily handle a sword...). But then it all goes downhill, again, when Aoki graces the screen. She's rubbish. Oh, extra points for Statham saying lines in Japanese. The excitement was real for about 27 seconds. So yes, War had the occasional engaging scene that prevented me from hating it but overall was a boring slog to get through. And don't even get me started on the stupid final twist...

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