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

Color:

Color

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, Wesley Snipes read a copy of Sun Tzu's "Art of War" in Passenger 57 (1992).

Goofs:

Factual errors: When Shaw and Capella are in the car outside the UN building before the final scenes, Capella's Motorola i1000plus rings. While he answers it the LED on the top of the phone stays red - meaning 'no service'. He then hands the active call to Shaw who talks, and the whole time the LED is still red - the phone is not in service.

Quotes:

Neil Shaw: Listen to me. Governments they come, they go. But the McDonalds... they last for eva!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Tropic Thunder (2008)

Had potential but took the easy way out. Still, not bad.

In this tale of betrayal and conspiracy, secret agent Neil Shaw (Wesley Snipes) finds himself framed for the murder of the UN Chinese Ambassador. What follows soon after is a palate of action sequences that are easy to the eyes and references to real-world politics, though sometimes far-fetched.

The story is okay, but it could have been so much more. They should have focused more on the crumbling relationship between the US and China as shown in the film, with a lot of truth mixed in. But alas, they had to add in some predictably cheesy plot twists to make it more "audience friendly". The action sequences, although well filmed, looks lost in this film. And there are some obvious plot holes here.

Actors are average. Snipes gives his usual action-hero persona we've seen in "Murder at 1600". Marie Matiko is gorgeous with her sultry eyes and accent, and gives a good performance, making her not just eye candy. Donald Sutherland, although brief, gives the best performance in the film as the Secretary of Defense, but I think he needed more screen time. Anne Archer is also quite good in her role, as Shaw's head Hooks.

Direction wise, Christian Duguay did the job. His direction is gripping. The music by Normand Corbeil suits the atmosphere of the film, and is not cheesy or overblown. The editing is fast.

In short, it could have been an intelligent thriller, but it opted for the easy way out, filled with clichés, plot holes and a lot of action. The latter I can live with but the former two needs some corrections. Still, it's not bad. Not bad at all.

Entertainment: 7

Overall: 6