The Art of War (2000)

Shaw is an operative for the United Nations' covert dirty-tricks squad, using espionage and quasi-ethical tactics to secure peace and cooperation. When a shipping container full of dead ... See full summary »

Director:

Christian Duguay

Writers:

Wayne Beach (story), Wayne Beach (screenplay),

Stars:

Wesley Snipes, Anne Archer, Maury Chaykin

2 wins & 9 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Wesley Snipes	...	Neil Shaw
Anne Archer	...	Eleanor Hooks
Maury Chaykin	...	Frank Capella
Marie Matiko	...	Julia Fang
Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa	...	David Chan
Michael Biehn	...	Robert Bly
Donald Sutherland	...	Douglas Thomas
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

Storyline

Shaw is an operative for the United Nations' covert dirty-tricks squad, using espionage and quasi-ethical tactics to secure peace and cooperation. When a shipping container full of dead Vietnamese refugees turns up on the docks and China's ambassador is gunned down at a dinner celebrating a new trade agreement with China and the US, Shaw is framed for the murder and must evade the FBI and Triad gangsters to find out what is really going on.

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Plot Keywords:

murder | united nations | fbi | violence | neck breaking | 

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Taglines:

Do you know who your enemy is?

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Genres:

Action | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

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

Details

Official Sites:

Warner Bros.

Country:

USA Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 August 2000 (USA)

Also Known As:

El arte de la guerra

Filming Locations:

Hong Kong, China

Box Office

Budget:

$40,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£165,830 (UK) (8 December 2000)

Gross:

ESP 373,584,458 (Spain) (29 June 2001)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Morgan Creek Productions, Franchise Pictures, Amen Ra Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

117 min 116 min (cut)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital EX

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The tones dialed for Lo Kee Bakery, the Gentleman's Club, are the first few notes of the tune to "Yankee Doodle".

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Goofs

While pianos contain a fair amount of metal, it's not a solid sheet at any point, so it's possible for a bullet to miss the significant metal and pass right through.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Jenna Novak: What is he waiting for?
[putting on headset]
Jenna Novak: What are you waiting for?
Neil Shaw: [over radio] Novak, I'm experiencing the moment.
Bly: He's going to experience a Chinese labor camp in a moment if he doesn't stick to schedule.

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Connections

Followed by The Art of War III: Retribution (2009)

User Reviews

A reasonably good, high energy action flick.

In "The Art of War", Snipes plays a UN deep-cover operative whose cover is compromised. Though the film features plenty of stunts, chases, crashes, shootouts, fights, and pyrotechnics mixed with a typically convoluted spy-type plot, we've seen better of all in other films. The flick does have a female protagonist but there's little romance or sexiness in this flick which lacks the spit and polish of Bond films and seems to be begging for something more than just a lot of busy heroics and magical futuristic microelectronic snoop stuff. Ok but far from Snipes better films.