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Variety; New York; Aug 21-Aug 27, 2000
Emanuel Levy
Volume: 380
Issue: 1
Start Page: 15,21
ISSN: 00422738
Abstract:
Levy reviews "The Art of War" directed by Christian Duguay and starring
Wesley Snipes.
Full Text:
Copyright Cahners Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier, Inc. Aug
21-Aug 27, 2000
[Headnote]
THE ART OF WAR
A Warner Bros. release of a Morgan Creek Prods., Franchise Pictures and Amen
Ra Films presentation of a Filmline Intl. production. Produced by Nicolas Clermont.
Executive producers, Elie Samaha, Dan Halsted, Wesley Snipes. Co-producer, Richard
Lalonde.
Directed by Christian Duguay Screenplay, Wayne Beach, Simon Davis Barry, based on a story by Beach. Camera (Deluxe, wide screen), Pierre Gill; editor, Michel Arcand; music, Normand Corbeil; music supervisor, David Franco; production design, Anne Pritchard; art directors, Jean Morin, Pierre Perrault; set decorator, Ginette Robitaille; costume designer, Odette Gadoury; sound (Dolby/SDDS), Donald Cohen; special effects coordinator, Louis Craig, Les Productions de L'intrigue; visual ef fects supervisors, Georges Jardon, Pierre Raymond; associate producer, Alan Chu; assistant director, Michael Williams; casting, Rosina Bucci, Nadia Rona, Vera Miller, Elite Casting. Reviewed at a Warners screening room, Burbank, Aug. 16, 2000. MPAA Rating: R. Running time: 117 MIN.
Neil Shaw ...................... Wesley Snipes
Eleanor Hooks .............. Anne Archer
Capella ........................ Maury Chaykin
David Chan .... Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa
Douglas Thomas .... Donald Sutherland
Bly .................................. Michael Biehn
Julia .................................. Marie Matiko
Novak .................. Liliana Kmorowska
Ambassador Wu .............. James Hong
In the pretentiously titled "The Art of War," a B-level international thriller brought to the screen by Morgan Creek and Elie Samaha's production company, Wesley Snipes plays an American agent who gets involved in the emerging trade relations between China and the Western world, with a shaky U.N. placed right in the midst of the diplomatic intrigues. It's a tribute to Snipes' charismatic presence that, despite Christian Duguay's messy direction and Wayne Beach and Simon Davis Barry's lopsided script, his performance gives the pic the semblance of an actioner with three or four highly pleasing chase scenes. Warners' late summer release will have an OK opening due to support from African-American patrons and genre's aficionados - it's been a while since Hollywood's last conspiracy actioner but a quick theatrical playoff is expected once reviews and not a particularly enticing word-of mouth kick in.
Almost every element in "Art of War" is slightly off, beginning with the timing of its release: Yarn is set on the eve of the new millennium. In a particularly cacophonous opening, a colorfully decadent party in Hong Kong that almost dwarfs the dialogue, we learn China is about to sign a trade treaty and hence begin a new exciting era after a long isolationist history.
Wu (James Hong), the Chinese U.N. ambassador, seemingly assisted by David Chan (Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa), a successful Chinese entrepreneur, have been working hard to promote the pact with U.N. secretary general Thomas (Donald Sutherland). What sets off a bizarre chain of events is the creepy sight of a group of murdered Chinese refugees, found in a container in the N.Y. harbor by agent Cappella (Maury Chaykin).
An important assembly meeting with speeches translated by U.N. employee Julia (Marie Matiko) begins, but Wu is assassinated in the midst of his delivery FBI agent Neil Shaw (Snipes) , working closely with his supervisor, Eleanor Hooks (Anne Archer), chases the killer in a thrilling sequence.
This intriguing set-up occurs in the first reel, which, regrettably is followed
by a lengthy and disjointed espionage-conspiracy tale, undermined by awkward
cutting between action and dialogue scenes, some of which try to explain the
title. ("The Art of Wai" is an ancient handbook by Sun Tsu, an Asian
general who believed wars can be won without ever having to actually fight.)
As a result of these problems, actioner assumes the shape of a roller coaster
ride that's interrupted so many times that the joy is almost killed.
Yarn does not lack story or characters - it has plenty of both. For a while,
just figuring out the tangled, ever-changing relationships and coalitions provides
some fun. Working with an elite team of covert agents who are so deeply classified
they don't officially exist, Shaw is a potentially exciting action hero: A Buddhist
and a martial arts expert, with plenty of opportunities to demonstrate both
his mental acuity and physical prowess.
Shaw is contrasted with Bly (Michael Biehn), the team's intense but more playful partner, who relates to his risky job as a game. Knowing that the government perceives them as necessary weapons-rather than humans with feelings- the duo executes its tasks while ignoring the dubious reasoning and machinations that define international politics.
Following generic conventions, Shaw teams up with a beautiful girl, Julia (Marie Matiko). Ultimately, Julia is the only person he can trust and also the one person who may be holding the key to a global conspiracy of cataclysmic proportions. No contempo thriller-actioner can ignore the high-tech world and this pic is no exception. Indeed, soon all the protagonists are after a disc that, played in slo-mo, reveals discriminatory evidence about the circumstances in which Wu was murdered.
"Art of War" has its fair share of gun-blazing mayhem and lurid violence. Artistically, pic occupies the uncomfortable position of being placed in the middle between John Woos stylishly extravagant actioners and Jerry Bruckheimer's more conventional fare. In its messy structure and chaotic loud score, pic is closer to the latter, yet some sequences approximate the cool elegance of the more impressive Hong Kong actioners.
Duguay gives the film an erratic tempo, with several crucial sequences coming out of the blue. But brisk pacing can conceal only up to a point helmer's crude approach, writing flaws and especially choppy editing.
Despite some effectively rousing set-pieces, particularly those set in the long corridors of the U.N. building, ultimately "Art of War" is much less than the sum of its parts.
A talented ensemble elevates the actioner at least a notch or two above the material's level. Snipes is most credibly and appealingly cast as the "invisible" hero, in a part that enables him to show dramatic acting as well as martial arts skills.
It's nice to see Archer, for years typecast as the long-suffering wife, play a different, tougher role. In the small, underdeveloped part of a bewildered U.N. secretary general, the versatile Sutherland commands attention, and so does Canadian character thesp Chaykin, playing the only role that contains some humor, an element that's otherwise missing from the proceedings.
