Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.5
Overall		3.0

The Art of War Blu-ray Movie Review

Not Very Artful

Reviewed by Michael Reuben January 13, 2015

As action star Wesley Snipes resumes his career, beginning with last summer's The Expendables 3, Warner Bros. is reaching into its vaults for any of Snipes's former projects. Between the original Blade (1998) and the stylish Blade II (2002), the latter directed by Guillermo del Toro, Snipes made the far more generic action vehicle, The Art of War, which is most memorable for its title, taken from the ancient Chinese text attributed to Sun Tzu. The volume is supposed to have personal relevance to Snipes, who is an accomplished martial artist; his character in Passenger 57, John Cutter, is seen reading a copy. In the film, however, the reference is to a series of intrigues swirling around a proposed trade agreement following the handover of Hong Kong from Britain to China. Just as an earlier (and superior) Snipes film, Rising Sun, was set in an era when Japan appeared poised to become the world's dominant power, The Art of War plays off millennial predictions that China would shortly take over the world's economy.

The whole enterprise is set in a pre-9/11 world, and the twin towers of the World Trade Center appear repeatedly in the background of the New York locations (though most of the film was shot in Vancouver). Still, it's interesting to look back at this early example of what has since become a familiar collection of tropes: a lone agent operating with high-tech support to defuse an imminent threat whose cause becomes increasingly uncertain, as turncoats and traitors are revealed on all sides. The script by Wayne Beach (The Assignment ) and Simon David Berry (Continuum), from a story by Beach, doesn't operate this machinery with the kind of efficiency and elegance that the creators of 24 would later perfect, and director Christian Duguay (Screamers) doesn't know how to wring the thrills out of an action set piece. Snipes and the rest of the cast are the best thing about The Art of War. They elevate it just a degree or so above genre filler.

Under its benign cloak of reason and diplomacy, the United Nations runs a covert ops division that uses espionage and blackmail in service of the greater good. The head of operations is Eleanor Hooks (Anne Archer), special assistant to the Canadian Secretary General, Douglas Thomas (Donald Sutherland). Her chief operative is a man who doesn't officially exist, Neil Shaw (Snipes). In the film's opening caper, Shaw infiltrates a New Year's Eve party high atop a Hong Kong hotel owned by Chinese businessman David Chan (Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa). The goal is to obtain incriminating evidence against China's defense minister, who is blocking the trade treaty. In a van on the ground below (shades of True Lies ) are Shaw's backup team, Robert Bly (Michael Biehn) and Jenna Novak (Liliana Komorowska). After various fights and spectacular stunts, the mission is a success, but Shaw is injured and requires six months to recuperate.

Shaw emerges from sick leave thinking of retirement, but Eleanor urgently needs him for one last assignment. (Gee, where have we heard that before?) A cargo container full of dead Vietnamese refugees has arrived in New York on a Chinese freighter and is being investigated by the FBI under Special Agent Frank Capella (the late Maury Chaykin, who brings great humor to an underwritten part). Eleanor thinks that it's no accident that this has occurred just as Chinese Ambassador Wu, who has ties to smugglers, has arrived in New York, allegedly to finalize the trade treaty but maybe to sabotage it. Shaw and his team are assigned to monitor a dinner and reception by Mr. Chan for the ambassador, but other forces are at work. The gala affair becomes the scene of an assassination, for which Shaw is framed. Captured by the FBI, then snatched by members of a Chinese Triad in an apparent effort to complete the frame, Shaw ends up alone and on the run. His former colleagues are systematically removed from the picture.

Shaw's only potential ally is a Chinese translator named Julia Fang (Marie Matiko), who caught a glimpse of the real assassin and knows that it wasn't Shaw. This makes her a target, but she doesn't trust Shaw either. Forced into a partnership that neither of them wants, Julia and Shaw must work together to expose whoever is behind the plot—and this is where The Art of War is at its weakest. If one is going to follow a familiar story arc, one should at least pay attention to its major components. The relationship between Julia and Shaw should be the anchor of the film's third act, which means that scenes have to be written and shot in which they actually establish some form of rapport. Either those scenes weren't written, they were left on the cutting room floor, or—and I'm afraid this may the case—the writers and directors thought that the scenes that currently exist are enough. They aren't. Indeed, in the film's noisy climax, the pair goes their separate ways while Shaw has his showdown with the enemy as a solo act. The result is a series of routine action beats and a conclusion that feels hollow and tacked on. The Art of War is an action film where the stakes seem to decline, rather than increase, as the story unfolds, and not just because the villains are easy to spot early on. Once the hero loses his friends, he no longer seems to care about anyone—and neither do we.

The Art of War Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Art of War was shot on film by Canadian cinematographer Pierre Gill (The Colony). Having been produced some years before the era of digital intermediates, the film was completed photochemically. I cannot say whether Warner has created a new transfer for its 1080p, AVC-encoded Blu-ray or used a data harvest from its 2000 DVD, but I suspect the former, because the Blu-ray looks terrific. The image is stable, detailed and sharp, and the vividly saturated color palette used for scenes like the opening New Year's Eve party and the fateful diplomatic reception are rendered in all their glory. Many interiors are also highly stylized, e.g., a construction site through which Shaw chases a suspect, which looks better lit and more enticing than any such zone I can recall. The recreated U.N. offices are chillier and more hi-tech, but their hues are still more intense than real life. Gill and director Duguay are well aware that their film isn't set in a realistic world.

The image is fine-grained, and some of the digitally rendered effects shots look a touch softer than the live action photography (a distinction that would vanish over the next few years with the advent of Dis), but there isn't any visible evidence of digital tampering. In a departure from its usual practice, Warner Home Video has placed this featureless catalog title on a BD-50, and, although the entire disc hasn't been utilized, the average bitrate is an uncharacteristically high 27.93 Mbps. The continuous action and rapid-fire editing must have convinced whoever was in charge that tighter compression was a risky prospect.

The Art of War Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Art of War features such an aggressively loud 5.1 surround mix, encoded on Blu-ray in lossless DTS-HD MA, that listeners may want to turn down their usual volume setting by a notch or two. Gunfire, breaking glass (lots of it), vehicular impacts, the occasional explosion and other assorted sounds of mayhem occur throughout, and rain pours down almost as often as in Blade Runner, ensuring, if you'll forgive the term, an immersive experience. The score by Norman Corbeil, director Duguay's usual composer, is unusually bombastic, even by action film standards, with heavy reliance on deep bass and percussion that often blends with the sound effects.

The Art of War Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Except for the film's trailer (1080i; 2.39:1; 2:30), the disc has no features. The 2000 DVD was similarly bare.

The Art of War Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Art of War is a well-produced Blu-ray but an underwhelming film. It isn't boring, but it doesn't leave much of an impression. Snipes' fans may want to add it to their collection, but his talents are used to much better advantage elsewhere. Buyer's choice.