War Blu-ray Movie ![United States United States](https://images3.static-bluray.com/flags/US.png)
Rogue AssassinLionsgate Films | 2007 | 103 min | Rated R | Jan 01, 2008
![War (Blu-ray Movie) War (Blu-ray Movie)](https://images3.static-bluray.com/movies/covers/612_medium.jpg)
Movie rating
| 6.1 | / 10 |
Blu-ray rating
Users | ![]() | 4.1 |
Reviewer | ![]() | 3.5 |
Overall | ![]() | 4.1 |
Overview click to collapse contents
War (2007)
After his partner is brutally murdered by the infamous assassin Rogue, FBI agent Jack Crawford vows to find the elusive killer and personally avenge his partner's death. But Rogue proves untraceable until three years later when he resurfaces to ignite a bloody turf war between Chinese mob leader Chang and Japanese Yakuza boss Shiro. Eager to capture Rogue once and for all, Crawford leads his team of crime specialists headlong into the conflict. But Crawford's thirst for vengeance jeopardizes his professional judgment, and as the violence escalates, Crawford finally comes face to face with his enemy to discover that nothing about Rogue or his plan is quite what it seems.
Starring: Jet Li, Jason Statham, John Lone, Devon Aoki, Luis GuzmánDirector: Philip G. Atwell
Action | Uncertain |
Thriller | Uncertain |
Crime | Uncertain |
Martial arts | Uncertain |
Specifications click to expand contents
Video
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.40:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Audio
English: LPCM 7.1 (48kHz, 16-bit)
English: Dolby Digital 5.1 EX
Subtitles
English, Spanish
Discs
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Bonus View (PiP)
BD-Live
Playback
Region free
Review click to expand contents
Rating summary
Movie | ![]() | 2.5 |
Video | ![]() | 4.5 |
Audio | ![]() | 4.5 |
Extras | ![]() | 3.5 |
Overall | ![]() | 3.5 |
War Blu-ray Movie Review
'War' is disappointing action movie that nevertheless shines on Blu-ray.
Reviewed by Martin Liebman January 23, 2008Pain can be a weapon, if you so choose.
If pain is indeed a weapon, War ranks on the hurt scale at just about the same place
that
you'd find a Jasper Woodcock whack to the groin with a whiffle ball bat. It won't kill you, but it
sure doesn't feel good, either. That's the Jet Li / Jason Statham action flick in a nutshell, really.
It's
not as bad as a root canal or sky diving without a parachute, but it's not eating tasty ice cream or winning the lottery, either. War is a pretty standard action flick with lots
of guns, swords, blood, explosions, car chases, and all that cool stuff that either makes or breaks
an
action
movie based on execution and style. Unfortunately, this movie falls short of distinguishing itself
in any way, shape, or form, and the end result is a forgettable shoot and slice 'em up flick that
might entertain
the first time around but is definitely not worth repeat viewings.
![](https://images.static-bluray.com/reviews/253_1.jpg)
Torture: all in a day's work.
War stars action man Jason Statham (Crank) as FBI special Agent Crawford. He and his partner Tom Lone (Terry Chen, Snakes on a Plane) engage Japanese assassin Rogue (Jet Li, Kiss of the Dragon) and presumably kill him, but his body is never recovered. Shortly thereafter, Lone and his family are murdered by a resurgent Rogue and Crawford becomes a man obsessed with hunting the assassin down once and for all. Several years later, Rogue resurfaces, acting again as an assassin for the Chinese crime syndicate group known as the Triads who are at war with their rival group, the Japanese Yakuza. As Crawford closes in on the identity of Rogue, he'll learn a dark and troubling secret about the killer of his former partner, and be forced to reconcile with his past and fight his enemies in the present.
What have we here? Another action film in which the plot was probably scribbled onto construction paper and characters that couldn't be any more cardboard if I cut them out of the box UPS just delivered to my house. While the movie has a nice surprise revelation at the end, the rest of the movie is as generic as they come, borrowing plot contrivances from other films and recycling action scenes we've already seen a hundred times before. If there was anything fresh and exciting here, I missed it. I guess the main attractions are international action stars Jet Li and Jason Stratham, but both spend the movie acting bored and seemingly wishing they were in something better. All that said, War isn't a half bad guy movie, except for the fact that the action is far too disjointed, scattered, and for the most part, boring. However, if it's a cold, dark, lazy day outside, this one fits the bill nicely. Turn out the lights, lay down on the couch, and watch until you fall asleep. The boisterous action scenes will wake you up when there is something worth seeing.
War Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality ![4.5 of 5](https://images4.static-bluray.com/rating/b9.jpg)
![](https://images4.static-bluray.com/reviews/253_2.jpg)
War's 2.40:1, 1080p high definition image looks splendid on Blu-ray. This image is sharp with excellent color reproduction, clarity, detail, and depth. The end result is a nice, three- dimensional image on par with the best I've seen yet. Skin tones are rendered very well. Black levels are excellent, faltering only here and there, but shadow detail remains high nevertheless. The excellence evident in this transfer comes as no surprise. Lionsgate has been churning out some real winners recently, and War definitely ranks in the top tier of the studio's efforts. They've come a long way and if their most recent wave of releases, including Saw IV and 3:10 to Yuma, are indicative of future releases, get ready for some breathtaking discs to come.
War Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality ![4.5 of 5](https://images4.static-bluray.com/rating/b9.jpg)
![](https://images3.static-bluray.com/reviews/253_3.jpg)
Lionsgate once again steps up to the plate and smacks a home run over the fence with another incredible uncompressed PCM 7.1 audio track. It's impressive, immersive, and powerful, creating a true high definition audio experience that is certainly the featured attraction on this disc. Everything is top notch. Surrounds are continuously active with natural extensions to the primary score and effects, creating a wonderful high end theater quality listening experience. Music sounds perfectly clear and natural and there are times that it sounds like the orchestra is playing in your room, live. I was literally grinning from ear to ear as the movie opened. The combination of the score, sound effects, deep bass, and powerful gunshots make for instant demo-quality material. Make sure you've got a good subwoofer hooked up before listening to this one. It'll be working overtime, delivering hard hitting lows throughout. A nightclub scene early on in the film reverberates with bass so deep that it instantly transports you onto the middle of the dance floor. The only issue I found with this track is that dialogue sometimes sounds a tad bit muted and muffled, but its a minor issue that isn't present most of the time. In conclusion, this is simply reference quality material. Lionsgate continues to prove themselves with quality releases that put home theater and Blu-ray fans first.
War Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras ![3.5 of 5](https://images2.static-bluray.com/rating/b7.jpg)
![](https://images2.static-bluray.com/reviews/253_4.jpg)
War arrives on Blu-ray with a grab-bag of supplements proving to be good, bad and
indifferent. First up is a visual
commentary with director Phillip Atwell. Of course, the main attraction here is that this
commentary takes advantage of profile 1.1 Blu-ray features. Frankly, I was unimpressed. We
see
only a small box showing director Atwell at a microphone, and most of his commentary track is
presented without the secondary image anyway. It's good that it only pops up now and again
because watching a man sit at a microphone for two hours is, frankly, pretty dull. As far as his
remarks, the track suffers from some very long pauses in between some halfway decent
comments about the making of the film. Unless you're a major fan of the film, this one isn't
worth a listen. Next up is a traditional audio-only commentary track with Lee Anthony Smith
and Gregory J. Bradley, the two writers of the film. The two offer up a few anecdotes about what
might have been, but they are rather sophomoric and offer little to no insight into the film.
The War Zone Trivia Track is an audio tour behind the scenes of the movie. A female
voice gives us background on the studio, insights into the film, and behind-the-scenes
information. The voice sounds robotic, as if a computer is reading back a script. We also hear
interviews with various cast and crew members, and their picture pops up, covering about 1/3 of
the screen. There are several errors, including the narrator stating, "Lionsgate has gained
prominence over the past few years in part due to their horrific box office success..." I
have a feeling they meant "terrific" rather than "horrific." This is a nice feature that needs a lot
of polishing to make it work in the future.
Scoring War (1080i, 8:55) is a look at the making of the terrific music used in the
film. Composer Brian Tyler discusses how he became attached to the project and the influences
and styles chosen for the music. The War Chest is a nifty feature that allows viewers to
go behind-the-scenes and explore four separate categories (story, stunts, sound, and style) when
an icon prompts you to do so. Each
feature is presented in 1080i. There is also an option to play them without waiting for the icon to
pop up during the movie via the special features menu. Next up is B-Roll PiP that shows
a short scene from the movie and how the bloody effects for said scene were created. Such a
feature running during the length of the film would have made more sense and represents the
type of information I'd like to see more of in the future with PiP technology.
"Blu-Line" is a nifty feature that is accessible by pushing any of the arrow keys on your remote
control. Displayed on screen is the name of the chapter, the current runtime, and time remaining
showing both a clock and a progress bar. The user can use the left and right arrow keys to move
the time cursor across the progress bar to jump to a particular point in the film. Viewers can also
bookmark scenes from this feature by pressing the green color button. "Blu-Line" remains on
screen for several seconds.
Three deleted and extended scenes (1080p, 2:11) are next. Yakuza Prize Fighter Game
is not really a game but an interactive virtual fight. You enter preselected moves for your fighter
and watch the fight play out. Once the fight begins, you have no control over the fighters. Very
lame. Finally, a gag reel, (1080p, 2:03) and trailers for The
Condemned, Crank, Lord of War, and The Punisher conclude the supplemental materials.
War Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation ![3.5 of 5](https://images2.static-bluray.com/rating/b7.jpg)
![](https://images.static-bluray.com/reviews/253_5.jpg)
Ultimately, War is just another run of the mill action flick that seems a little better than it really is because of the tremendous Blu-ray presentation. The film suffers from a somewhat slow pace and bland acting, and it offers nothing new or exciting to the action genre. Fans of the film or those looking for reference material need to pick this one up immediately. War looks and sounds wonderful. The included special features are large in quantity but rather lackluster on quality. War is a nice way to kill off a boring evening, but nothing else, and it's certainly not worth your Blu-ray dollar. This is one to rent before making a decision to purchase.