War | Rotten Tomatoes

War

R

Released Aug 24, 2007

1 hr. 43 min.

Action

Mystery & Thriller

TRAILER

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List

13%

60 Reviews

Tomatometer

51%

250,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

After his partner and family are killed, FBI agent Jack Crawford (Jason Statham) becomes obsessed with revenge on an assassin named Rogue (Jet Li). Rogue's return sparks a violent war between rival Asian mobsters Chang (John Lone) and Shiro (Ryo Ishibashi), while the ultimate showdown between Crawford and Rogue reveals the truth.

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Critics Consensus

Jet Li and Jason Statham find themselves on opposing sides in the immensely boring War, which is full of clichés but short on action.

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Matthew D

Jet Li is undeniably cool that he elevates this solid thriller. Director Philip G. Atwell's action crime thriller War (2007) is still a blast with strong lead performances from Jet Li and Jason Statham. It's amusing to see them paired together again after they also fought in The One (2001). Atwell's delivers very funny jokes and exciting action with a lot of mid 2000's style. I actually loved the lighting and production design here. Corey Yuen's martial arts choreography is second to none and is so entertaining to see performed by the swift and skilled Jet Li. Li's acting is striking and always delivers exactly what is needed as far as I'm concerned. Statham holds his own in his action scenes, but it's his dramatic performance that is mostly captivating. Writers Gregory J. Bradley and Lee Anthony Smith did a great job of creating an action thriller that combines a Japanese Yakuza gang, a Chinese Triad gang, and the FBI agents searching for an enigmatic assassin, whom Jet Li portrays. I just hate the ridiculous twist that is both stupid and obvious if you are remotely paying attention to the beginning. The jokes and character drama do work and this crime narrative is all it needs to be to get to the awesome action with Jet Li. Jet Li is fascinating as Tom Lone, the infamous international hitman Rogue. Li uses pistols, sniper rifles, drives sports cars, and performs outstanding kung fu in a class all of his own. I'll never tire of watching Jet Li demonstrate what he can really do. He's an underrated actor generally, especially among the action heroes. Jason Statham is stalwart and entertaining as the tough FBI agent John Crawford. His ruthless interrogations and clever tactics make him a mental match for Jet Li's shrewd Lone up until the last minute. John Lone, of The Last Emperor fame, is excellent as Chinese Triad mafia boss Li Chang, who is cutthroat to his enemies, yet loves his family. I enjoyed John Lone's scenes opposite Jet Li the most. Sung Kang is cool as the FBI sniper Goi alongside Statham. Luis Guzmán is a riot as Interpol undercover agent Benny. Saul Rubinek gets a neat cameo as a plastic surgeon named Dr. Sherman. Devon Aoki is gorgeous, commanding, and deadly as Yakuza heiress Kira Yanagawa. Her needles and knives are cool. I just wish she was in the film more and maybe had a fight with Jet Li too to really nail this one. She's fierce and icy with a ruthless manner. I wish Devon Aoki starred in more movies too as she's captivating. Ryo Ishibashi is intriguing as Yakuza boss Shiro Yanagawa from Japan. His attempts to move his Tokyo operations to America is a path paved in blood. Mark Cheng is engaging as the Chinese Triad hothead henchman Wu Ti. Johnson Phan is equally outrageous as Joey Ti, Wu's angry brother. Nadine Velazquez is pretty as Li Chang's wife, but she is not a great actress. Her threat to Jet Li is so flat, it's funny. Steph Song is stunning as Tom Lone's beloved wife Diane Lone. Andrea Roth is beautiful and captivating as Statham's wife Jenny Crawford, with her long suffering relationship. Editor Scott Richter's choppy editing is so confusing and incoherent. He makes a simple story very hard to follow. At least we can see the action. Cinematographer Pierre Morel shoots striking close-up shots and stylish wide shots. The colorful lighting and 2000's style of shots are fun to see again. I did not care for the annoying shaky camera work. Production designer Chris August's creates all these lovely tea houses, nightclubs, fancy gardens, and expensive home sets. Art director Catherine Ircha's Chinese and Japanese styling for the sets look amazing. I wanted to walk right into the Japanese Yakuza nightclub all in purple and blue. Set decorator Louise Roper filled each space with wonderful antiques and traditional furnishings depending on the country. Composer Brian Tyler delivers a ferocious score that has a string section going off the entire time. The stunt team flipped cars and fought hand to hand among all the deadly shootouts. Costume designer Cynthia Ann Summers crafted sultry outfits for the actresses and models, while the guys get cool 2000's looks by that era's standards. In short, War is a blast and a brisk 103 minutes. Jet Li and Jason Statham simply rule here.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

04/10/24

Full Review

Michael B

What?! Waaay underrated! Great and thrilling plot (I even got slightly lost a couple times haha) and a couple of twists at the end that blew me away! Not as many martial arts scenes as I expected with having both Li and Statham, but makes up for it with thrilling scenes.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

12/08/23

Full Review

Nawt W

Atrocious, just embarrassing editing and character writing. Jet Li is not allowed to do anything with his face since his entire purpose is to be a transparent plot twist that anyone could have guessed just from the first 20 minutes of the movie.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

11/24/23

Full Review

Jacob B

A much terrible film than I was hoping for from a movie meant to build up to Jason Statham and Jet Li fighting each other, War has some rare good moments but is otherwise a pain in the ass to sit through thanks to its badly-edited action, ugly appearance and nonsensical plot twist, though at least I didn't see it coming, which leads to a rather abrupt end. Not to mention how, without getting too spoiler-y, turns what could've had potential as a movie about "Triads vs. Yakuza" into a generic revenge film. War...huh, yeah! What is it good for? Absolutely JACK SQUAT!!! THIS MOVIE SUCKS!

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

10/08/23

Full Review

DanTheMan 2

Never thought I'd see the day when Jason Statham aggressively speaks Japanese to a man while he's finger deep in their shoulder... I feel like I have to compare War with Li and Statham's other collaboration, The One because where that succeeded, War fails. It's full of clichés and short on action, not big or dumb enough to be glorious instead it's just immensely boring with a horrifically executed twist that just sours the whole miserable experience. Granted, there are a couple of things I do like, mainly the performances from Li and Statham, Corey Yuen's choreography and stunt work are also pretty decent but Philip G. Atwell's direction is nauseating with editing akin to that of an MTV music video. Coupled with a plot that made me audibly sigh multiple times, War ultimately feels like one big missed opportunity with an insultingly stupid ending to boot, if you loved The One, give this a big fat miss.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

09/15/23

Full Review

Yash B

"War" has enough crazy action and fight sequences to make it worthwhile. The movie has a pretty messy story that is largely unfocused and chaotic. I think this movie is unnecessarily convoluted and there are too many distractions from the central revenge story. I did find some enjoyment with the movie and think it is fine for causal action movie fans. I liked the way the main story played out and think the action scenes are pretty entertaining. Overall, this is a messy ride, but it is a movie that delivers what it promises, and I think there is some fun to be had with a B-movie like this.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

05/22/23

Full Review

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Philip G. Atwell

Director

Jet Li

Rogue

Jason Statham

Crawford

John Lone

Chang

Devon Aoki

Kira

Luis Guzmán

Benny

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War: Trailer 1

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Roger Moore

Orlando Sentinel

Rated: 1/5

May 13, 2009

Full Review

Tim Grierson

Screen International

A needlessly elaborate plot somewhat spoils the pairing of these martial-arts icons, but this sturdy B-movie thriller has enough style to overcome its formulaic trappings.

Jul 23, 2008

Full Review

J. R. Jones

Chicago Reader

[A] routine crime thriller.

Dec 3, 2007

Full Review

Mike Massie

Gone With The Twins

The blithesome action and wacky characters of Jason Statham's previous martial arts flicks are nowhere to be found here.

Rated: 5/10

Nov 28, 2020

Full Review

Mattie Lucas

The Dispatch (Lexington, NC)

An amalgam of every bland, run-of-the-mill action movie of the last 20 years.

Rated: 2/4

Jun 5, 2019

Full Review

Pablo Villaça

Cinema em Cena

Acaba revelando, em seu ato final, um esforço intrigante para surpreender o espectador, a esta altura, já fomos obrigados a agüentar uma infinidade de diálogos desastrosos e seqüências frouxas de ação e pouco pode ser feito para salvar o filme.

Rated: 2/5

Jan 16, 2008

Full Review

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Synopsis

After his partner and family are killed, FBI agent Jack Crawford (Jason Statham) becomes obsessed with revenge on an assassin named Rogue (Jet Li). Rogue's return sparks a violent war between rival Asian mobsters Chang (John Lone) and Shiro (Ryo Ishibashi), while the ultimate showdown between Crawford and Rogue reveals the truth.

Director: Philip G. Atwell
Executive Producer: Mike Elliott
Screenwriter: Gregory Bradley, Lee Anthony Smith
Distributor: Lionsgate Films
Production Co: Lionsgate Films, Fierce Entertainment, Current Entertainment
Rating: R (Sexuality/Nudity|Language|Strong Bloody Violence)
Genre: Action, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Aug 24, 2007, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 23, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $22.5M
Sound Mix: Dolby SRD, DTS, SDDS
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

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