War (Widescreen Edition)

After his partner is brutally murdered by the infamous assassin Rogue (Jet Li), FBI agent Jack Crawford (Jason Statham) vows to find the elusive killer and personally avenge his partner's death. But Crawford's thirst for vengeance jeopardizes his professional judgment, and as the violence escalates, he finds himself in the middle of a conflict between two rival Asian gangs. Now nothing is quite what it seems, and he must be prepared for War!

Pitting Hong Kong legend Jet Li against UK tough guy Jason Statham seems like a surefire way to generate on-screen heat, and action fans will get a good deal of just that from the action-heavy War. Unfortunately, they also have to slog through a clichéd-riddled story about world-weary FBI agent Statham, who's gunning for Li, the master assassin that killed his partner years before, and who's currently neck-deep in a turf war between yakuza and triad gangs. Philip G. Atwell's style-over-substance direction doesn't help matters either, though he does have a way with shootouts and other combative set pieces. As for Li and Statham, their scenes together are surprisingly limited; there's also a twist in the film's final third that begs for serious suspension of disbelief. In short, those that found the duo's last movie team-up (2001's The One) lacking won't find much here to supplant that memory. The DVD includes three commentary tracks: one by Atwell, one by screenwriters Lee Anthony Smith and Gregory J. Bradley (it's the liveliest of the lot) and an audio trivia track that delves deep into the film's production, which is also covered in detail by nine separate featurettes. A gag reel and deleted/extended scenes round out the supplemental features. -- Paul Gaita