The Art of War (2000)

Director:

Christian Duguay

Writers (WGA):

Wayne Beach (story)
Wayne Beach (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

25 August 2000 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Thriller

Tagline:

Who is your foe?

Plot:

Shaw is an operative for the United Nations' covert dirty-tricks squad, using espionage and quasi-ethical tactics to secure peace and cooperation...

Plot Keywords:

FBI | United Nations | Murder | Reverse Footage | Embassy

Awards:

2 wins & 9 nominations

Cast

Wesley Snipes	...	Neil Shaw
Donald Sutherland	...	Douglas Thomas
Maury Chaykin	...	Frank Capella
Anne Archer	...	Eleanor Hooks
Marie Matiko	...	Julia Fang
Michael Biehn	...	Robert Bly
Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa	...	David Chan
Liliana Komorowska	...	Jenna Novak
James Hong	...	Ambassador Wu
Paul Hopkins	...	Ray, FBI Agent
Glen Chin	...	Ochai
Ron Yuan	...	Ming
Bonnie Mak	...	Anna Li
Uni Park	...	Tina Chan
Erin Selby	...	Hong Kong Reporter

Also Known As:

L'art de la guerre (Canada: French title)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong violence, some sexuality, language and brief drug content.

Runtime:

117 min | Germany:116 min (cut version) | Germany:117 min (uncut version)

Country:

USA | Canada

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital EX

Certification:

Malaysia:18PL (uncut version) | Malaysia:U (cut version) | Portugal:M/16 | South Korea:15 (video rating) (cut) | South Korea:18 (original rating) | Netherlands:12 (TV rating) | Netherlands:16 | Argentina:13 | Australia:MA | Canada:14A | Chile:14 | Denmark:15 | France:U | Germany:18 (bw) | New Zealand:R18 | Norway:15 | Peru:14 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | UK:18 | USA:R | Iceland:16 | Philippines:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Hong Kong, China

Company:

Morgan Creek Productions

Trivia:

The tones dialed for Lo Kee Battery, the Gentleman's Club, are the first few notes of the tune to "Yankee Doodle".

Goofs:

Plot holes: When Shaw returns Capella's sidearm outside the Chinese Club he presses the magazine eject so the magazine falls to the ground. When driving away, Shaw holds up the "last bullet" that would have been in the chamber signaling that he'd removed all the bullets from the pistol. But since he ejected the magazine from the pistol right before returning it to Capella, that would mean he'd have pulled the slide back to eject the one round while the magazine had still been in the pistol which would have just chambered another round. So Capella's pistol actually still contained a single round rendering Shaw's actions inconsequential.

Quotes:

Eleanor Hooks: Appearances are everything, Miss Fang. Politics and deception are built on it.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Tropic Thunder (2008)

An unimaginative telling of a tale we've already heard. ** (out of four).

THE ART OF WAR / (2000) ** (out of four)

By Blake French:

The Art of War refers to an ancient handbook by a mighty Asian general named Sun Tsu, who hypothesized that wars can be won without physical combat. Numerous powerful leaders, including Napoleon, defeated their enemies by using the ideas of Sun Tsu. According to the action flick "The Art of War," Tsu's theories apply to the world of business and politics as they do to war.

"It's about strategy, manipulation and control, all the way through," says director Christian Duguay, whose credits include TV's "Joan of Arc," and "The Assignment." "The whole film is based on the theme of manipulation and the idea that things are not what they appear. That's what I think makes this film very unique and exciting."

Or how about confusing and hard to follow, better words to describe what Christian calls "one character manipulating the other, who is manipulating still another." The production notes inform us on the ancient techniques and strategy of manipulation, but "The Art of War" is not the movie to justify those principles. After half a dozen plot twists, even more action sequences, and probably more hidden character motives, this film becomes exactly what Tsu condemned: the actual fighting of war. There's enough action in this movie to classify it as a mixture of material arts and a James Bond, but after one perplexing situation after another, we simply toss our arms and stop caring altogether.

Instead of a plot description, let's examine the sources of this movie's recycled story. First, we get a man who is wrongfully accused for a murder he did not commit. In a strike of luck and personal investigation, he gets the chance to prove himself innocent after escaping from the police during a transportation accident. Yes, that sounds like "The Fugitive." Now throw in the film's follow up "U.S. Marshals," about an accused government agent using his insider knowledge while an Asian thug tracks him down. Combine the two similar plots and you get something like "The Art of War," straight from the recycling plant to your personal viewing pleasure.

Working with a forty-million dollar budget, Snipes himself performs many of his own stunts and combat sequences. The film does offer some exciting, if conventional, action sequences, but I wanted a smart plot about political tactics and clever espionage, not run-of-the-mill action. Anne Archer and Maury Chaykin contribute effective performances as the villains, and Snipes does good things with his character. But the plot just doesn't work. It houses too many characters, too many plot complications, and too much technical government stuff. "The Art of War" is pretty much an unimaginative telling of a tale we've already heard.