L'arte della guerra

Wesley Snipes is back better than ever in "The Art Of War," a movie that is so good it deserves to be among the top ten of the summer.

There are many reasons why I enjoyed "The Art Of War." The first reason was the supporting cast. When I first saw Donald Sutherland in this movie, I knew it would be a thing of beauty. He brought great credibility as he made a good movie, that much better. Anne Archer is one actress you can always count on to give a good performance.

"The Art Of War" turned out to be a montage of "The Fugitive" series and "Enemy Of The State." While this is the only negative thing about this film, it didn't deter me from enjoying it to my heart's content.

There are many other things about "The Art Of War" such as the high-tech wizadry and action-filled sequences that were very enjoyable. However, the best thing about this film was the storyline. "The Art Of War" had beautiful twists toward the end of the film. In addition, there are scenes in this movie that are so good they must be seen to believe they are that good.

First off the technical aspects of this movie were superior in every sense. The sound, the editing, the camera work, all of it was fantastic and made this an enjoyable treat.

You have to enjoy all that because, with the exception of Donald Sutherland who is always on, the acting isn't there. Wesley Snipes is one of my favorite actions heroes, but we all know that action heroes can't act. Well, maybe Bruce Willis is the exception. But for an action hero, Wesley is great and does a great job here - for an action hero.

And, hey, Marie Matiko was easy on the eyes.

If you liked Enemy of the State, you will like this movie.

The Art of War, a somewhat pretentiously slick and stylish thriller is a nice action film from the first year of the new millennium. Grafting current events onto that old stand-by plot device, the accused innocent man, and adding lots of gratuitously arty cinematography, Duguay has come up with a film that manages to be diverting - provided, of course, you don't think too deeply about the plot. When the film works, it's because of the tight pacing and expertly choreographed action scenes. The "surprise" twists in the plot are nothing of the sort - anyone who doesn't expect the return from the dead of one character and the betrayal by another hasn't seen many of these movies. This is a good Wesley Snipes film, rather forgotten.

In this tale of betrayal and conspiracy, secret agent Neil Shaw (Wesley Snipes) finds himself framed for the murder of the UN Chinese Ambassador. What follows soon after is a palate of action sequences that are easy to the eyes and references to real-world politics, though sometimes far-fetched.

The story is okay, but it could have been so much more. They should have focused more on the crumbling relationship between the US and China as shown in the film, with a lot of truth mixed in. But alas, they had to add in some predictably cheesy plot twists to make it more "audience friendly". The action sequences, although well filmed, looks lost in this film. And there are some obvious plot holes here.

Actors are average. Snipes gives his usual action-hero persona we've seen in "Murder at 1600". Marie Matiko is gorgeous with her sultry eyes and accent, and gives a good performance, making her not just eye candy. Donald Sutherland, although brief, gives the best performance in the film as the Secretary of Defense, but I think he needed more screen time. Anne Archer is also quite good in her role, as Shaw's head Hooks.

Direction wise, Christian Duguay did the job. His direction is gripping. The music by Normand Corbeil suits the atmosphere of the film, and is not cheesy or overblown. The editing is fast.

In short, it could have been an intelligent thriller, but it opted for the easy way out, filled with clichés, plot holes and a lot of action. The latter I can live with but the former two needs some corrections. Still, it's not bad. Not bad at all.

Entertainment: 7

Overall: 6

Wesley Snipes has always been trusty in the action genre. He has great charisma and looks totally cool when kicking the crap out of the bad guys. Ever since his breakthrough role in "Passenger 57." There are many great moments of action in "The Art of War." Sure, the plot is far from compelling, but the energy and fast pace keeps it fueled.

"The Art of War" is not a work of art, but it's a great popcorn flick and one that won't put you to sleep! I just wish they could've done something about the cliches. I'm not going to give anything away, so I'll just say, "Why is it in these movies the characters never seem to know who their limo driver is?" It's an overused cliche and a cheap surprise.

My score: 7 (out of 10)