_The_Art_of_War_ (R) ** 1/2 (out of ****)
Sneaking onto screens relatively unheralded by its distributor during the dog days of summer, _The_Art_of_War_ would appear to be one of those dumpers/writeoffs with which the studios traditionally clog late August. But for a good portion of its running time, director Christian Duguay's spy thriller is slickly, efficiently put together, featuring more than a few effective action sequences. Which makes it all the more unfortunate that, in the end, the film slips off the rails.
Wesley Snipes lends his usual blend of charisma and conviction to the role of Shaw, a deep cover United Nations operative who is introduced as he engages in some Bond-like derring-do at a millennium party in China. Little does he know this will be his introduction to some of the key players in a conspiracy in which he later finds himself entangled. Six months later, a container filled with dead Chinese refugees is found, and soon after, a Chinese ambassador is assassinated. Accused of the latter, Shaw goes underground and, with the help of a U.N. translator (Marie Matiko), sets out to find the truth, which turns out to be more complex and far-reaching than he imagined.
As can be easily gleaned from the plot synopsis, Wayne Beach and Simon Davis Barry's script for _The_Art_of_War_ is hardly groundbreaking, and, in all honesty, neither is Duguay's direction of it. But he does make the material quite watchable. The action scenes, many of which are designed to showcase Snipes' martial arts skills, are decently handled, and he comes up with some interesting stylistic flourishes, particularly in one scene where Shaw studies the apartment of a murdered colleague; the use of flashbacks proves to be an economical storytelling device--in this instance, at least.
While Snipes remains convincing throughout the entire film, the film itself doesn't. As is the case with these conspiracy thrillers, there are late-inning twists abound, but the logistics render the already cloudy plot even murkier. The sense of overkill that ultimately does in the script spreads to other areas in the film, including some of the actors (whose names I won't divulge in the interest of protecting plot points). But no one gets infected more than Duguay. His kinetic visuals soon get out of control; the flashback device that had been employed well in the early going gets overused, and for no apparent purpose.other than to show off.
Even if _The_Art_of_War_ didn't lose its way in the end, it still wouldn't be a great film; it's much too standard a genre picture to be something truly special. But considering how right the film feels most of the way, it wouldn't have been too hard for Duguay to make a reasonably satisfying formula film. Instead, _The_Art_of_War_ illustrates how easily one can drop the ball down the stretch.
Michael Dequina twotrey@juno.com | jordan_host@sportsmail.com | mrbrown@iname.com Mr. Brown's Movie Site: http://www.moviereportsite.com CinemaReview Magazine: http://www.CinemaReview.com on ICQ: #25289934 | on AOL Instant Messenger: MrBrown23
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