The Art of War
                              
Director: Christian Duguay
Year: 2000
Rating: 5.5
I have few expectations from a B action film. So, this was fine. A confusing plot, some messy action and chase scenes and the dialogue just felt off kilter all along. But we get a Mission Impossible opening scene, betrayals, conspiracies, a bunch of dead bodies and of course Wesley Snipes doing his thing - looking cool. It is what he does best.  I call it a B film because it plays like one - feels close to straight to video in some ways but in fact it had a $40 million budget which isn't peanuts. Or pretzels. Most of it probably went to that first scene and the salaries. Some good actors are here saddled with bad dialogue. Along with Snipes is Anne Archer, Michael Biehn, James Hong, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa and Donald Sutherland stopping by to pick up a paycheck. Besides Snipes though the second biggest part goes to Marie Matiko who probably came cheap.

 

Snipes is a secret agent - the man who doesn't exist - for, get this - the United Nations. He works for Archer who works for Sutherland. I only wish the UN had secret agents who go on death-defying missions for good. In that opening scene, Chinese billionaire Cary-Hiroyuki is throwing a gala event which Snipes crashes and gets evidence - film of a Chinese General getting a blow job under the table - which the UN uses to get trade talks back on between North Korea and the USA. As he escapes from high up in a glider - the security shoots off machine guns at him and somehow the huge crowds below are fine. He takes six months off, but his co-agent (Biehn) brings him back for an assignment.

 

They need him to keep an eye on the Chinese Ambassador (Hong) to make sure another trade deal with China goes through. There are people trying to stop it. This leads to an assassination with Snipes being framed for it. Snipes doesn't play that game and begins digging with the help of an interpreter (Matiko). There are a few tense moments, some action, a couple graphic murders I wasn't expecting, a few stunts and then suddenly it is the Matrix. Every time someone jumps down from a building and lands on his feet, I winced. No, I thought - people break into pieces from that height. But that's the magic of the movies. It should come with a warning for kids though.