This movie I just have to comment on, simply because it left me with such mixed feelings.
First of all, it seemed really well done on a first glance. There were flashy cars, nice outfits, good cinematography. I don't particularly recall the soundtrack, but I guess that's a good point. On the downside, the movie lacked a lot in story and character development. Alright, so it's an action movie, but for the first 95% of it you couldn't care less about where the story is going. The reason for that is that the characters never seem very likable. The main hero (Jason Stratham's character) is just out for revenge and treats his wife and kid bad because of that. While that's just one more reason to dislike the one character you're supposed to identify with, the movie never goes in-depth about it. For example, it never really shows the hero's relationship to his wife getting worse. Instead, they're just divorced all of a sudden. And while there seemed to be enough budget for nice sets and cool costumes, some of the props (especially the "horses") looked like they came straight from a toy store. Also, this movie forces you to realize that Jet Li is simply not a particularly good actor.
But my biggest pet peeve about "War" was that Jason Stratham and Jet Li seem to have traded places. If I watch a movie with those two actors in it, I expect Stratham to shoot a lot of people and Jet Li to perform a couple of cool martial arts stunts. Instead, you get some fist fights with Jason Stratham (some stunt double even does a couple of kicks for him), while Jet Li resorts to mostly shooting people. Why?????
I looked forward a lot to seeing this movie because I liked both leading actors. I was rather disappointed, but had a hard time disliking it despite its weaknesses. "War" is simply so pretty to watch that you're just begging for something cool to happen. And while the story seems like a sad excuse to fill the screen time with lots of dialogue, you are rewarded with a couple of nice action scenes and a good (if foreseeable) ending.
First of all, it seemed really well done on a first glance. There were flashy cars, nice outfits, good cinematography. I don't particularly recall the soundtrack, but I guess that's a good point. On the downside, the movie lacked a lot in story and character development. Alright, so it's an action movie, but for the first 95% of it you couldn't care less about where the story is going. The reason for that is that the characters never seem very likable. The main hero (Jason Stratham's character) is just out for revenge and treats his wife and kid bad because of that. While that's just one more reason to dislike the one character you're supposed to identify with, the movie never goes in-depth about it. For example, it never really shows the hero's relationship to his wife getting worse. Instead, they're just divorced all of a sudden. And while there seemed to be enough budget for nice sets and cool costumes, some of the props (especially the "horses") looked like they came straight from a toy store. Also, this movie forces you to realize that Jet Li is simply not a particularly good actor.
But my biggest pet peeve about "War" was that Jason Stratham and Jet Li seem to have traded places. If I watch a movie with those two actors in it, I expect Stratham to shoot a lot of people and Jet Li to perform a couple of cool martial arts stunts. Instead, you get some fist fights with Jason Stratham (some stunt double even does a couple of kicks for him), while Jet Li resorts to mostly shooting people. Why?????
I looked forward a lot to seeing this movie because I liked both leading actors. I was rather disappointed, but had a hard time disliking it despite its weaknesses. "War" is simply so pretty to watch that you're just begging for something cool to happen. And while the story seems like a sad excuse to fill the screen time with lots of dialogue, you are rewarded with a couple of nice action scenes and a good (if foreseeable) ending.