War pits Jason Statham and Jet Li against each other. Both are known for their insane action and martial arts sequences, but for all that talent we never really see one good hand to hand fight between the two. It's your basic revenge story, Jet Li kills Statham's partner and Statham wants to crush his nuts. You know, your basic action movie. Don't expect War to win any awards. Unless there's some sort of awards show with all action movies in it nowadays. If you go into this movie expecting the next Shakespearean masterpiece, you're in deep deep trouble. It's a little more paced than some people make it out to be. There are huge breaks in the action that take time to tell the story and a little character development. Note that they are not small breaks but huge ones. Action comes in doses, but when it does it hits you like a train to the jaw.
There is a slight twist in the movie that helps to accentuate that it's trying to be different from other movies in this genre but it doesn't quite succeed. The "twist" ends up coming off as another of a hundred ways this is just like every other action movie ever made. In the same way most action movies treat themselves (and they should) lightly and with as little detail to realism as possible, so too does War. It knows that it's an action movie, and never expects you to think any thing more about it than that. In this same genre I would recommend Shoot 'Em Up over this, if you have already seen that this might feel a little tame in comparison. In that same way though, this movie has a different flavor and succeeds in its own way. Worth watching, but there are much better picks in this genre.
There is a slight twist in the movie that helps to accentuate that it's trying to be different from other movies in this genre but it doesn't quite succeed. The "twist" ends up coming off as another of a hundred ways this is just like every other action movie ever made. In the same way most action movies treat themselves (and they should) lightly and with as little detail to realism as possible, so too does War. It knows that it's an action movie, and never expects you to think any thing more about it than that. In this same genre I would recommend Shoot 'Em Up over this, if you have already seen that this might feel a little tame in comparison. In that same way though, this movie has a different flavor and succeeds in its own way. Worth watching, but there are much better picks in this genre.