 |
|
|
|
|
MOVIES FRONT | MOVIE REVIEWS | INTERVIEWS | COMING SOON | BOX OFFICE PREDICTIONS & REPORT | NEWS | LINKS |
The Art of War (2000) Warner Brothers 1 hr. 49 mins. Starring: Wesley Snipes, Donald Sutherland, Anne Archer, and Michael Biehn Music by: Normand Corbeil Directed by: Christian Duguay. 
The Art of War Rating:  
E-MAIL GIANCARLO DE LISI While working with a relatively small budget compared to the actioneers of today, director Christian Duguay can make a low-cost action film look like a one hundred million dollar film. This is what he is good at. With both Duguay’s ‘”The Assignment”, and ‘‘The Art of War’’ he possesses a visual style that is visually fantastic. Yet, not even the greatest director can save a lack-lustre script that has too many twists and turns and that requires the audience to think too much. In a nutshell, that is the main weakness of this film. A twisty script usually works in Hollywood at getting the audience and critic’s attention alike. Yet, when those twists involve many characters, and sometimes countries at a whole, it tends to become a little too clichéd, and ultimately unrealistic. What is so great about this film is the untapped potential of Montreal director Christian Duguay, ultimately making the best with what he has; he presents us with a great looking film (I said great looking – not great). No matter how far-fetched and unrealistic the action sequence, he visually makes it watchable despite us not caring about these boring characters. Unlike other films where actors keep us interested in the film, here all the characters repeat performances done in the past and Duguay makes this boring film with a small budget look like a misfired blockbuster. Donald Sutherland plays the U.S. secretary general, Anne Archer plays his first in command, and Wesley Snipes who once was considered to be a rising box-office star settles for his regular role as a guy carrying a gun with a vengeance. The paper-thin, yet highly layered complicate plot bases itself upon a treaty to be signed between the U.S. and China, that has a group of people preparing themselves to accomplish anything in order to make sure it does not happen. As far as everything else, it all gets muddled down in double-crossings and political innuendo that makes the viewer lose interest even more so. The only reason worth watching film is due to its’ aesthetic. Visually it looks great. Yet, what pulls the film down is its’ layered script, bad acting, and scenery. I did not know that New York had French stop signs? The film is based in New York, yet is shot almost entirely in Montreal, evidently someone forgot to take out the French stop signs. Furthermore, as a Montrealer, it was interesting to see some local television personalities performing cameos as New York journalists. As easy it is to label it a B-movie, it is not. Yet, it has all the qualities of one. But let it be known that Duguay must get himself a good script and truly display his directing skills that he has hidden. A director can only save himself for so long by making a poorly developed film look sleek, visually interesting, and look like a big-budget film with a small budget. If you have to see the movie, see it for the director’s hidden skills and not for the movie. Click here to comment on this review or post your own thoughts. Giancarlo De Lisi © TheWorldJournal.com |
|
|
MOVIES FRONT | MOVIE REVIEWS | INTERVIEWS | COMING SOON | BOX OFFICE PREDICTIONS & REPORT | NEWS | LINKS |
|
|
|
|
Sponsored Links |
| Web Hosting Forum - Web hosting, marketing and webmaster related issues. Find the best hosting for your website! |
| Top
Box Office Movies © TheWorldJournal.com, All rights reserved. Student News Network For the best advertising rates at TheWorldJournal.com (120x600 - new banner format by the Interactive Advertising Bureau), click here. Back to top |
e-mail: info@theworldjournal.com sales: sales@theworldjournal.com |
||