After the manic high of Crank, I left War more than a little disappointed.  A bit of a throwback to old(er) school action titles, the film slugs along for a good portion of its running time before finally collapsing under the weight of a late-game plot twist too convoluted for its own good (which I won’t spoil here).

Not the first Jason Statham / Jet Li paring (that would be the goofy albeit fun Wong / Morgan CGI fest The One), War doesn’t really give the tandem much to do together. Overall, too much gunplay spoils a number of decent opportunities to showcase two outstanding athletes.  A climactic battle offers some decent action (courtesy of choreographer Corey Yuen), though the best stuff is reserved for a bout with swords between Li and Audition star Ryo Ishibashi(!), showing off some nimble moves and a vastly improved grasp of english since his cameo in The Grudge. 

A decent bet for a night of home-vid action, War just doesn’t cut it on the big screen the way Statham’s last few efforts - all breezy, hair-brained actioners devoid of any real serious business - have managed.  At least we have interesting projects from both he (Death Race) and Li (The Forbidden Kingdom) to look forward to.