Dir. Philip G. Atwell
Writ. Lee Anthony Smith, Gregory J. Bradley
Act. Jason Statham, Jet Li, Devon Aoki

I am reminded of a song that I first heard in the 80's (doesn't mean that was when it was written, but that is when I heard it) by The Boss, a.k.a. Bruce Springsteen, when I think of this movie, "War…what is it good for, absolutely nothing, say it again." or something roughly like that. Another action bomb with Jason Statham and Jet Li that was wasted from the time ink was drying on the computer page. I like both actors and this movie wasn't terrible, it just wasn't good and that is a bad thing this year where there has been a revival of good action movies.

Jason Statham (Crank) is FBI agent Jack Crawford who works in Chinatown in San Francisco and is on the hunt for the man who brutally murdered his partner and his family, a Yakuza hitman named Rogue, played by Jet Li (Kiss of the Dragon.) As violence between the Japanese Yakuza and the Chinese Triad, Crawford realizes that Rogue is playing both sides against each other and does not understand why it is taking place and is afraid that the mystery in Rogue may come back to haunt him.

My first question about this movie is that are both the Yakuza and the Triad really that dumb? Is the audience supposed to think that? How can any organization that has built that much power over time like both of these organizations not realize that not only do they have an insider, but that he is probably playing the their side against the other. Li's character would have been discovered to be the traitor by both these organizations long before they did, and with out any outside help. Why the writers decided to go this route is beyond me but a rewrite on that premise alone is in order.

The movie has the adequate supply of shootouts, car chases, nude woman, and even a little swordplay, which is always a nice added touch. But the one thing you want to see in a movie like this, fights between Li and Statham, are missing until the climax. Too boot, the fight scene was too short and does not deliver because of the unnecessary build up leading too it. I would have also like to see actress Devon Aoki (Sin City) fight a little. She played Kira, the daughter of the Chang, the Triad boss. If anyone has seen Sin City, when she played Miho, we know that she at least LOOKS like she can fight so it would have been great to see her kick someone's ass for a little while anyway. But no, she does a lot of talking which isn't necessarily a good thing, unfortunately.

Lastly, where did that ending come from? It is borderline original but it makes absolutely no sense and only adds to confuse the ending and make you wonder how this script got approved in the first place.

First time screenwriters Lee Anthony Smith and Gregory J. Bradley provided all of these goodies. Throw in renowned rap music video director Phillip G. Atwell and you have the makings of an Academy Award winning movie. Do producers really not care when they set a movie to fail like they did on this one? I wish I had that kind of money to burn.

I can't imagine anybody older than 17 wanting to watch this movie and that is mostly because of the nudity. I keep waiting for Statham to make a great action movie and once again I am disappointed.

Brian - the Naked Gun