Lionsgate UK DVD Synopsis: When his partner is brutally murdered by the infamous assassin Rogue (Li), FBI agent Jack Crawford (Statham) vows to find the elusive killer and personally avenge his partners death. But Rogue proves untraceable until three years later when he resurfaces to ignite a bloody turf war between Chinese mob leader Chang and Japanese Yakuza boss Shiro. Eager to capture Rogue once and for all, Crawford leads his team of crime specialists headlong into the conflict. But Crawford's thirst for vengeance jeopardises his professional judgement, and as the violence escalates, Crawford finally comes face to face with his enemy to discover that nothing about Rogue or his plan is quite what it seems.

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Views: It was interesting to read that Jet Li himself was unhappy with War, both in terms of making it and how it was received upon release. And I have to say, no matter how many times I watch it in the hope that it will get better, I'm always left feeling a little disappointed myself. After FBI agents Jack Crawford and Tom Lone get into a gunfight with the Yakuza, they bring their case to a close when they put a number of bullets into the deadly assassin known as Rogue. As they move on with their lives, Jack quickly learns that the very same killer has resurfaced when he finds his partner Tom and his family shot, and their home burned to the ground. A few years pass, and a new case reconnects Jack with the Yakuza who are now involved in a turf war with the Triads, initiated by Rogue who has been murdering people across the city. Now, he must take on Rogue and his people before he loses anyone else – although soon realises that everything isn't as straight-forward as it seems!

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I must admit, the first time I saw War on its initial release, I was highly disappointed. I thought this was going to be the big martial arts rematch between Jet Li and Jason Statham, after sharing some screen time in the more impressive sci-fi action flick The One, but it was not meant to be. A second viewing didn't really change my mind, but with this latest re-watch – I now knew what was coming and actually enjoyed it a little more. While it may be far from the best of Jet Li's Hollywood vehicles, War isn't completely unwatchable and is mostly stained by a so-so screenplay, MTV style editing, and a plot twist that raises more questions than sense. The screenplay for War was written by Lee Anthony Smith and Gregory Bradley, two first time writers who have continued to work together over the years (although not on anything memorable) and while I congratulate them for getting their story made, it's obvious that the script didn't have a more experienced mind behind it. Interestingly enough, the same could be said (in ways) for director Philip Atwell as War would be his directorial debut on a feature film. Atwell had spent the majority of his career as the director on a host of music videos for singers/rappers such as Eminem, Snoop Dogg, Ice Cube, Marilyn Manson, 50 Cent, and more, eventually stepping into the role of second unit director on the Nicholas Cage films National Treasure 1 & 2, before getting to make War. Of course, it's being the box-office bomb that it was, War stopped Atwell's career from ever flourishing and seemingly only ever returned to work as the second unit director on yet another Cage movie, The Sorcerers Apprentice.

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Apart from handling the action and fight sequences, the great Corey Yuen Kwai also serves as the second unit director on War, but I'd love to have seen him take full control of the production to be honest, having worked with Jet and Jason many times before. While there really wasn't enough martial arts action for me personally, there is plenty of other action going on – but it rarely gets the blood pumping. The action highlights for me include Jason Statham's fun restaurant fight that reminded me of his role in The Transporter, then there was the scuffle between Jet Li and the Yakuza boss, that saw him warm up in a quick exchange of moves with the handsome (and underused) Kane Kosugi, and the exciting showdown between Statham and Li that makes for a fun finale – although was probably over far too quick. As with the most of his movies, Jet is doubled for his more exciting moves and this time by popular stunt performer Peng Zhang. Starting off in the film industry around 2003, Peng has worked on the stunts and fights on many big titles including Bulletproof Monk, The Last Samurai, The Transporter 2, Ninja Assassin, Kick-Ass, 47 Ronin, Wrath Of Vajra, Ant-Man, and Wonder Woman – and has doubled for many other big stars including Chow Yun Fat, Donnie Yen, and even Jackie Chan. Zhang is currently working as the second unit director on the The Marvels for the MCU, the long awaited sequel to Captain Marvel.

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While fans kind of know what to expect with Jet Li and Jason Statham in their roles, although the former doesn't really come to life until the final third of the film, the rest of the cast in War is a mix of recognisable faces such as the wonderful John Lone, Mark Cheng (Hong Kong star and former boyfriend of Yukari Oshima), Kenneth Choi, Devon Aoki, Luis Guzman, Sung Kang, Mathew Patrick, Terry Chen, and the aforementioned Kane Kosugi. Of course, some of these guys have shared the screen a number of times before such as Sung Kang and Devon Aoki in 2 Fast 2 Furious, and the latter with Kane Kosugi in the fun DOA: Dead Or Alive. I really wanted this to be so much better, but unfortunately War just isn't as strong as it should have been and that's a real shame. I should also point out that apart from a change in ratio, this UK DVD release is cut by about 5 minutes in comparison to its US counterpart – although it does have a collection of deleted and extended scenes in the special features to make up for this!

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Overall: Not half as exciting as it should have been, War still manages to pass the time but fails to excite fans of Jet Li and Jason Statham!

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DVD Extras: Audio Commentary with Director Philip Atwell, Audio Commentary with Writers Lee Anthony Smith and Gregory J. Bradley, The Action of War, Gag Reel, Deleted/Extended Scenes, Scoring War