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The Art of War

Play trailer Poster for The Art of War R Released Aug 25, 2000 1h 57m Mystery & Thriller Action Play Trailer Watchlist
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16% Tomatometer 80 Reviews 35% Popcornmeter 25,000+ Ratings
He is both agent and weapon - a critical line of defense for the Secretary General of the United Nations. He does not even officially exist. Neil Shaw, an American agent who must uncover an international plot to bring down the United Nations on the eve of an historic summit with China. A mysterious chain of events leads to the murder of the Chinese U.N. Ambassador. When Shaw is accused of the crime, he must go underground -- in effect, vanish from his own life.
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The Art of War

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Critics Consensus

Excessively noisy and overly reliant on genre clichés, The Art of War wastes its star's charisma on a ridiculous, convoluted plot and poorly edited action sequences.

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Critics Reviews

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Emanuel Levy Variety In this pretentiously titled international thriller, which is sloppily directed, Wesley Snipes plays an American agent who gets involved in the emerging relations between China and the Western world, with a shaky U.N. placed right in the middle. Rated: C- Feb 12, 2007 Full Review Globe and Mail Rated: 2/4 Mar 22, 2002 Full Review Michael Thomson BBC.com Rated: 2/5 Apr 17, 2001 Full Review Mike Massie Gone With The Twins Even the mystery of the double and triple-crosses doesn't really matter; it devolves into a bullet-dodging, body-battering, scenery-demolishing collection of brawls. Rated: 3/10 Sep 25, 2020 Full Review Gerry Gallo Hollywood.com Rated: 2/5 Nov 20, 2008 Full Review David Nusair Reel Film Reviews ...[features] several unexpectedly enthralling action sequences... Rated: 2.5/4 Aug 11, 2008 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Steve D Ok action film but not a lot too it. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/06/23 Full Review Audience Member The worst 01 hour: and 57 minutes ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 02/11/23 Full Review Audience Member This movie is confusing and lacks the action it said it give. It sucks big time! Rated 1 out of 5 stars 01/14/23 Full Review Audience Member I find it to be the biggest insult to action films when an action film with a punchy title of "The Art of War" and featuring Wesley Snipes, can be so utterly boring and forgettable. Rated 1 out of 5 stars 02/05/23 Full Review William L At various points excessively stylistically dated, obvious, and poorly constructed, The Art of War falls short of its ambitious scale despite opting for some good set design and practical effects, and picking up a charismatic lead with a proven track record in Snipes. The film is abjectly terrible at creating any sort of empathy for supporting characters, which robs any sort of emotional investment (Biehn just feels straight-up miscast). I do wish Tagawa had a higher profile career, he's got a great voice and stage presence; likewise, always love seeing Hong in a supporting role, the man is an icon based on sheer range and longevity alone. If you want a nostalgia trip based on early-stage internet, colored, spikey hair, and tinted glasses, you may be pleasantly surprised. (2/5) Rated 2 out of 5 stars 09/16/20 Full Review Audience Member The Art of War, a somewhat pretentiously slick and stylish thriller is a nice action film from the first year of the new millennium. Grafting current events onto that old stand-by plot device, the accused innocent man, and adding lots of gratuitously arty cinematography, Duguay has come up with a film that manages to be diverting - provided, of course, you don't think too deeply about the plot. When the film works, it's because of the tight pacing and expertly choreographed action scenes. The "surprise" twists in the plot are nothing of the sort - anyone who doesn't expect the return from the dead of one character and the betrayal by another hasn't seen many of these movies. This is a good Wesley Snipes film, rather forgotten. (A somewhat underrated Wesley Snipes movie). Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/18/23 Full Review Read all reviews
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Movie Info

Synopsis He is both agent and weapon - a critical line of defense for the Secretary General of the United Nations. He does not even officially exist. Neil Shaw, an American agent who must uncover an international plot to bring down the United Nations on the eve of an historic summit with China. A mysterious chain of events leads to the murder of the Chinese U.N. Ambassador. When Shaw is accused of the crime, he must go underground -- in effect, vanish from his own life.
Director
Christian Duguay
Producer
Nicolas Clermont, Oliver Stone
Screenwriter
Wayne Beach, Wayne Beach, Simon Barry
Distributor
Warner Bros. Pictures
Production Co
Warner Bros., Filmline International, Morgan Creek Productions, Franchise Pictures, Quebec Film and Television Tax Credit, Imperial Entertainment, Amen Ra Films
Rating
R (Language|Brief Drug Content|Some Sexuality|Violence)
Genre
Mystery & Thriller, Action
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Aug 25, 2000, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Jul 2, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA)
$30.2M
Runtime
1h 57m
Sound Mix
SDDS, DTS, Surround, Dolby EX, Dolby Digital, Dolby SR
Aspect Ratio
Scope (2.35:1)
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