The Art of War

Wesley Snipes seems hell-bent on becoming one of the kings of the action film, with such recent films to his credit as Murder at 1600, U.S. Marshals, Blade, and now, The Art of War, in which he stars and also executive produced. And if all it takes is some stylish chase sequences and an otherwise routine (and sometimes puzzling) script, Snipes' career plan seems to be solidly on course. The Art of War features Snipes as Neil Shaw, a United Nations covert agent whose work is so secret that the man and his missions do not officially exist. His supervisor Hooks is played by Anne Archer, whom it is nice to see in a role other than that of the suffering wife. Hooks dispatches Shaw on a counter-intelligence mission that is meant to protect a Chinese trade agreement that the secretary general (Sutherland) has labored to put together. Covert operations at the U.N.: Who knew? Exactly what the threat is to this trade agreement, or who the enemies represent, or why human-rights issues are never a topic of concern are matters that never come up in this movie. The plot moves along rather choppily, as it cuts between ill-defined elements and characters. The film's dialogue is minimal, and although that may be detrimental to the plot development it serves to underscore Snipes' strong camera presence and magnetic appeal. Despite the stylishness of the camerawork, the display really only fuels the movie during a few chase sequences. Otherwise, the fancy visuals come across as an affectation -- like the way rain always seems to dramatically fall during climactic moments. (There's even the sound of a thunderstorm playing throughout the closing credits along with local rapper Sabado Gigante's “Art of Good Over Demonics.”) And even though the movie has a wide number of characters, we learn little about any of them and come to feel nothing in the end for these individuals. The Art of War must ultimately be chalked up as a strategic defeat.