"WAR" aka "Rogue" starring Jet Li and Jason Statham

[doug maverick]

here is the anouncement for jets new movie with mr. transporter himself jason statham:

http://kungfucinema.com/2006/012402.htm

so much for retirement!!!!!!!!!!!!!

sombody must of smacked his arse and told him he couldn't act for beans, and kicking and punching was the only way he was ever gonna make movie's.

i blame morgan freeman for gassing his ass up into thinking he could act. because anybody who stands next to him(morgan) looks like the ****.(i'm just joking but, still have you ever notice every film he's in, the acting skill just jumps up about five points)

[zuiquan1]

jet never "retired" from movies, his statement was misinterpreted and he has since gone on and corrected it.

He states that he is going to stop doing WUSHU movies, you know high flying hard on the body type stuff. He will however do action movies, you know the use wires, and stuntmen, and bad choreography, type stuff:cool:

[doug maverick]

yes i know that i read the article. just putting out there for anyone who hasn't, also i think he wasn't mis-quoted i just think he forgot about hollywood contracts and how iron clad they are.

[zuiquan1]

I personally think jet li(and all martial arts actors) should stay away from hollywood, IMHO they destroy the actors reputation

Hollywood had no idea how to create a good fighting movie, nor do they no what to with one once they get there hands on one(hence all the crappy releases of asan MA movies)

but that leads to the greedy HK directors who sell there work to a shady hollywood studio for money, DONT DO IT, they will destroy your work

[poorboy]

Has anybody seen fearless?

[doug maverick]

i know we have the jet li retirement thread, but lets talk about his post fearless flick, Rogue, it a typical actioner: " my partner got killed, i'm bitter and want revenge", but thats not necesarly a bad thing it's all about how you re-package it(if tarrintino has taught us anything it's that) and re stylize it. the film stars jason statham(transporter), devon aoki(sin city), and jet li(rogue). Jet plays a villian in this film if only to have whats sure to be a good end fight with statham, the plot goes:"An FBI Agent seeks vengeance on a mysterious assassin known as "Rogue" who murdered his partner" see simple and straight off of imdb. the film is directed by philip G. Atwell now anybody who has seen any video from eminem doc dre. 50 cent and the whole shady/afermath/gunit crew, then you know philips work, and i'm sure he'll do a good job. my one prob with the film is a MR. corey yuen as second unit action director,okay before all corey yuen fans get ****sed and turn into wrestling monsters(ala' black mask two, again corey yuen) and try to kill me, lets face it the guys fight scene's are tired same stuff all the time same thing with the hand cuffs, same crap all the time, now back in the day i was a huge C.Y. fan but he's still the same so the action in this film might look something like, the one or transporter(not bad but not good either), we'll have to wait and see. anyway what do ya'll thing of this film...........

[jethro]

I hoe that all these guys have leanred from their past movie experiences. I love Jason Statham but he SUCKED in the one. Corey yuen, more bad than good with jet. Director... well see:rolleyes: And thoughts of jet as the villian, I like him in serious roles, a lot. I have always believed that the villian needs to be BADass but not too many can look tougher then jet, that is something I will look forward to. :D :D

[doug maverick]

jet does make a pretty good bad guy and that could be the deciding point in this film. we'll see

[jethro]

Hey ghost of this sh**, when does Rogue come out? It sounds OK on IMDB I guess but I would really like to know more about this. It has Kane Kosugi in it. Anyone who has seen Bloodheat(Musceheat) knows that this guy can be a star. I have my fingers crossed that him and Jet have a fight scene.

[Silent Assassin]

Check out the trailer for Jet and Jason's new movie "WAR" aka "Rogue"
http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=20385

[GeneChing]

It's still Rogue (http://www.roguethefilm.com/) on Lionsgate's site (http://www.lionsgatefilms.com/index_flash.php).

[doug maverick]

yeah they changed the name to war for whatever reason but its called war now. the story is ehhh... but video directors usually make pretty decent action films(philip G.Atwell who has directed almost every eminem and 50cent video is helming this project)

[PangQuan]

looks like jet mastered the judo katana there...

ill watch it

[Shaolinlueb]

looks fun!

[GeneChing]

From Lionsgate:
WAR (http://lionsgate.com/war/)

[The Willow Sword]

Hey i thought that Jet Li was retired from doing violent movies? Didnt he go all peaceful buddhist or something? I thought that the chin woo movie was the last one?

uh oh guess not. Well it just goes to show you that peaceful buddhists like to cash in as well:rolleyes:
Peace,TWS

[GeneChing]

You should check out our WARLORDS thread (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=46453). :p

[GeneChing]

Check out our new exclusive review, WAR: What is it good for? (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/ezine/article.php?article=726) by Dr. Craig Reid

[doug maverick]

thats all i got to say about this movie.

[jethro]

Yeah Doug that is what I have thought about the 10 or so clips I haev seen. I may give it a rental one day.

[Nebuchadnezzar]

Hey i thought that Jet Li was retired from doing violent movies? Didnt he go all peaceful buddhist or something? I thought that the chin woo movie was the last one?

uh oh guess not. Well it just goes to show you that peaceful buddhists like to cash in as well:rolleyes:
Peace,TWS


No, he said he was not going to do anymore of the type of film like Fearless. No more period pieces or epics. That means there won't be another Wong Fei Hung movie in his future.

[jethro]

He doesn't play Wong Fei Hong in Fearless. And just because he says he won't do any more martial arts epics doesn't mean that it is true.

[Snake77]

I was slightly disappointed with"WAR". Could've been more action,ecspecially with those two as the stars. The "finale" fight scene was lackluster and the ending was a letdown. If you go see it,go to a matinee to save yourself a couple bucks so you dont feel entirely ripped off. I give it 2.5 out of 5.

[Takuan]

Jet Li said it was his last "Martial Arts Epic" which I believe is a loose translation.

He said he wouldn't be doing anymore "Wu Jia" films, which are basically movies dealing strictly in Kung Fu. i.e. with kung fu schools and/or historical persons.

Action movies are different, however misleading the media hype was. If anyone knows the exact term or explanation for 'Wu jia' (may be completely the wrong words XD) Please let me know! ^^

[doug maverick]

I think you meant: guo shu pian from what I read in craig T reid’s war article this sounds more like the movies jet said he would stop doing. But then he’s doing warlords which a remake of a chang cheh film. So whatever. We can go back an forth on this but what does it really matter. Because after I saw war I have to admit jet sucks balls. i’m not wasting my hard earned money on the bum anymore.

[jethro]

In terms of movies wuxia means that people fly around and/or the movie takes place in the martial world. Movies like Iron Monkey are kind of a crossover but the best way to describe wuxia is that it means fantasy.

[Takuan]

Ahhh, thanks ^^, that's kinda shady, I'm surprised he hasn't made a statement in the media to kinda clarify it. Seems like lots of people would try to call him on it.

Oh well! :rolleyes:

As long as he still kicks ass I suppose I don't care XD

[Jimbo]

Wuxia pian are not only referring to Chinese period movies with flying around; it basically means martial knight; I generally refer to wuxia films as "Chinese swordplay" films. Most have a sort of "fairytale" feel to them. John Woo's Last Hurrah for Chivalry is an example of a wuxia pian which combines elements of the kung fu movie (gongfu pian, guoshu pian, also sometimes called wu-da pian). The swordplay films Chu Yuan directed for Shaw Brothers are classic examples of wuxia pian, which were based on wuxia novels by Ku Lung.

If anyone's being shady about it, it's the Western publicists who released an incomplete, misleading translation. I think for Jet Li, it would probably be more trouble than it's worth to try to explain what he really meant. I'd bet most Americans could care less about the nuances of translation, because any movie with Asians that also was swords or fighting is automatically classified as a "martial arts movie."

[mickey]

Greetings,


I saw the film. I appreciated the plot twist. It reminded me of some of the old Shaw Brothers movies.

The swordplay that Jet Li used looked much like the single edge sword technique (miao dao) developed by Yu Cheng Hui.


mickey

[doug maverick]

i hated the plot twist i thought that was the worst part of the movie

[doug maverick]

i hated this movie. the story was retarded, a triad and yakuza gang going to war over over some f ucking gold horses are you kidding me. the story was to outlandish for me to accept, the plot twiat at the end was beyond rediculous the ened period sucked, while i did appreciate the many nods to gangster and kung fu films. and that samurai sword fight was pretty cool actually it was the best fight in the film. in the end this film was just horrible, it still hasn't made back its 20m budget which says alot in a summer where mnost of the films grossed over 100m. makeing this the highest grossing summer of all time. if the films script would've been tweeked a little better i'm sure this film would've been a classic as it does come close. also it needed better casting, i'm so glad that the triad boss's wife had very few lines cause if i had to hear her bad acting through out the movie i would've cracked her over the head with a break. same goes for devon aoki, her acting was just as horrible for a character that actually was pretty cool, but reminded me of zhnag ziyi in rush hour two.all and all wait for the dvd of this crap

[mickey]

Greetings,

I never said I liked the story, just the plot twist. The story was freakin' hilarious. The Golden Horse is the Hong Kong equivalent of the Oscar in real life (aka The Chin Ma). When it comes to American made yakuza films, nothing beats "The Yakuza." I am not saying that The Yakuza was fantastic, I am just saying it has never been surpassed by American filmakers.


mickey

[doug maverick]

twist= worst part of the movie to me. but to each his own. best part was the sword fight.

[GeneChing]

...which is to it's credit.

The best scene was Devon ordering a salad. The rest was disappointing - racial stereotypes, poor action photography, absurd story arc.

[doug maverick]

thats the thing that irated me the most that a black director would make a film filled with racial-absurdly racial stereotypes.

[mickey]

doug maverick,

I paid no attention to who made the film. I stand with you on this point. He should have known better. The question is really how much head did he have to give for the opportunity to direct the film.

mickey

[Jimbo]

Unfortunately, it isn't only white directors/scriptwriters who buy into racial stereotypes, esp. when it comes to stereotyping Asians in American movies.

[doug maverick]

i was just disgusted because it was so blatant. and this was one of the reason's i just couldn't enjoy the film. because he had an oppertunity to make a good movie, and i won;t put all the blame in his hands because u gotta remember producers usually hold lots of power when it comes to action films for some reason. for example antwon fuqua did the replacement killers, which was crap and everyone thought the guy couldn;t direct to save his life blah blah blah. but then he made training day and it was a whole defferent story. so while i'll give Atwell another chance. i just can;t forgive the sh!ttyness of this picture, cause u can actually sit and watch replacement killers. this film u can't. and u can;t even say oh jet did it for the money cause the budget was only 20m(which means they were giving atwell a chance to make a success with such a low budget and he failed). maybe i'm just being harsh cause hollywood has not been able to correctly make a hong kong style action film. only the matrix and maybe the curropter come close.

[Jimbo]

I don't think Hollywood is really capable of making a HK-style action film at this point, or whether even really good films will be coming out of HK much more, either. It all seems kinda dead at this point. I didn't see War, because I was so disgusted with Cradle 2 the Grave, and I was actually embarrassed when I sat through Transporter II, it was so bad. It seems like Hollywood's attempts to do HK-style action has long since reached the over- saturation point. It's all over the place; I even saw an episode of CSI: NY about a business CEO who makes his executives train in martial arts. The investigators were dusting for footprints on the ceiling of a bar(!). It was later revealed it happened during a "Crouching Tiger"-style fight. It's ridiculous.

IMO, Jet Li's American movies aren't worth watching, esp. when they keep sticking him with newby directors, or with rappers (Romeo Must Die, Cradle 2 the Grave). Also, since most of the old-school cinematographers, performers, etc., of the '70s and '80s seem to be aging/retiring/retired, there isn't enough of that creative energy anymore to sustain that style action picture. It's also kinda funny how almost every American movie/TV show about Yakuza or Triad gangsters has them as kung fu/samurai/ninja fighters. In that sense, The Corruptor was the most realistic. Kung fu-fighting gangsters could be pulled off successfully in an '80s HK action film or action/comedy, but it seems silly/stupid in
the West.

[doug maverick]

well some triads still practice kung fu, and most yakuza's know some sort of bujitsu. but yakuza are very busienss oriented i mean the three major yakuza gangs are also large corps some even sit on the board of citibank and bank of america. quiet interesting in fact. as for good kung fu films coming out of HK. there are quite a few that were very good in recent years, sat po lang, flashpoint, dragon tiger gate are all top shelf in terms of kung fu fighting. and now after the succes of flashpoint in china there are sure to be copy cats for this style of action. as for hollywood they just ned to stop using corey yuen no offence to him but his style does not go with this age and what people want to se he hasn't adapted well. yuen woo ping proved he could do it with danny the dog(forgot the other name). i don;t think the martial arts genre has fizzled at all its just getting ready to wake up to the new mellinium and donnie yen is now the keeper of the gate for the new century. as for jet li he hasn't made to many good kung fu films since fist of legend. and i think he was doubled in fearless. cause woo ping use to double lee with hung yan yan(the musketeer) alot back in the early 90's. i think jackie could make a good kung fu film with a viable villian if he puts his ego aside and just make the **** movie. imagine a sammo jackie fights that would be awesome but thats never gonna happen ever. anyway i've said alot anyone else?

[GeneChing]

Hollywood runs on stereotypes. I had a similar issue with Rush Hour 3 in the Chris-eats-mushu-pork-&-Jackie-eats-fried-chicken-to-Elton-John (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showpost.php?p=790078&postcount=14) scene. But I hear ya, doug. I lived in S.F. for a few years, so I know the triad and yakuza districts in the film. I used to eat dim sum in triad district and sushi off nekkid geishas in the yakuza district. OK, just kidding. War wasn't even filmed in S.F. for the most part. I did spend a lot of time in Chinatown and Japantown when I lived there and I never got a chance to eat sushi-off-a-nekkid chick. :( At least Jet was driving the right direction on the bridge, unlike Hoffman in the Graduate (which is celebrating it's 40th now - can you believe it?)

Ultimately my most ****ing criticism of War (beyond horrid fight cinematography) was that, given the 'twist', Jet had the opportunity to really unleash those acting chops of his. It's a very juicy role, when you think about it. Jet's been talking so much about how he wants to act, and here was his chance. But instead, he came off looking as vacant as Britney at the 007 VMAs. It's a shame. When I think of Jackie's double agent role in Police Story 3, he brought so much tension to the role. It was overacted, but it worked. Jet didn't deliver in the martial arts, nor did he deliver in the acting.

So we move on. What's happening with Warlords (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=46453)?

[doug maverick]

warlords is currently in post production right now there are two trailer out: check out trailer one (http://youtube.com/watch?v=txyBNd25JmA)

this trailer alot of the fans say was un-inspiring i thought it wasn't bad.

here is the second trailer (http://youtube.com/watch?v=PYaxtHMgILk)
i don;t think jet is really going to be able to look good in terms of the acting in this due to the fact that he's standing newt to andy lau and takeshi kaneshiro which means this movie will most likely be nominated for best forien picture.

[Jimbo]

I'm not sure how much of an "actor"- actor Jet Li can ever be. Don't get me wrong, he's far more expressive an actor in his own Chinese films (notably OUATIC and Fearless), but most of the time he comes off as a graduate of the Chuck Norris School of Acting, with alumni Keith Vitali and Cynthia Rothrock. Meaning, when not fighting or performing martial arts, his personality comes off as wooden and sometimes even offset from the rest of the film. It's normally up to the rest of the cast to handle the dramatic acting.

Jet Li's been in movies since 1981 (which was actually filmed from 1979-81). That's closing in on 30 years. You would think by now he would have developed more screen charisma as an actor. Other old-school stars, while not necessarily thespians, had such presence to carry non-fight scenes (Gordon Liu, Fu Sheng, Sammo Hung, etc.). I suppose some performers can come off as more natural in front of the camera, while others will always find it more difficult...different personalities, I assume. But overall I like Jet Li. I will be pulling for him whenever/if ever he can make that leap.

[doug maverick]

yeah sammo and jackie a re both terrific non fighting actors as well as donnie yen

[GeneChing]

So it's called Rogue Assassin in New Zealand. I can totally see it as a romance....:rolleyes:


Rogue Assassin (http://www.nzherald.co.nz/topic/story.cfm?c_id=200&objectid=10492435)
4:58AM Thursday February 14, 2008
By Francesca Rudkin
Jet Li gets physical.
Herald rating: * * *
Cast: Jet Li, Jason Statham, Devon Aoki
Director: Phillip G. Atwell
Running time: 104 minutes
Rating: R16 (contains violence & offensive language)
Screening: SkyCity, Hoyts and Berkeley cinemas

Whoever decided to release this action flick starring martial arts expert Jet Li on Valentine's Day has a great sense of humour. If you refuse to be dragged to another romantic comedy, want to avoid the subject of love altogether, then Rogue Assassin is a definitely an option on the day of romance.

However, if you are a martial arts fan, be warned the film is a little light on Hong Kong-style martial arts, although it's still packed with fast-paced action, guns, guns and more guns.

Rogue Assassin, released in the United States with the title War, is set in San Francisco, the base of two rival criminal families, the Japanese Yakuza and Chinese Triad. The long-lasting feud between the families escalates into war when a mysterious and independent assassin called Rogue comes back into action and works to pit each side against the other.

With a personal score to settle, Rogue's intentions are put into jeopardy when the bitter and vengeful FBI agent Jack Crawford, head of the Asian Crime Unit, discovers he's back in San Francisco.

Crawford holds Rogue responsible for the assassination of his FBI partner Tom Wynne and his family, and while the FBI doesn't seem to be able to do anything to control the excessive gang violence taking place, Crawford is at least determined to bring Rogue down.

So, imagine roof-top chases, restaurant shoot-outs, hijackings, excessive violence, and the cops always turning up when it's over.

That's pretty much it. You've got to pay attention at the beginning to work out who's who, and although it doesn't sounds like a particularly convoluted idea, first-time feature director Philip G. Atwell (who has made a name for himself shooting hip-hop music videos) sure makes you wish everyone wore name badges.

You'll also have to deal with Statham's annoying raspy voice and arrogant old school, cool cop routine, but Jet Li is still worth watching although it appears that maybe age is slowing him down just a little. Basically, if you're after an action-packed film that makes quite a mess, then this should do the trick.

[HtownShaolinBum]

I'm not sure how much of an "actor"- actor Jet Li can ever be.

Jet Li's problem when it comes to serious acting is that he plays a much better bad guy than a good guy, but he doesn't like to play villains.

Just watch THE ONE! Which character is more interesting, the sarcastic, evil Jet Li, or the boring, goody-boy Jet Li?

[jethro]

A long long time ago I used to question Jet's acting, but then I saw Once Upon a Time in China.

[doug maverick]

it wasn't until warlords that i believed jet had some acting abillity.