War (2007 film)

Rogue Assassin
Promotional Film Poster
Directed by	Phillip Atwell
Written by	Lee Anthony Smith,Gregory J. Bradley
Screenplay by	Gregory Bradley, Lee Anthony Smith, Gary Whitta
Produced by	Steven Chasman, Jim Thompson, Christopher Petzel
Starring	Jet Li Jason Statham
Cinematography	Pierre Morel
Production company	Lions Gate Films
Release dates	August 24, 2007
Running time	103 Minutes
Country	US
Language	English
Budget	$49 million (£25,000,000)

War is an action/thriller film, directed by Phillip Atwell with Corey Yuen as the martial arts choreographer. The film was released on August 24, 2007 and is rated 'R' for sequences of strong bloody violence, sexuality/nudity and language. The film stars Jet Li and Jason Statham. Its working title was Rogue; it was changed to avoid conflict with another film with the same name. It was re-titled as 'Rogue Assassin' in Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia, Philippines and several European countries.

After his partner Tom Lone (Terry Chen) and his family are killed by the infamous and elusive assassin, Rogue (Jet Li); FBI agent, John Crawford, (Jason Statham) becomes obsessed with revenge as his world unravels into a vortex of guilt and betrayal. Rogue eventually resurfaces to settle a score of his own, igniting a bloody crime war between Asian mob rivals Chang (John Lone) of the Triads and Yakuza boss Shiro (Ryo Ishibashi). When John and Rogue finally come face to face, the ultimate truth of their pasts will be revealed.

Tagline: Vengeance is the ultimate weapon.

Plot

During a shootout against Chinese Triads at a dock warehouse, FBI agents John Crawford (Jason Statham) and Tom Lone (Terry Chen) stumble across the notorious assassin Rogue (Jet Li), a former CIA assassin who now works for the Japanese Yakuza. Rogue ambushes Crawford and is about to execute him when Lone appears and shoots Rogue in the face, causing him to fall into the water and disappear. A few days later, Rogue gets his revenge by going to Lone's house, where he shoots Lone in the cheek, kills Lone's wife and his child in front of him, then kills Lone and burns the house to the ground. Crawford vows revenge on Rogue for the death of his partner.

Three years later, Rogue resurfaces, apparently in the employ of Chinese Triad boss Chang (John Lone). Rogue is assisting Chang against Chang's arch-enemy and Rogue's former employer, the leader of the Japanese Yakuza, Shiro (Ryo Ishibashi). Rogue's task is to recover a pair of antique gold horses, family heirlooms of Chang that were stolen by Shiro many years ago. However, Rogue is secretly setting the Yakuza and the Triads against each other, in order to push the two sides towards all-out war.

Crawford, now the head agent of the FBI's Asia Crime Task Force, is determined to hunt Rogue down and exact revenge for his partner Lone's death. Crawford's pursuit of Rogue has taken a toll on his personal life; he is now separated from his wife, and is so obsessed with his work that he is unable to have a stable family life. Crawford pursues Rogue multiple times in the wake of Rogue's various killing sprees against the Triads and Yakuza, but Rogue always manages to stay one step ahead.

Ultimately, it turns out Rogue has been working for the Yakuza all along, his mission being to gain Chang's trust in order to betray him later. However, Rogue shows reluctance when he is ordered to kill Chang's wife and child as well. Although Rogue does eventually execute Chang, he helps Chang's wife and child escape to safety, and even kills the Yakuza minions sent to help him kill Chang's family.

With Chang dead, Shiro is finally ready to come to America, where he intends to take over Yakuza business operations. However, he is confronted by Crawford and the FBI; Crawford presents Shiro with proof that Rogue has betrayed him and spared Chang's family, but Shiro refuses to assist Crawford in locating Rogue.

Later, Rogue appears to deliver the horses to Shiro personally. Shiro, knowing of Rogue's betrayal, captures Rogue and demands the location of Chang's family. Rogue kills all of Shiro's men, and engages in a sword fight against Shiro himself. Rogue reveals that he is actually FBI agent Tom Lone; after the real Rogue killed Lone's family three years ago, Lone managed to overpower and kill him. Lone then assumed Rogue's identity (aided by their similar facial injuries, and Rogue's known habit of using plastic surgery to disguise himself) in order to get revenge for the death of his family. Rogue/Lone reveals that his actions have all been designed to bring him face-to-face with Shiro, so he could kill the man who ordered the death of his family. Shiro himself reveals that the man responsible is actually Lone's partner John Crawford; Crawford has been working for Shiro all these years, and gave Shiro Lone's identity as an FBI agent as well as his home address. Angered, Rogue disarms and decapitates Shiro.

Rogue then calls Crawford, telling him to meet him at the dock warehouse where it all began three years ago. Crawford goes to the warehouse, where he and Rogue battle each other in an intense hand-to-hand fight. When Rogue reveals his identity as Lone, a devastated Crawford reveals that he only gave Shiro Lone's address because he thought that the Yakuza were only going to beat Lone up to teach him a lesson for shooting Rogue. Crawford says he had no idea Shiro would send Rogue himself to Lone's house to kill him and his family, and asks for forgiveness. Rogue informs Crawford that "Tom is dead, my name is Rogue" and prepares to shoot Crawford. An FBI sniper Crawford brought along as backup appears and prepares to shoot Rogue, but Crawford stops him from firing. Rogue then shoots his former partner in the back and the film ends with him driving.

Cast

• Jet Li - Rogue
• Jason Statham - John Crawford
• Terry Chen - Tom Lone
• John Lone - Chang
• Mathew St. Patrick - Wick
• Sung Kang - Goi
• Luis Guzmán - Benny
• Ryo Ishibashi - Shiro
• Mark Cheng - Wu Ti
• Nadine Velazquez - Maria
• Steph Song - Diane Lone
• Devon Aoki - Kira
• Andrea Roth - Jenny Crawford

External links

• Official page for Rogue Assassin
• War at IMDb
• Rogue Assassin Review and Spoiler
• War at BeenToTheMovies.com (Trailer, Gallery, Preview)