The Art of War II: Betrayal |  | Director: Josef Rusnak
Actors: Wesley Snipes, Lochlyn Munro, Athena Karkanis, Winston Rekert, Ryan Mcdonald
Studio: Sony Pictures
Category: DVD
List Price: $14.94
Buy Used: $0.06
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Rating:  11 reviews
Sales Rank: 16078
Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
Languages: English (Original Language), Cantonese (Subtitled), Chinese (Subtitled), English (Subtitled), French (Subtitled), Korean (Subtitled), Portuguese (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), French (Dubbed), Portuguese (Dubbed), Spanish (Dubbed)
Rating: R (Restricted)
Region: 99
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Number Of Discs: 1
Running Time: 103 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.4 x 0.7
MPN: COLD25657D
UPC: 043396256576
EAN: 0043396256576
ASIN: B001AK3S4E
Theatrical Release Date: 2008
Release Date: August 12, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Genre: Feature Film-Action/Adventure
Rating: R
Release Date: 12-AUG-2008
Media Type: DVD
Amazon.com
Wesley Snipes makes a far more persuasive action hero than his straight-to-video compatriot Steven Seagal; lean and fluid, Snipes makes you believe he could kick some butt with his martial arts moves. Unfortunately, that's about the only good thing to be said about The Art of War II: Betrayal, in which retired covert agent Neil Shaw (Snipes) gets drawn into an incomprehensible plot involving super-duper bullets, a blackmailed movie star, bribes to congresspeople, and the hitherto unknown daughter of a cross-dressing sensei from Shaw's youth. The movie has many allusions to characters from Shaw's past, none of whom appeared in The Art of War; the only connection between the two films seems to be the main character's name. Even the action scenes are poorly lit and clumsily edited (oddly enough, the only extra on the DVD is a series of "alternate" versions of the fights--most of which are easier to follow and hence more exciting than the versions they used in the movie itself). The movie is named after the tactical guidebook of the ancient Chinese warrior-scholar Sun Tzu; you might think the point would be that the hero makes deft use of Sun Tzu's advice. You would be wrong. What happened to Wesley Snipes? Once or twice he gives a brief flash of the charisma that flourished in Jungle Fever and White Men Can't Jump, but he spends most of the movie looking like he's had his whole face Botoxed. Action movies may have made Snipes a lot of money, but they've drained his charm. --Bret Fetzer
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 11
 It's okay October 16, 2009
Triple L (Atlanta, GA United States)
I'm a Snipes fan so I'm a little biased. I also really enjoyed the first movie and wanted to see this one, and I wanted it to be good. This one is no comparison to the first one and probably doesn't deserve 3 stars, but I'm a fan and the movie does have its moments.
 Lackluster Action Film October 5, 2009
Tsuyoshi (Kyoto, Japan)
"The Art of War II: Betrayal" is a straight-to-DVD film starring Wesley Snipes. I think this is worse than his "The Contractor" and even "The Detonator."
In "The Art of War II: Betrayal" Wesley Snipes plays Neil Shaw, a retired special agent now working for a movie star Garret (Lochlyn Munro) as action consultant. When his martial arts sensei is murdered, Neil is approached by a mysterious woman named Heather (Athena Karkanis) at his funeral, who claims she is a daughter of the dead master, and Neil is responsible for the death of her father.
The film never takes off with its plodding pace and the confusing plot that is unnecessarily twisted. There are a gun-wielding government operative and a corrupt big company leader out to kill a senator. I don't mind the weak storyline and these stock characters provided the film delivers good actions. Sorry, it doesn't. Josef Rusnak (who did a pretty impressive job with the sci-fi thriller "The Thirteenth Floor" starring Gretchen Mol) needs a better action choreographer. The action sequences, shoot-outs and martial arts fighting alike, are lackluster and unexciting, greatly damaged by amateurish editing. Also, the climax is unintentionally funny with cheesy special effects. Don't miss what happens to the villain at the end.
You know, the title of "The Art of War" came from the teaching of Sun Tzu, which are too good for this mess.
absolutely horrible movie February 9, 2009
Jon (Salt Lake City, Utah, USA)
2 out of 5 found this review helpful
I rarely will give a movie only one star unless it contains very offensive material or has something else fundamentally wrong with it. There is nothing terribly offensive about this movie, but it is so terrible that I could not possible give it more than one star.
The movie's soundtrack is comparable to a 70's porn flick, the action was boring, the script was obvious, and the plot was at times completely obvious and at other times completely inscrutable.
Avoid this movie. You'll find that you've only wasted your time without having received any entertainment value. If you want to see Wesley Snipes in a good action movie, take a look at the first of Art of War.
 Bond & Bourne-Style Action from Wesley! December 30, 2008
Big Ron (California, USA)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I was pleasantly surprised by Art of War 2. This movie flew under my radar in the theaters somehow. I didn't even hear about it until now (Dec 2008). For those reasons, I didn't expect much but I'm glad I was wrong. Wesley is a cool character in a role similar to the Bond and Bourne movies. Action is always around the corner with lots of stunts and martial arts. There is a heavy dose of martial arts as it seems everyone he fights knows it and knows it fairly well. I highly recommend Art of War 2 for anyone looking for more Wesley Snipes movies or something along the lines of Bond or Bourne action.
 Not A Good Sequel October 31, 2008
D. Jeter (South Bend, Indiana United States)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
The Art of War II: BetrayalThis one is about half as good as the original which I gave 4 stars. Snipes is as good as he always has been but I think poor writing and direction were where this one fell down. Lots of killing, lots of Snipes bravado, etc but I only purchased it because I hoped that it would be close to the first one which is very good.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 11
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