The Art Of War II: Betrayal (Sony DVD)
Picture:
C Sound: C+ Extras: C- Film: D
The nadir
of Wesley Snipes action works is easily Josef Rusnak’s The Art Of War II: Betrayal (2008), a highly unnecessary sequel to
one of Snipes’ lesser works to begin with that was not that popular enough to
begin with to justify a sequel. Boredly
talking more than fighting or acting, Snipes returns as Agent Neil Shaw,
avenging a mentor and battling an ultraviolent, corrupt group up to more and
more murder.
Unfortunately,
this feels like the kind of processed product that would have killed his career
had he settled for it early on and he constantly looks like he’d rather be
somewhere else. You’ll feel the same
way. This never goes anywhere, the Keith
Shaw/Jason Bourque script drags on and on and this is a total waste of time.
The
anamorphically enhanced 2.35 X 1 image is shockingly soft and lame, with limited
detail, color, depth and constantly unmemorable shots by Neil Cervin, while the
Dolby Digital 5.1 tries to make up for the lack of story with over-sweetened
sound effects and tricky surrounds that are always phony. Trailers, alternate fight scenes and a
digital copy of this mess for PC and portable devices are the only extras.
- Nicholas Sheffo
