Anne Archer, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Donald Sutherland

The Art of War is the first action movie with a hero who works for the United Nations--the U.N. Covert Operations Unit, to be specific. Who knew there was such a thing? Wesley Snipes plays Shaw...( read more  read more... ), their top operative, who's unafraid of dropping several stories from one ledge of a skyscraper to another. When the Chinese ambassador is assassinated, it threatens the stability of an impending trade agreement that the secretary-general (played by Donald Sutherland) has worked so hard to achieve. Shaw gets arrested for the assassination, but who's really responsible? Is it the wily Chinese capitalist? A seemingly affable FBI agent? Only a lovely U.N. interpreter (Marie Matiko) believes he's innocent, especially when someone tries to knock her off and Shaw is the only person she can turn to... well, you get the idea. The script is neither original nor comprehensible, but that's not why you'd want to watch a movie like The Art of War--it's the action. And the action is pretty good, particularly earlier on when the confusions of the plot don't matter as much. Michael Biehn (The Terminator, The Rock) does a serviceable job as one of Shaw's associates, Anne Archer (Fatal Attraction, Clear and Present Danger) tries to seem complicated as the head of the Covert Operations Unit, and Maury Chaykin (The Mask of Zorro, Devil in a Blue Dress) is dependable as ever as the FBI guy. --Bret Fetzer

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48% liked it

22,831 ratings

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16% liked it

80 critics

R, 117 min.

Directed by: Christian Duguay

Release Date: August 25, 2000

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DVD Release Date: December 26, 2000

Stats: 448 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (448)


  • September 14, 2009
    Wesley Snipes has never been better, one of his best roles in one of his best action films. A stylish, nail-biting, pulse-pounding twist-a minute action-packed thriller. A sensational and adreniline-pumping action-thrill-ride that kick starts the senses and kicks all sorts of ass...( read more). It's sharp, very smart and very entertaining.
  • January 1, 2009
    How this made it to theaters and not direct to video, I'll never know.
  • December 31, 2006
    Good Flick, better than average.
  • December 6, 2006
    Snipes is not bad and Michael Beihn has his moments but this one is largely uninteresting.
  • July 25, 2006
    Underrated and treated unfairly - intresting plot and twists. Action is great!!
  • November 8, 2009
    Good action, bad film.
  • November 7, 2009
    Great action. Very good scenery & camera work. Way too convoluted Needlessly contrived storyline. Oh Well.
  • October 25, 2009
    sad Wesley doesnt act any more
  • September 22, 2009
    Pretty awesome, similiar to US Marshalls. The UN SUCKS! The US needs to withdraw funding for it. What a waste.
  • August 24, 2009
    Wesley can do no wrong...

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The Art of War Trivia


  • Who is the famous actor that played in Money Train, Demolition Man and The Art of War?  Answer »
  • In 'The Art of War' Wesley Snipes plays a secret agent for which organisation?  Answer »
  • Who connects : Zig Zag, The Art Of War, Passenger 57, Play It To The Bone , down In The Delta, Blade, The Fan ?  Answer »
  • In Passenger 57, John Cutter was reading a book prior to the aircraft taking off. It was also a book that he later starred in the movie version of, what is it?  Answer »

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