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redfiona99This is the first of two "100 Great Scenes In Not So Great Films" that are slightly out-of-format. You will see why shortly.
There are spoilers for the entire film throughout this one, because it's impossible to avoid them when talking about the end of it. There are also spoilers for Yojimbo for thematic reasons.
Case for the Prosecution:
War is a rather dour Yojimbo rehash. As is the way of these things, bad things happen to good people, worse things happen to bad people. It turns out it's actually difficult to do Yojimbo well.
The scene itself:
Cheating because it's several scenes.
While Rogue (Jet Li) is busily Yojimbo-ing, we also follow Crawford (Jason Statham), partner of an FBI agent that Rogue killed, desperately hunting down Rogue, because he feels tremendous guilt because he is alive and his partner, Tom Lone (Terry Chen) isn't. And it ruins him, his life, his marriage, his career. It's an all-consuming obsession.
About half the film is following him, which is interesting for a Yojimbo-variant. By the way, and this idea goes free to any Hollywood producers reading, I would love to see a Yojimbo rehash done entirely from the viewpoint of one of the mooks on either side. Like, they only know there's this new guy in town and never see the other half of it, and the slow realisation of what's happening.
But that is not what happens in the film, because Crawford belongs to a third party, the law enforcement officials who have to tidy up after the clashes that follow in Rogue's wake.
The film falls into a pattern of Rogue sneaks, Crawford nearly catches him, Rogue sneaks some more.
Then, towards the last 15-20 minutes, the film pulls together the disparate parts of the plot. Why is Rogue so determined to end both gangs in the city? Why is he, a well-known international master assassin and man of mystery with no conscience, determined to save the wife of one of the gang leaders? If he hates them, why doesn't he just kill them all quickly? Why the sneaking?
All the while, Crawford gets closer and closer to catching him.
Rogue is sneaking because he wants information, information he won't be able to get if they're all dead. Rogue wants to know how the gangs got Tom Lone's address.
Because he is Tom Lone, who somehow killed Rogue and has taken his identity to get his revenge.
As the two gangs are wiped out, he gets his information.
Crawford sold him out, because he'd shot Rogue and Crawford never got close to managing that. But Crawford hadn't expected him to be killed (displaying unlikely naivety but ...) and has been trying to make up for it ever since, which leads to him dying when he protects Rogue-Lone from a police sniper.
Why the scene is so good:
In what's getting to be a theme, Jason Statham can act, he's just rarely given the opportunity to. Or given character stuff to do beyond the occasional moment. In this one, it's that moment where he recognises who Rogue *is*. He does a fantastic shock and guilt.
While the audience don't much care by this point, this film being a prime case of "everyone in this film is so unpleasant that the audience is alienated", the twist does make sense, both in and of itself, and it helps illuminate what went before it. Why Crawford was so guilt-ridden, why Rogue was suddenly not himself, and his general attempts to keep one of the villain's wife and child alive.
Twist works, rest of the film doesn't.
There are spoilers for the entire film throughout this one, because it's impossible to avoid them when talking about the end of it. There are also spoilers for Yojimbo for thematic reasons.
Case for the Prosecution:
War is a rather dour Yojimbo rehash. As is the way of these things, bad things happen to good people, worse things happen to bad people. It turns out it's actually difficult to do Yojimbo well.
The scene itself:
Cheating because it's several scenes.
While Rogue (Jet Li) is busily Yojimbo-ing, we also follow Crawford (Jason Statham), partner of an FBI agent that Rogue killed, desperately hunting down Rogue, because he feels tremendous guilt because he is alive and his partner, Tom Lone (Terry Chen) isn't. And it ruins him, his life, his marriage, his career. It's an all-consuming obsession.
About half the film is following him, which is interesting for a Yojimbo-variant. By the way, and this idea goes free to any Hollywood producers reading, I would love to see a Yojimbo rehash done entirely from the viewpoint of one of the mooks on either side. Like, they only know there's this new guy in town and never see the other half of it, and the slow realisation of what's happening.
But that is not what happens in the film, because Crawford belongs to a third party, the law enforcement officials who have to tidy up after the clashes that follow in Rogue's wake.
The film falls into a pattern of Rogue sneaks, Crawford nearly catches him, Rogue sneaks some more.
Then, towards the last 15-20 minutes, the film pulls together the disparate parts of the plot. Why is Rogue so determined to end both gangs in the city? Why is he, a well-known international master assassin and man of mystery with no conscience, determined to save the wife of one of the gang leaders? If he hates them, why doesn't he just kill them all quickly? Why the sneaking?
All the while, Crawford gets closer and closer to catching him.
Rogue is sneaking because he wants information, information he won't be able to get if they're all dead. Rogue wants to know how the gangs got Tom Lone's address.
Because he is Tom Lone, who somehow killed Rogue and has taken his identity to get his revenge.
As the two gangs are wiped out, he gets his information.
Crawford sold him out, because he'd shot Rogue and Crawford never got close to managing that. But Crawford hadn't expected him to be killed (displaying unlikely naivety but ...) and has been trying to make up for it ever since, which leads to him dying when he protects Rogue-Lone from a police sniper.
Why the scene is so good:
In what's getting to be a theme, Jason Statham can act, he's just rarely given the opportunity to. Or given character stuff to do beyond the occasional moment. In this one, it's that moment where he recognises who Rogue *is*. He does a fantastic shock and guilt.
While the audience don't much care by this point, this film being a prime case of "everyone in this film is so unpleasant that the audience is alienated", the twist does make sense, both in and of itself, and it helps illuminate what went before it. Why Crawford was so guilt-ridden, why Rogue was suddenly not himself, and his general attempts to keep one of the villain's wife and child alive.
Twist works, rest of the film doesn't.
