BACK COVER SYNOPSIS: One wants justice. The other wants revenge. International martial arts sensation JET LI and tough guy JASON STATHAM face-off in this no-holds-barred, ultimate action showdown! After his partner is brutally murdered by the infamous assassin Rogue (Li), FBI Agent Jack Crawford (Statham) vows to find the elusive killer and personally avenge his partner's death. But Crawford's thirst for vengeance jeopardises his professional judgment and as the violence escalates, Crawford finally comes face to face with his enemy, only to discover that nothing about Rogue or his plan is quite what it seems... and he must be prepared for war!

FILM REVIEW: As an action film, "Rogue Assassin" (or as the DVD states in some countries, it's also called "War") doesn't disappoint. It's packed to the hilt with some excellent action sequences, and with two big action stars in Jet Li and Jason Statham delivering them, there's a lot of fun to be had as you watch them do their thing. As a story, this film tries really hard to be a cut above the rest, but director Philip Atwell never rises above the stock standard action template and as a result, the film entertains but with some more finesse and work it could have really knocked you out of the park, especially with its fascinating ending. Jet Li is arguably never better in his role as "Rogue"; Jason Statham is quite cool and tough as FBI agent Crawford, and the supporting cast do a decent, if two-dimensional job with their characters (particularly some of the Asian Triad characters who never really rise above stereotypes). In the end, "Rogue Assassin" plays out like a B-grade action film; good as a DVD rental on a Friday night with the boys but nothing so special that you'd ever miss anything if you don't see it, or have any desire to watch it again once you have.

The opening sequence is very well done. Choosing to begin in the aftermath of a shootout rather than the beginning of one, we find Crawford and his partner having a chat, deciding whether or not to take a look at what's going on behind them. In an amusing line, Crawford says, "okay, as long as we just have a look", and then proceeds to pull out a massive pump action shot gun and gets ready for business. After interfering with the triads, Crawford's partner in a later scene gets brutally murdered by "Rogue", assassin sent by the Triads. Crawford is angered (although Statham's acting ability doesn't seem to extend beyond bending over and breathing heavily when he finds out the news - it's also convenient that he puts on a pair of sunglasses to cover his eyes for that scene), and vows vengeance. The action picks up three years later when Rogue re-surfaces, but this time killing members of the organisation he used to work for. Crawford now sees his chance to get even, but in the process, he gets embroiled in a plot of war between the triads, being puppet mastered by someone he never expected. We also learn that Crawford is not who he appears to be either, and perhaps the most interesting part of this whole story is that the motivations and loyalties of these main characters actually twist and shift throughout the film until you're left wondering exactly who is the good guy and who is the bad guy.

You can really tell they were going for a "Usual Suspects" kind of delivery with this story, especially towards the end when it's revealed who Rogue really is. I definitely started to like the film more in the last fifteen minutes when the story actually presented a more fascinating through line than what it was suggesting up until that point. I do think however that something was missing in the second act to truly build up the idea that nothing was as it seems. Unilke "The Usual Suspects" for example which developed its tricky plot line quite successfully resulting in a "wow" conclusion, the twist ending in this flm seems more tacked on and arbitrary because there wasn't really anything tricky or mysterious in the story line leading up to it to deliver on that point. That's a shame because the script only needed a little bit more work in order for that to happen. Either that or director Atwell was concentrating more on the action sequences and didn't allow the story to develop properly as he was telling it.

The action is first rate; the film plays out like a combination of an 80's action film where you see blood, bones cracking, big hits and big guns, and a Hong Kong martial arts movie. On this point the film succeeds brilliantly, mixing the two styles very well. In today's cinema where these types of action films aren't as prevalent as they used to be, I just had a feeling of nostalgia of the fun you can have watching a film like this. Sure, violence is bad, but when it's done like a cartoon like this is there's a certain unbelievable fun to it all. Sure, some of the bloodier aspects are a bit over the top, with everything from axes to Samurai swords being used (a rather nasty sequence in the end shows one of the triads sawing in to Jet Li's arm while they fight!). Jet Li is top notch as the martial arts assassin and there are plenty of opportunities on show for him to do some spectacular moves. Jason Statham is also good when he only he has to play the tough guy (one scene where he confronts a corrupt Police Captain is very cool). There's also a nice blend between the American and Asian genres in many departments; a nice touch is having all the titles throughout the film appear in Asian typography and then morphing in to English.

"Rogue Assassin" is a fun, entertaining, if unremarkable action film.

TECHNICAL REVIEW: The video transfer is top notch; there are only a few hints of softness in the picture, and some film grain but its not really noticeable or detracting to watching the film. The audio is excellent, particularly in all the action scenes which are clear and sharp; it will give your surround system a really good work out. Overall, an excellent transfer.

EXTRAS REVIEW: Surprisingly, the extras on this disc are of higher quality than the feature itself, and they managed to squeeze them all on to one disc with the feature without a noticeable drop in quality. The bulk of the documentary style extras are encapsulated in ten behind the scenes vignettes, totalling an hour and a half of quality behind the scenes material with cast and crew interviews. I did find it a bit of a stretch though when they tried to compare the story to "The Usual Suspects" in what they were trying to accomplish as this film really doesn't come close to the quality of that film. However, these vignettes are very impressive. There are some deleted scenes, which don't add much, and a gag reel which mostly has Jet Li making funny faces (although the scene where he couldn't start his own car was pretty funny). The other two extras are audio commentaries; one from director Philip G. Atwell and the other from the writers. The director's commentary is dull, and covers much of what Atwell talks about in the vignettes, and there are a lot of gaps of silence, making this a bit of a let down. The writer's commentary on the other hand is fun and informative, with the two writers clearly having a good time watching and talking about the film as you watch it with them. Overall, this is a spectacular collection of extras given the whole package is presented on one DVD with the main feature.

BOTTOM LINE: Rent it.