Wesley Snipes’ ‘Art of War 2′ on DVD

Proving that getting busted for tax evasion and sentenced to a three-year prison term cannot keep the man down, action star Wesley Snipes is cruising right along with his film career. While out on bail and appealing his conviction, Snipes has finished filming Andrew Goth’s gunslinging zombie flick GALLOWWALKER, is rumored to be filming Antoine Fugua’s police drama BROOKYN’S FINEST and is set to star in Chris Nahon’s CHASING THE DRAGON. To top it off, his latest film, THE ART OF WAR 2: BETRAYAL, is premiering on DVD August 12th.

ART OF WAR 2 is the sequel to Snipes’ 2000 police thriller and his last non-BLADE film to get theatrical distribution. Budgeted at $40 million, THE ART OF WAR was savaged by critics (currently 16% on the Tomatometer) and performed only modestly at the box office with a $10 million opening weekend. It’s somewhat of a surprise that Snipes would revisit the role but given his relatively greater success with the BLADE franchise, he may have been hoping to always bet on a franchise and come out a winner.

The sequel returns Snipes to the role of Neil Shaw, now a former covert operative for the United Nations who is called out of retirement in the midst of a plot to assassinate several leading Senators. He finds himself being blamed for the latest killing.

As mainstream fare, something the original ART OF WAR tried and failed to pass itself off as, the sequel no doubt falls short. BOURNE INDENTITY this is not. Yet action from the trailer and preview clip below look respectable by American B-movie standards and I must admit I’m still interested in seeing what Snipes can do. He fills a necessary niche. We need bankable black action stars who can do screen fighting. There are other talented guys out there like Michael Jai White but none of them have graduated to leading man status the way that Snipes has.

THE ART OF WAR 2: BETRAYAL – Trailer

THE ART OF WAR 2: BETRAYAL – Gas Station Scene

THE ART OF WAR 2: BETRAYAL arrives on DVD in the U.S. on August 12th courtesy of Sony Pictures.