Mainly because Capella is a Deadpan Snarker and Shaw is a good guy.
Friendly Enemy: Every time Capella and Shaw cross paths, their tones are rather pleasant as opposed to one of an agent and a man wanted for an international incident.
At the end of the movie, Capella helps fake Shaw's death so he can go off-the-grid with Julia in France. When they drive off, Capella climbs out of the wreckage and unbuttons his shirt to reveal a bulletproof vest.
Faking the Dead: When the Triads spring Shaw to frame him by disabling and flipping the police van, they shoot a prone Capella (whose eyes then close) to make sure he's dead.
3.) Then Chan gets Killed Off for Real, seconds later, by the assassin he hired: Shaw's former teammate, Bly. When Shaw corners him, and removes the bandage, there wasn't a wound. The only reason Chan was shot, was to make it appear they were both being targeted. But it's later revealed that, 1.) Chan wasn't the actual target, it was Chinese ambassador, Chin Xi Wu. The film first appears to play this straight, by having David Chan arrange a fake assassination attempt on himself, at a UN summit, during which he takes a bullet in his arm. Or Is It?: Shaw fakes his death and escapes to France, only to have his picture taken as he walks off arm-in-arm with Julia, by the same man who took the blackmail photos earlier. It was hidden behind a mirror in the apartment of the one comrade who didn't betray him.
Emergency Stash: Neil Shaw accessed an emergency stash of weapons and tools.
Instead he handcuffs her to the steering wheel, grabs a crate of groceries which are being unloaded from a truck, and walks in that way.
Delivery Guy Infiltration: There's a Bait-and-Switch when Wesley Snipes appears to be using Marie Matiko's character to infiltrate a Triad brothel, which is hidden behind a Front Organisation of a restaurant.
Cool Guns: Shaw's Glock 17 with a custom rectangular suppressor, as well as Bly's suppressed Beretta 92D DAO pistol.
There's an attempted handwave briefly by the villains about clearing the building with a security drill, but neither that nor the patrol are seen. building is apparently manned by one security guard.
#WATCH THE ART OF WAR 2 MOVIE#
Call-Back: Shaw's chase of David Chan's assassin takes the exact same path as the one earlier in the movie when he was chasing Ambassador Wu's assassin, complete with flashbacks.
Bullet Time: The climactic shootout slows down for a moment to show a bullet whizzing just by Shaw's knee.
Backwards-Firing Gun: An improvised version occurs during a Gun Struggle, with the protagonist jamming the barrel of The Dragon's pistol against a marble floor and forcing him to fire, causing part of the slide to fly back into his face from the confined gunshot.
Assassins Are Always Betrayed: Shaw is an assassin/covert agent for the UN, who has to uncover an international conspiracy after being set up by his employer and his teammate.
Alone with the Psycho: Julia is trapped at the end inside the UN Building, first alone with Eleanor Hooks, who lets her walk out, only to be stalked by Bly.
All Part of the Show: The guests at David Chan's Y2K rooftop bash think Shaw fighting Chan's henchman is part of the festivities and get excited when a body camera is activated to be shown on the big screen during the fisticuffs.
It was followed by two Direct to Video sequels, the last of which did not feature Snipes. Neil Shaw (Snipes) is a covert operative assigned to the United Nations, who is apparently framed for a high-profile assassination by his employers. The Art of War is a 2000 action film directed by Christian Duguay, starring Wesley Snipes, Anne Archer, Michael Biehn, and Donald Sutherland.