Satisfaction

Headlining this all-star, action-adventure are four modern-day Robin Hoods, out to steal from the rich and give to themselves. They parachute into a steamy South American jungle; locate the secluded compound of a notorious Colombian cocaine dealer; get past a veritable army of his sentries; cooly break into his safe and remove five million beautiful dollars; make it through a rain forest hotly pursued by armed guards with attack dogs; survive an encounter with a crazy band of greedy revolutionaries; zigzag through a hail of bullets at a wild airstrip rendezvous to escape in a plane with most of the money intact...without getting themselves killed.

Truth to tell, I doubt much will stay with me from this muddled tale of a group of four friends who parachute (with a Maltese-like pooch!) into fairly dense forest. From their chatting and actions prior to the drop, including the fact that they are purchasing arms of considerable firepower, it dawned on me that these fun-loving city slicks led by James Brolin were actually planning a heist.

The mark: the extremely wealthy James Coburn, who keeps $5 million in his personal vault, and likes to perform as toreador in his own bull ring. Thankfully, dialogue flows fast with attention-grabbing repartee, and some clumsy actions that reflect the level of gullibility and inexperience of these wannabe thieves.

Well, prepare yourself for a bumpy ride requiring heavy suspension of disbelief. You might ask what I found most memorable about HIGH RISK: perhaps the cameo by Quinn as a self-styled "general" guiding a crowd of gypsy-like thieves and assorted criminals and moaning about the rich, or the cameo by Jim Coburn as the tycoon who sees James Brolin and his genial sidekicks steal $5 million from his hacienda-like mansion.

Standard cinematography, repeated shootouts in the middle of lush vegetation and rocky ground, sleazy hispanic gangs, generous gore, sputtering aircraft, plenty of near-impossible stunts.

Doesn't sound like much, does it? Darned right! 6/10.

All you gotta know is that the DC-3 in the film is flown by "Addios Airline" and has a big marijuana leaf painted on the tail. What a cool film

Borgnine's best line "It's not how many bullets you fire - It's what you hit with them that counts"

Don't be surprised if you've never heard of "High Risk." I know few people who have. But if you like adventure and excitement with some humor thrown in then this is your ticket.

James Brolin stars as one of four friends sick and tired of working hard and being paid little. They decide to take a trip to Colombia to steal money from a reputed drug lord. According to plan they'll walk in, get the money, and head back to the states via two airplane pilots they've hired that more resemble Cheech and Chong then they do pilots. Naturally, things don't work out as planned and the chase is on.

The reason you may never have heard of this film is that it was released back in 1981 for a one week only stint. It happened to be the week before another action film opened I'm sure you've heard of - "Raiders of the Lost Ark." This film got lost in the hype.

So go out and find this movie at the local video store (the television version is usually butchered). You won't be disappointed.

I absolutely love this film! Whenever I have theatre nachos (which is not often) I think back to 20 years ago when I fell in love with this forgotten gem at the Meridian Quad theatre in San Jose. That's what I ate during the film. They went together perfectly. I had the original one-sheet poster hanging on my wall for awhile. Many people who saw the poster had no idea this film even existed. If it ever comes out on DVD, I'll purchase it. Anthony Quinn was priceless as the bandit Mariano; and Borgnine's one scene is a classic! I recommend it to anyone looking for a genuine diamond-in-the-rough eighties film! Just terrific!