Cover Up

Dolph Lundgren used to be a Marine. Now he's a journalist and best-selling author on his way to Israel to cover a new group called "Black October.' That doesn't sound cozy, does it? And to see if he can reconcile with his girl friend. But while he's there, he discovers CIA station chief Lou Gossett Jr. Is tracking something odd and gets caught up in something that seemingly random assassins will garrotte him for.

The most impressive thing about this movie is Lundgren's pretty good, if occasionally wavering accent. Most of the time he sounds vaguely Midwestern, but he occasionally falls into a vaguely Southern drawl. Otherwise, its a compendium of thriller-type shots shot in monochromatic light. Gossett tries to do something with his lines, infusing them with some emotion.

Great rainy day film, and a gem from this period.

Not sure about the low ratings -- this is a solid action movie, and more, it's far more intelligent than a lot of similar movies from that time. An interesting, rather complex plot, and it's good and dark, something many of those other films lack.

I really liked the ending as well, not really what one expects from this kind of film and the final shot is quite memorable.

As far as this era of action films go, its an 8. In the bigger picture, still gets a six from me for being above average. Which is saying a lot, because most of these 80's/90's mercenary/military movies are 4's.

I first saw this on a tape of old cheesy movies a friend had made when they were a kid, and was surprised and thoroughly enjoyed it. I remember being quite creeped out during a scene where you see the effects of a deadly nerve gas on people. Check it out.

STAR RATING:*****Unmissable****Very Good***Okay**You Could Go Out For A Meal Instead*Avoid At All Costs

This is an early feature of Dolph Lundgren's,that was ,weirdly enough,made after the likes of The Punisher and Masters of the Universe.It's probably one of his better movies though.There is a complex and intriguing plot to follow that requires you to use your brain (a blessing for a Dolph film),and,although director Manny Coto allows the action to slack a bit,things certainly heat up at the end.There is an unfortunate lack of engaging dialogue for Dolph and the rest of the cast to work with and the ending is the very definition of anti climatic,but generally speaking,and certainly in comparison to a lot of other films of it's ilk,this one's great to pick up for £2.99,take home and enjoy with some crisps and beers.***

'Cover-Up' starts with a slow title sequence meant to build atmosphere, but it's a low budget tactic. Prolong the running time and give you the sense that the following flick is going to be intriguing. It's really not. Ultimately Dolph Lundgren & Lou Gossett Jr reteam after 'The Punisher' for a thriller going thru the motions light on fun.

An attack at a US Naval base in Israel supposedly by the terrorist group "Black October" leaves servicemen dead, but is really a cover for a high grade bio weapon to be stolen. Reporter Mike Anderson (Lungren) then covers the story and when he starts to get too close to the bottom of things attempts are made on his life. Its unclear too what side Jackson (Gossett) the local US official in charge is on.

There's some b-movie charm here ... cliches you would say. Mike is a well known, likable guy. Plus he's an ex marine. He's good friends with Col. Cooper (John Finn) the man in charge of running the US base. He's also the ex lover of a civilian bureaucrat Susan Clifford (Lisa Berkely). He loses a game of pool purposely to gain info and after its shown how he's actually really good at the game. That sort of nonsense.

If you follow the trail, you can figure out who the bad guy is early on. Strictly mediocre, but not like 'Cover-Up' ever tries to be something it ain't. Fans of Lundgren & Gossett don't have much to sink their teeth into. Although the element of watching Dolph try to talk and bribe a hotel desk clerk who's already dead was amusing.

This is a fairly well written and involving thriller. Unfortunately its good early work is slightly let down by either obvious or absurd twists in the final 15 minutes. Before the slightly disappointing ending the film moves along nicely, and the script is developing well, while there aren't too many B-movie cliches, such as the obligatory sex scene, between a recently widowed woman and the central character. This was Dolph Lundgrens first real move away from the action genre and he gives his first decent lead performance, he has more than 3 lines of dialogue as well, but he does fairly well. The film unfortunately looks very cheap but the direction from Manny Coto is functional and well paced, while the action scenes are good, including a trademark Vic Armstrong car chase. ***