Men of War

Like many, I'm sure, I expected this to be cheesy junk when it came on cable late one night many years ago. I was probably reading or simply bored so I didn't bother to turn it off. After about a half an hour I realized I was watching a movie that was not only surprisingly well written (I didn't realize then that it was scripted by John Sayles) but was also very well directed and edited. The movie holds up all the way through, with some interesting twists along the way. I'm a film buff, I don't usually go in for dumb action movies, but this one really caught my eye (and that was before I even knew who wrote the thing). Probably the only Dolph Lundgren movie I can say with pride that I enjoyed.

Men of War is a good action movie. Dolph Lundgren is cool as Nick Gunner, a mercenary hired to force natives to sign over mining rights of the island. When he decides to defend it, his employers hire his old enemy to kill him. The action sequences are pretty good, especially the fight scene at the end. And Catherine Bell (The chick from JAG) is pleasant as a women warrior. All in all, I recommend Men of War to anyone looking for an entertaining action movie.

This is a really good story similar to Rambo or even Chuck Norris in Missing in Action being called to do some work in a foreign country. Only this time, he's hired to be the bad guy; they want him to go and nuke a village so they can have the land for mining. After sleeping with Charlotte Lewis (native girl) Nick decides not to nuke the village and to protect the people from the bloodthirsty miners. His group is split in half between those who will join him and those who will leave and fight with the miners against him. Good action in this movie combined with some nice on location native scenery and native people. Very enjoyable. Charlotte Lewis even flashes her wonderful large ripe all natural breasts a few times. Wow!!! She is a looker! Damn!!!

Everything John Sayles does reeks of intelligence one way or another, and this movie tries to imply issues much more important than macho bravadura, "Broken Arrow"-like. I'll leave you to check those issues by yourself, since this wasn't intended to be a philosophy lesson in the first plane (and doesn't fall in Hemingway-esque clichés like "Sniper")but this one also features one of the greatest mug-catalogue since the heyday of Spaghetti-western (Too bas Danny Trejo wasn't on the boat !), including the charismatic English actor from "Mortal Kombat", who really, really shines in this one. I'm as tired of guns-and-explosions movie as the next guy, but this one is really worth a look, if only for its lush photography and elegant direction. Besides, the latest reel, chock-full of adrenaline, is really better than average. I'm glad I saw this one.

Yes, I've been catching up with Dolph Lundgren. Always wondered what he'd been up to all those years, with only on rare occasions having picked up one of his flicks. So second this week, I watched MEN OF WAR. Again nothing too special, but nevertheless a noble and decent enough effort. Most importantly, a "mercenaries hired to do a job"-plot supported by an honest story, with a little heart to it. Compared to other films that involve a bunch of highly trained misfits shooting the hell out of each other on some exotic location, MEN OF WAR turned out to be slightly better than I expected. The strain of events keep things going, though the outcome is - as to be expected - predictable. Nevertheless, the third act knows a satisfying climax, with lots of shooting, things blowing up and people dying.

Perhaps the most interesting name involved with this production, might be writer John Sayles. He previously delivered the screenplays for fine (horror orientated) genre pictures like Joe Dante's PIRANHA and THE HOWLING, and everyone's favorite 80's "killer-croc flick" ALLIGATOR. Apparently he has been working a wide variety of genres ever since, accomplishing great results on a regular basis. I'll be keeping an eye out for any other films with his name attached.