Operation Delta Force 3: Clear Target

Mark Roper was one of Nu Image's golden boy directors in the late 90's. Hot off the high-octane spy romp "Human Timebomb," he was more than an appropriate pick for the second "Delta Force" sequel. His craft is in fine form with "Clear Target", displaying a tighter focus on pace and plot - as thin as it may be. His skill has always been at deploying limited resources to follow the trends of Hollywood action directors. Here, his influences are clearly Michael Bay and John Woo, and he delivers a product worthy of his ambitions.

A harbor shootout kicks the film off nicely, with all the heavy artillery and explosions one watches this kind of film for. Roper shows improvement with keeping things cohesive and accessible, more notably in the next big sequence, which involves a locomotive ambush. Crane shots, dollies, and quick pans are utilized very efficiently and the many dimensions of the layered action are captured with seasoned confidence. The stuntwork is top-notch, with the actors scaling locomotive cars with apparently no safety harnesses, giving the scene raw and perilous danger.

Roper's B-movie tendencies are not completely shed in this stage of his filmography, however. Some drab sets, costumes and props drag down too many scenes and he seems to have trouble coaching the actors. Some do a fine job, most notably Gavin Hood (six or so years before winning an Oscar for directing "Tsotsi"), but plenty of the scenes are cardboard and far off hitting their mark.

This is an enjoyable film if you watch it in the context of an independent actioner. Sure there's abundant stock footage and direct-to -video cheese, but there's also an impressive use of resources and genuinely good film-making. It plays like a comic book, with a simple story tying together sequences of great action. Army/navy buffs will surely get a kick out of it, as will die-hard action fans.

(3 out of 4)

I've lived in the Ontario Province of Canada all of my natural days. I'm not sure whether it's because we have so much snow and rain up here, or just because I enjoy them, but I have seen almost every action film that's available. I'm not a tomboy, I just enjoy action. The first time I saw Jim Fitzpatrick, I knew he had thing for action films too. I'm sure that he enjoys making them as much as we do watching them. It's like being a kid again and going out in the back yard and playing army, or in my case, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. I'm also into martial arts, so I know that mister Fitzpatrick is no Chuck Norris. But, mister Fitzpatrick is a better actor than Chuck Norris is. Please continue to entertain us freezing Canucks up here in the Northern part of the continent. Thanks to you all.

Okay! I decided to lease this movie (the first time I've viewed 2 movies in a year) and I was pleasantly surprised. Usually, movies fall off for me and I lose valid interest. 'Operation Delta Force Clear Target', was as interesting the moment it started, as it was at the end. I see that the movie was made in 1997, but it could pass for today because of the terrorist state we live in. I met a couple Delta Force soldiers when I served our Great Country (God save the Queen) and they were interesting chaps. Talk about focusing on the task at hand...these Gents were aggressive as the year is long. This lead actor (James Fitzpatrick) which was also in the movie I just viewed (US Seals) is uniquely focused. The Lad HAD to be a soldier at one time. Or else most American actors are just plain intense. I give this movie also a ten.

Because I spend most of my time in science lab I look forward to watching films that are filled with action, romance and energy. I don't really care about the production value or the inaccurate flow of story. I have read thousands of novels and I don't care to try to find problems with films like some of these critics. Which is why, I absolutely loved this movie! I found the lead actor to be heroic in nature, believable, and more than anything else, unknown. It sometimes throws me to watch a film with someone that is well known because that more then anything takes me out of the story.

I love seeing a film where I don't know anything about the lead actors, and I have to wonder what they are really like. It's much more compelling to view. Kudos to the film makers. Great job.

In a Delta III's storyline, Skip Lang (Jim Fitzpatrick) is embroiled in a personal agenda to cut off the Columbian Drug Lord 'Salvatore', and get "revenge" for the murder of one of his Delta Team, on the kid's Birthday.

The plot is very good - but I think it overplayed the whole "Skip Lang is a hero", way too much.

The action sequences are very well done too, but it tries too hard to be a suspenseful action-adventure movie by incorporating ideas and themes from several other films and putting them into one box. I thought this was a very good film about the world-wide war on drugs, but, it could have stood to incorporate one strong subplot, not three. Besides that, the acting, the action, and the music were all good.