Operação Delta Force 4: Engano Fatal

I've now seen all five films of the Nu Image studio's "Operation Delta Force" series, and I can say with full confidence that this entry is the absolute worst of the series. It's not just that the movie is badly made, but it makes the unforgivable sin of being BORING. I'm not just talking about the scenes between the action - the action scenes simply lack passion and excitement. You might think no one could screw up, for example, one group of armed men on snowboards chasing another armed group on skis... or a tank chasing a truck on a highway... but director Mark Roper seems absolutely helpless directing these and other action sequences.

The movie also suffers from poor character development (some of the good guys we don't even learn the names of!) plus a really cheap look to every scene. They shot this movie in Bulgaria to save some money, but the movie looks impoverished throughout - making me think the budget must have been VERY VERY low!

If you must watch one of the movies in this series, watch part 3. Although it's only an okay movie, you can see a lot of effort was made in making it, and it's an Oscar winner compared to part 4!

If you are one of those people who loves watching Action Military movies then this would be one to check out. While it is a low budget film, it has some good qualities. One of which is non-stop action. Another thing I liked was the camera shots during the action scenes, they really give it a Special Forces feel to the movie. I did see a couple flaws in the plot but after all it is just a movie (I am talking about the end of the movie, but you need to watch it to see if you get what I'm talking about) Overall a good movie if you like Military Action type movies.

Since I am required to write minimum of 10 lines, and this garbage deserves not only a single one, I'll start with the following: 1. I voted AWFUL for this dreadful so called "movie".

2. Let me explain why these turkeys Mr. David Varod produces are shot mainly in my beautiful homeland, Bulgaria (just in BTW, for the illiterate people around - this country is IN EUROPE, based north to Greece and has absolutely nothing to do with Mexico and Uruguay) Some years ago, NU Image has invaded our country and started making crappy mostly direct-to-video releases. Why here? Because here they pay derisively low fees to the Bulgarian crew and to the Bulgarian actors (most of them distinguished ones) which are, in many ways, better than most of their American colleagues. Personally I am ashamed of that fact. The reason is, of course, the greediness of the Americans involved and their wish to get most, if not all of the profit. Actually it would't be so bad if only the production wasn't so filthy and pale. There hasn't been a good picture shot here for years. At present NU image is being sued here over the very questionably purchasing of our national cinema production centre called Boyana Films. No doubt about it there has been corruption, there has been deceit, there has been a lies in this recent purchase. The Bulgarian cinema is dead. Long live the Bulgarian cinema!

Operation Delta Force 4 is actually way above average in the areas where it most counts for direct-to-video action flicks: Production value, direction (camerawork/editing), and amount of action.

1) It looks good. The Eastern European locations are convincing because, well, it's set in Eastern Europe. The interior sets are well-lit, well-photographed and equally convincing. There are plenty of vehicles used (tanks, buses, trains, helicopters). Uniforms are believable. It seems they skimped a bit on the weaponry though. Why are the Delta members always using AK-47s in this film? Oh well, I guess you can pretend that they're using AKs because it matches the most common weaponry of the region which suits the covert nature of their operations. Yeah, that works for me. Anyway, bottomline is that while you wouldn't mistake it for a big studio picture, the production is miles ahead of most DTV crap.

2) There's one word for Mark Roper's direction here: ENTHUSIASTIC! Most DTV flicks have amateurish or disinterested direction featuring very static shots and compositions that can best be described as utilitarian. However, Roper's work shows some real flair. He tries a variety of angles and dramatic shots, mixes it up with slow-mo, and makes use of a lot of tracking shots. It's not all great, but more often than not it works. And it's all brought together by tight editing that keeps the pace way up. I was really surprised by his work on this film given that his last Operation Delta Force film seemed quite amateurish. He really kicks it up a notch here and gives the film true energy. Again, it still isn't up to the spring-loaded tension and awesome visuals of the best Hollywood action films, but it's way better than most.

3) The action is non-stop! The film is 96 minutes long and close to 60 minutes of it is action! The best is the second big action piece in the film which runs for at least 20 minutes. It goes from a chalet shootout to a ski chase to a city bus attack to a tank battle! Oh, and it's accompanied by an enthusiastic music score that's reminiscent of Hans Zimmer's synthetic score for The Rock.

So what's the downside? Well, the story doesn't make a helluva lot of sense. The villain was clearly intended to be a bit deep and emotionally complex, but they spend so little time building his story up that when his big emotional moments come they don't register much. That's true for the other characters, too. Big emotional scenes come out of nowhere and aren't impactful because they weren't developed enough beforehand. The acting is also uneven. The female lead has two big dramatic scenes. Her acting is laughably bad in one scene and quite convincing in the other. What gives? The same goes for most of the other actors. They're good in some scenes and awful in others. This is a direct-to-video actioner though, so what do you expect? It already delivers big-time where it counts which is rare enough these days. Recommended for hardcore interest fans and those with an interest in military action (though who aren't too big on accuracy). Just remember that it's a DTV movie and I think you'll be impressed.

Side-note: Mark Roper must be a huge fan of "The Rock". It has two actors from that film (John Laughlin, Greg Collins), features a copy-cat score, and has numerous small scenes or shots lifted from The Rock as well (eg, leader pausing to close the eyelids of a fallen soldier). His last Delta Force film was the same way.

Wow! I can honestly say I thoroughly enjoyed this movie, if only for the unintentional laughs that it creates such as the mayhem on the streets of Moscow. For those that need reminding, this is where some of the delta force team leave their machine guns behind (in favour of pistols) before diving head first of a moving tram. However, my personal favourite scene in the movie has to be the ski chase down a mountain where a villain (in bright yellow boiler suit) manages to fall off a skadoo for no reason, much to the delight of Greg Collins, who you may recognise from box office smashes 'Enemy of the State' and 'Bruce Almighty'.

Collins is but one of a number of talents on show, with other rubbish action movie legends, including Joe Lara who, incidentally died in the first Operation delta force movie, playing a villain, only to be resurrected here as the hero. The role had previously been occupied by Collins in 'Operation delta force 3'. Confused? You should be.

Credit must also go to director Mark Roper (give this guy a blockbuster now!) on this, his second comedy masterpiece. I say second, as he was also responsible for the equally comedic 'Operation delta force 3' where he so cleverly used bright pink fireworks in place of explosions and green crash mats for supposedly dead bad guys to fall onto.

'Operation delta force 4' also contains many comedic and acrobatic deaths, (performed by over-enthusiastic extras) that appear to be a Roper trademark.

All in all, this is an excellent comic caper, especially if what you're looking for is awful editing, cheesy acting and an implausible storyline. Buy this movie now!