Fifty/Fifty

This is one of those movies that grows on you. I watched it when it first came to video and thought Ho-Hum. Then a few years later it was not too bad...till now I enjoy renting it about every 6 months just as a beer and pretzels, watch with my buddies kinda movie.

The action is very good. Not a whole lot of the explosions throwing undamaged bodies into 10 ft somersaults. Unlike other action flicks of this time, the heroes were pretty shot up by movies end.

The whole rebellion idea was fairly well planned out, both times. People you expect to make it (the girl) don't. Even the CIA guys is actually pretty cool at the end.

Watch it for entertainment, not for philosophy.

take one part Commado, two parts Rambo, one part Lethal weapon, and one half teaspoon of Airplane! and you've got Fifty/Fifty. It's yet another one of those eighties b-movie rambo based war movies. Where people in SouthAmerica/Africa/SouthAsia are being ruled by a harsh dictator or some such and our heros come in unite the people defeat said dictator and the movie ends. See McBain, Commando, POW The Escape, Dogs Of War, Rambo, and thousands of others like it at your local video store. These movies rule for the simply fact of low expectations, lots of gun play and explosions and cookie cutter plots and charecters. Thses movies are Americas version of 60's and 70's martial arts films from China and Japan.

I agree that this movie IS a some kind of parody on action flicks. The heroes gunned down numerous troops without any difficulties, yet they always throw out jokes, as if they were not serious doing that. Unfortetunately, IF this was meant to be a parody, it's not funny enough. In the end, it has become a usual heroic-flick where you can blast a whole army, common in the 80s and early 90s.

I've never seen Robert Hays in any real 'tough-guys' movie. From the first I saw his name on credit, I was practically sure...that this is not "Commando" or somethin' like that.

By the way, I have to straighten some things up here. The movie takes place in a fictional SOUTH EAST ASIAN country, not South America or else. In fact, "Tenggara" (or Tengara, as the movie put it) means "South East" in Malay and Indonesian. The soldiers and the natives spoke Malay all through the movie, and the movie was shot in Malaysia. Yeah, I knew it's a relatively forgotten part in the (Hollywood) world (except now there's a movie called "Entrapment"). In real life, there are only three countries using Malay (and its variation, Indonesian) as official language: Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei Darussalaam.

Anyway, worth watching though...if you like some mild jokes. For the rest, don't think.

Or as a viewer put it: leave your brain.

I really liked this movie the first time I saw it, I found it to be funny, intelligent and highly ironic. However, for some reason I have never really enjoyed it since then and I don't know why.

Charles Martin Smith put together a list of cliches and in-jokes relating to action films and strung them together in a somewhat plausible plot. 50/50 is so subtle that it is often difficult to tell if it is an action/comedy or a parody of an action/comedy... I think that this is one of the movie's primary strengths, but also its weakness.

Again, the first time I watched this I thought it was a brilliant satire, but since then I have become less sure about its satirical side (it is clearly a parody, but I am just not sure if it is as brilliant as I first thought). I have met other people who have had a similar reaction to viewing 50/50, people who really liked it on an initial viewing but were not as impressed the second and third time around. I am really not sure what causes this phenomenon, but I advise anyone familiar with the action films of the 70s and 80s to see 50/50 at least once and enjoy it for the fun that it is.

Also, Peter Weller is fantastic anyway and he and Robert Hayes have surprisingly good chemistry on screen.

So, you are with a group of mates(pals, friends, buddies) and you are renting a video. If your group is mostly men then I recommend fifty/fifty. It has all the elements that you would expect from an action/adventure/ comedy. One liners, 'n' all that. But this film is most definitely unique.

If you know films well and you also know a few flashy words and concepts to go with them then you will recognise it as a film that breaks a few of the genres' conventions. If not, well you can use that as an excuse to your girlfriend who says that you watch films with no taste. A right royal Buddy humour filled picture. In other words you will laugh your lungs dry!