The Librarians

Thank Zeus for B movies, a realm where the 80's never died. A place where elite do-gooder mercenaries, secret underground death-matches, and cops who play by their own rules all live on. I don't think Strike Force had any cops who played by their own rules, but then it wasn't a cop movie. I'm sure if it was, it would, if you catch my drift. It's that sort of flick.

Anyway, despite being terrible, I couldn't stop watching this movie. William Forsythe (who also has a writing credit for this one) manages to convey more gravity than the movie deserves, and the forgettable plot chugs along at a reasonable pace with such blithe absurdity that you can't look away.

Some guy: "I don't even know your names."

William Forsythe, with utter and complete seriousness: "We're called the Librarians."

I can't explain it. You'll have to see it. I almost fell out of my chair laughing. This inspired a bit of an exchange between my dad and I as we watched.

"We're... the Caterers!" "We're the Beauticians!" "We're called the Veterinarians!"

Anyway, if you find this on cable or you're hard up for something to rent, go ahead and give this a shot. It's dumb, but it's more amusing than it should be.

Boy, this one was quite a chore to sit through. The first and second act move at a snail's pace with drawn-out dialogue / exposition scenes that really don't add up or go anywhere. The camera work is boring, being shot in the typical bland, "flat" look of 90's action films. Only this was made in 2003, so there's little excuse for that. And Burt Reynolds' bizarrely random cameo only added to the incoherence.

Daniel Bernhardt is always awesome, though he's not in the movie much. He does have a cage fight with Matthias Hues at one point, but it's done pretty poorly so there's nothing much to see.

However, the climax is fairly well done for this budget and genre and definitely helped save it from being a complete waste of time.

I'm not going to bother mentioning any of the plot - this is strictly a B movie on its way to obscurity. The shock to me, though, is seeing what has become of some of the actors in this film. Erika Eleniak, never anything you'd call a thespian anyway, seems to have morphed into Anna Nicole Smith (in her Big period). Daniel Bernhardt - I almost shed a tear. He's always been a favorite of mine because of his martial arts prowess, as seen in the Bloodsport series (also B movies but, if you like martial arts, eminently watchable). Here, he is a shell of his former self - sure, he's older, but doing the mercenary thing and not even looking interested ... I just don't get it. Don't these people invest? William Forsythe is another "heavy" that I've always liked, but his last several roles are what you would call "mailing it in". I'm not going to even mention Mr. Reynolds - his gig here amounts to a throwaway, nothing more. The only winner is Andrew Divoff, as usual a creepy, evil, pockmarked villain with a sandpaper voice that can curdle milk - the best kind! This is a movie you watch for laughs. There's nothing else to it.

"Strike Force" AKA "The Librarians" is strictly routine B-movie action fare about a team of mercenaries who are trying to locate a kidnapped girl (the granddaughter of the team leader's best friend) and bring down a powerful and sadistic crime boss operating in Miami. The locations are well-shot and the action scenes get as crazy as the budget will allow, however the good guys are just too outnumbered for the outcome to have much believability, and the fight choreography is nothing to write home about. Andrew Divoff makes a convincingly slimy and hateful villain, while Erika Eleniak is a knockout in more ways than one (I don't want to spoil her best scene, but it involves a barrel full of water). Nice to see Matthias Hues again - but is it just me or did they cut out his final scene? And why is Burt Reynolds - even if he appears in only 1 scene - not credited in either the opening or the closing credits? He shouldn't be ashamed of his involvement - he has appeared in worse films than this! (**)

"Strike Force" or "The Librarians" is a fun action movie that doesn't take itself too seriously. William Forsythe stars as Simon, who is looking for a missing daughter of a wealthy client. He meets up with Sandi (Erika Eleniak) who is also looking for someone-her sister. But there are evil bad guys afoot. The most evil of them all is Marcos Canarious (Andrew Divoff). Marcos likes to kill people. So now, Simon and Sandi have to team up to bring down the villains. The whole cast is great, with Divoff stealing the movie. There are also cameos by Ed Lauter and Burt Reynolds. If you are looking for a good action film, watch this and have a good time.

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