Men of War dvd movie.|
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List Price: $14.99 Our Price: $13.99 You Save: $1 Features • Anamorphic • Closed-captioned • Color • DVD-Video • NTSC In Theaters : 1994 DVD Release : 14 November, 2000 |
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Men of War description Men of War stars tall, craggy Dolph Lundgren as a down-and-out commando who agrees to do another job because there's nothing else he knows how to do. He assembles a crack team and travels to an isolated Pacific island with orders to secure it for a mysterious business venture. But once there, he discovers an idyllic paradise with peaceful natives who welcome the mercenaries into their village. When Dolph learns what the venture is really about, he decides he's on the wrong side and, with part of his team, fights to defend the island from destruction. The first third of Men of War is drenched in sweaty machismo--the camera constantly lingers over rippling muscles and bruised skin during an endless bar fight. But once on the island, the mercenaries frolic sweetly with native children and the scenery is astoundingly beautiful (and beautifully filmed). A native who speaks English delivers some heavy-handed pacifist speeches. Then, as another team of more ruthless mercenaries arrive, the movie again turns into an ecstasy of gunshots and explosions--only, because of the genuinely charming middle third, there are actually some emotional stakes to the violence. Furthermore, the natives turn out to be not quite as peaceful as they presented themselves, adding some surprising layers to the movie's moral tone (likely due to the hand of co-screenwriter John Sayles, the man responsible for Brother from Another Planet and Lone Star). All in all, better looking and better written than any movie starring Dolph Lundgren has any right to be. --Bret Fetzer |
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| ♥♥♥♥♥ | PARADISE IS BURNING |
| Nick Gunar (Dolph Lundgren) tries to put his mercenary past behind him, but fails because, in the words of his best friend, his heart isn't in anything else. When a pair of unscrupulous yuppies offer him a quick paycheck for what ought to be a walk in the park, the good old days seem to be back. Assembling an elite squad of merc friends, Gunar leads an incursion into a tropical paradise to squeeze the peace-loving natives into signing over the mineral rights to their homeland. But the natives have seen all this before and won't give in, and before they even know it Gunar and his warriors are infected with the island spirit--peace. But Gunar's bosses aren't so easily put off, and when it becomes clear Gunar isn't going to get them what they want, they bring in the big guns, led by Gunar's long-time rival, the sadistic Keefer. A line in the sand is drawn, and paradise explodes.
MEN OF WAR is a little-known gem of the action genre that is certainly one of Dolph Lundgren's two finest films, rivalled only by the much more lighthearted SHOWDOWN IN LITTLE TOKYO. Lundgren's performance as the war-weary Gunar, unable to escape a life of mayhem because it's all he knows how to do, is authoritative. The supporting cast is also strong, with the charismatic Charlotte Lewis as the beguiling Loki, an island girl who offers Gunar a life of more than bloodshed, and Terry Goddard chews the scenery with maniacal glee as the barbaric but formidable Keefer. Some of the film's best lines go to B.D. Wong in his role as Po, an English-speaking islander whose wit and sarcasm are often the story's conscience. The script is furious but focused with a strong moral center around which everything else revolves, and the direction from Perry Lang succeeds in sweeping the viewer up in the well-choreographed havoc. The cinematography is very good with lots of idyllic forestry for our characters to frolic and fight in alike. There are some jumps in logic, but nothing the willful suspension of disbelief can't easily sweep under the rug. All in all an excellent actioner that won't insult the viewer's intelligence, and quite a feather in Lundgren's cap. |
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