MEN OF WAR: What Were You Expecting?

MEN OF WAR (Blu-ray) 

1994 / 103 min

From MVD Rewind Collection

Review by Mr. Bonnie, the Bonesnapper😽

A common thread among movies boasting Dolph Lundgren’s name above the title is that our expectations are automatically lowered. This is especially true of all those direct-to-video action flicks he started cranking out after Hollywood realized he was never gonna be another Stallone (maybe not even a Van Damme). 

So when one of those films actually exceeds those expectations, it’s a nice surprise. And it has happened on occasion. 2013’s Battle of the Damned was better (and funnier) than it had a right to be, as was the blood-soaked Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning, a guilty pleasure if there ever was one. Somewhat belatedly - having never seen it until now - I’d add 1994’s Men of War to that short list.

The story is nearly as generic as its title, a virtual checklist of characters and tropes we’ve seen in bigger (and generally better) action movies. Beefy protagonist with a cool name? Check. Beefy protagonist is a retired, disillusioned mercenary? Check. Beefy protagonist reluctantly agrees to one more mission? Check. Beefy protagonist reassembles his eclectic old team of badasses? Check. Team of badasses engages in a pre-mission barroom brawl? Check. Sadistic, bug-eyed antagonist? Check. Sadistic, bug-eyed antagonist shares a dark past with beefy protagonist? Check. You get the idea.

For the most part, the story is standard-issue. Nick Gunar (Lundgren) and his team are hired to chase a village of natives off their island to make way for a corporation’s plan to mine its treasures. But in a plot turn that reflects shades of The Magnificent Seven (and therefore Seven Samurai), Nick has a change-of-heart. Following his tryst a gorgeous native girl (Gratuitous nudity? Check.), he chooses to defend the natives from another batch of hired guns led by sweaty, snarling bag of hate, Keefer (Trevor Goddard), who strips his shirt off in his very first scene and never finds it again.

Dolph and co-star.

On paper, Men of War reads like countless other 90s-era boomfests fighting for space on Blockbuster shelves, and often plays like one, too. However, it’s well-assembled and fast paced, with some exciting bouts of violent action and a surprising amount of intentional humor. And considering the rigid narrative parameters of the genre, the film even manages to throw a few curveballs, such as half of Nick’s team abandoning the mission to join the bad guys, or more amusingly, the actual nature of the “treasure” everyone’s fighting over.

Overall, the characters are familiar but fairly engaging, performed by a solid cast of faces we’ve seen before (even if we don’t recall all their names). While Lundgren certainly doesn’t leave is comfort zone, he’s a better second-tier action hero than he’s often given credit for (better than Van Damme, anyway). And I’d be remiss if I didn’t single-out Goddard as a particular highlight. He attacks his role with hyper-caffeinated zeal, perpetually looking like his nuts are attached to jumper cables. Not exactly subtle, but pretty damn fun to watch.  

Believe it or not, none other than John Sayles originally conceived the film (and still shares credit for the screenplay), which was then significantly reworked to showcase Lundgren’s beefy brand of badassery. As such, Men of War is far from a forgotten masterpiece, but it delivers more bang for the buck than one might expect from a budget-conscious action flick. For fans of this sort of thing, this Blu-ray is an enjoyable blast from the past with solid technical specs and a smattering of bonus features.

EXTRA KIBBLES

OPTIONAL INTRODUCTION - By director Perry Lang.

FEATURETTE - An Unsafe Place: Making Men of War

RAW FOOTAGE/DELETED SCENES

PHOTO GALLERY

TRAILER