Army of One (aka Joshua Tree)
by Vic Armstrong
List Price:
Our Price: $5.23
You Save: $4.75 (48%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $1.92 (click here)
Category: DVD
See more DVD releases
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
DVD Cover Information
Actor: Beau Starr, Dolph Lundgren, Geoffrey Lewis, George Segal, Kristian AlfonsoDirector: Vic Armstrong
Cinematographer: Daniel L. Turrett
Editor: Paul Morton
Producer: Andy Armstrong
Producer: Illana Diamant
Producer: Yoram Barzilai
Writer: Steven Pressfield
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language)
Format: Color, DVD, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 102 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2001-08-14
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: Artisan Entertainment
Movie Reviews of Army of One (aka Joshua Tree)
Movie Review: A Defeated Army, a Tree of Woe
Summary: 2 Stars
They say that this was Dolph Lundgren's finest movie. They say that Lion's Gate re-edited and cut everything from the film's content to its title upons it video release. They say that the film was an action extravaganza and had an impressive musical score. They say it was to Lundgren as "Rambo" was to Stallone and "Terminator" was to Schwarzenegger.
They say a lot of things; I'm not sure how much of it is true, but I know that I wanted to believe that I could find even the shadow of a good movie in "Army of One". Perhaps I did...but a shadow doesn't go a long way.
Wellman Santee (Lundgren) is a former racecar driver currently earning his wage by transporting stolen cars across the desert with his pal Eddie (Ken Foree, "The Devil's Rejects"), but when both his friend and a highway patrol officer are mysteriously murdered, Santee is convincted of the crime and bound for prison. After a daring escape, Santee kidnaps a female police officer (Kristian Alfonso, "Days Of Our Lives") en route to tracking down those who set him up.
Let me start by naming the movie's good points: Santee's attack on Jimmy Shoeshine's (Michael Chan, "The Closer") chop shop is cool - in a one-man-army kind of way - and the Ferrari/Lamborghini race is pretty good. That's it.
Though I have not seen this "original cut" that everyone else is talking about, I'm convinced that the movie must have been re-edited in some way, because few action films can survive on this little actual action. The above-mentioned scenes are pretty much the only adrenaline-pumpers "Army of One" has to offer, with the exception of the comical showdown between Santee and antagonists George Segal ("Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolf?") and Beau Starr ("Due South"), during which Lundgren leaps 200 feet from a hilltop and decides at will when his gunshot wound hurts.
The rest of the movie, uninterrupted by thrills, covers Santee's relationship with Officer Marek...which is about as asinine as these things can get: aside from never having it explained to her why she was kidnapped, Marek falls for Santee by watching him yell at a boy and enduring being chained into bed with him. They eventually get in on underneath a train overpass in the desert while they rub plant juice all over eachother.
Sound strange? Awkward? Forced? Well, that pretty much sums up the whole movie. Potentially intriguing relationships like those between Santee and Eddie's family and the crooks aren't explored at all, even though it's clear that there's more than just a casual connection involved. Some films manage to pull this "just accept it as it is" effectively, but "Army" is not one of them.
Without action or anything other than run-of-the-mill acting, the movie seems to drag on and on. The potentially dramatic setting of the desert becomes dull and monotonous, and whatever symbolism the film held regarding Joshua trees is lost to me. Again, I'm sure that sometime, somewhere, there used to be a good movie in here, but it seems thoroughly lost to time.
Action & Adventure DVD Video
DVD Video
- Action & Adventure
- African American Cinema
- Animation
- Anime & Manga
- Art House & International
- Classics
- Comedy
- Cult Movies
- Documentary
- Drama
- Educational
- Fitness & Yoga
- Gay & Lesbian
- Horror
- Kids & Family
- Military & War
- Music Video & Concerts
- Musicals & Performing Arts
- Mystery & Suspense
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Special Interests
- Sports
- Television
- Westerns
Movies most talked about in Third Degree Brick Wall: The Films Of Dolph Lundgren
Direct ContactRelease date: 2009-06-02; DVD
Best price: $16.49
Price in other shops:
RetrogradeRelease date: 2009-02-24; DVD
Best price: $7.60
Price in other shops:
Diamond DogsSony; Release date: 2008-04-29; DVD
Best price: $3.22
Price in other shops:
Missionary ManSony; Release date: 2008-01-22; DVD
Best price: $4.25
Price in other shops:
The Final InquiryTWENTIETH CENTURY FOX HOME ENT; Release date: 2008-02-19; DVD
Best price: $4.84
Price in other shops:
The Russian SpecialistLUNDGREN,DOLPH; Release date: 2006-02-14; DVD
Best price: $5.48
Price in other shops:
The DefenderUni; Release date: 2005-10-18; DVD
Best price: $1.97
Price in other shops:
![Fat Slags [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.2 Import - Great Britain ] Image](/images/Fat-Slags-NON-USA-FORMAT-PAL-Reg-2-Import-Great-Britain-B001IENR7K-X.jpg)
Fat Slags [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.2 Import - Great Britain ]DVD
Best price: $23.98
Direct ActionRelease date: 2005-06-07; DVD
Best price: $2.94
Price in other shops:
DetentionLions Gate; Release date: 2004-01-13; DVD
Best price: $3.85
Price in other shops:
Similar DVD Movies
Hidden AssassinLUNDGREN,DOLPH; Release date: 2002-09-03; DVD
Best price: $5.91
Price in other shops:
Bridge of DragonsHBO HOME VIDEO; Release date: 1999-11-16; DVD
Best price: $2.25
Price in other shops:
Cover-UpLions Gate; Release date: 2002-06-18; DVD
Best price: $3.00
Price in other shops:
Showdown in Little TokyoWarner Brothers; Release date: 1998-11-10; DVD
Best price: $10.93
The Last WarriorRelease date: 2001-08-21; DVD
Best price: $5.00
Price in other shops:
BlackjackRelease date: 1999-09-14; DVD
Best price: $7.02
Price in other shops:
Red ScorpionRelease date: 2002-12-17; DVD
Best price: $24.35
Men of WarRelease date: 2000-11-14; DVD
Best price: $4.81
Price in other shops:
Silent TriggerRelease date: 2001-12-18; DVD
Best price: $5.25
Price in other shops:
The PunisherRelease date: 1999-04-20; DVD
Best price: $3.88
Price in other shops: