The Dogs of War
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Movie Reviews of The Dogs of War
Movie Review: Timeless
Summary: 5 Stars
I just watched this movie and it was the first time I've seen it in 25 years.
It is just as fresh now as it was then.
Movie Review: Great movie..
Summary: 5 Stars
New DVD, The product is flawless as a result. The shipping was also flawless. Thank you.Movie Review: Violent, Cynical And Well Done
Summary: 4 Stars
"Cry havoc, and let slip the dogs of war," wrote one of those old, white male Eurocentric writers a long time ago, and this movie shows how it can be done. I think it's a solid, fast-paced adventure story with a nice, jaundiced outlook and a first-rate performance by Christopher Walken.
Jamie Shannon (Walken) is a pay-for-play mercenary who has reached the point where he's just seen too much. His private life has disintegrated. His wife has divorced him, although he, in his own way, still loves her. He lives in a worn out New York apartment where he keeps a revolver in the refrigerator and the black and white TV on all the time. He's hired by a big, multinational company to check out Zangora, an African country rich in resources and ruled by a brutal but wily and slightly insane dictator. The question Jamie is asked to answer: Are the conditions ripe enough for a coup to succeed? Jamie goes there, but is caught and beaten within an inch of his life, then deported. On his return, his answer to the company is simple: A coup isn't possible; the army is corrupt and second rate, but they still are loyal to President Kimba. The company then asks Jamie: How about the chances of success for a well-financed, well supplied overthrow led by a first-class group of mercenaries, led by Jamie Shannon? After some angst involving an unsuccessful attempt to reconnect with his ex-wife, Jamie says it could work and he'll do it.
The middle of the movie shows us how to recruit our own group of mercenaries, get arms and money out of one country and into another, and then plan and carry out a meticulous and violent attack against a poorly led and larger army. And it does it with economy and a surprising amount of tension and interest. During recruitment and planning, Jamie finds himself beginning to question the motives of his employer and rediscovering some values of his own. Jamie Shannon is a ruthless and efficient hired gun, but he begins to see that what he has spent his life becoming may not be want he wants, after all. The movie ends with a nice, violent twist. Although satisfying, we're still left uncertain if Jamie will be able to break out of his way of life.
I thought this movie kept things moving very well, even during the obligatory development of Shannon's back story and the time spent establishing his relationship with his ex-wife. Christopher Walken, looking very young, carries off the role with style and feeling. He has already perfected that slightly off-kilter stare, plus he's a fine actor. Tom Berenger plays his buddy, Drew, whom Shannon recruits to be his second in command. Nice jobs are turned in by Hugh Millais, who plays the multi-national corporation's amoral, can-do representative, and by Winston Ntshona as Dr. Okoye, a prisoner Shannon encounters in the Zangora prison after he's caught during his first visit. It's a small part, but the role is a major pivot point for the movie.
On balance, I think this is a very good adventure movie with a cynical edge and a fine Walken performance. The DVD picture looks just fine.
Movie Review: Damn good picture without any easy answers....
Summary: 4 Stars
This is a great film, a film that hasn't dated and a film where you can watch Christopher Walken before he became a rather silly parody of himself. Walken plays a mercenary hired by a conglomorate/corporation to check out a 3rd world African country. The person that hires Walken has ties to investors who want to know how stable the country is, and whether they need to instigate a coup de tat to install a more "friendlier" leader. The corporation decides that a new leader is needed, but Walken and his crew have other things on their minds, leading to an unexpected (and believable) ending.
The best thing about this film is that it just shows the events without restorting to simplistic, "this is bad" tones that mar many Hollywood films. The film has no easy answers and poses no easy questions. It just shows you how coups occur, why they occur, and what happens after they're done. It's a neat little picture, perhaps a little cold, but very realistic, exciting, thought provoking, and it leaves an indelible impression.
Movie Review: Good Entertainment
Summary: 4 Stars
This is a good movie. Walken plays a cold killer but a man with some values. The writer, director, and actors did not try to make the mercenaries more than they were. They were men who enjoyed going to war and killing the bad guys. It is so realistic that it may unsettle some viewers.
Christopher Walken was satisfactorily slim; almost too slim. He seemed to me robust enough for an assassin, but not enough for a special operations person. Despite that, I enjoyed his performance. Very much. He's a good story teller.
I liked it that the actors actually ran when they attacked the compound. They ran and ran. And they breathed like runners breath because they actually ran. When they changed scenes, but in movie time were only a minute or two later, they were still breathing as one would after running. Too many movies don't do that. I've seen movies where a guy runs and runs, and then when he gets where he's running to, he delivers his lines in a rested voice.