Men of War

Plot synopsis:
Nick Gunar, an ex-soldier, is down and out in Chicago in a typically cold winter. When two men offer him a job on a tropical island, he reluctantly agrees and gathers together a group of soldier friends also down on their luck. They arrive in the Far East and come up against the evil Keefer, who was with Nick in Angola. He now owns the local police force and shows Nick and the others who's boss. Afterwards, Nick and his crew go to the island, which they find is occupied by peaceful natives—natives who the mercenaries are supposed to convince to abandon the island. Nick respects them, but there is friction caused by a few mercenaries who want to kill natives to persuade them to leave, or, alternatively, to get them to divulge where a suspected treasure might be. Nick stops them and finds out the "treasure" they are after is guano (which does have value in sufficient quantities). The two men paying the mercenaries intend to strip mine the island to get it, leaving the natives and their homes as casualties. The group divides up, with half wishing to finish the job for which they were paid, and the other half, led by Nick, wishing to protect the islanders. Nick hands the former group their pay and orders them to leave the island as he refuses to kill the natives to do the job.
Meanwhile, Keefer and the Colonel, who suspect there is money to be made, join the group Nick kicked out. They then storm the island with many new mercenaries, hoping to force off or exterminate Nick, his soldiers, and the natives. Many of the invaders are shot, stabbed, blown up, and worse in the ensuing battle. Though poorly armed, the natives make up for this in trickery and local knowledge. Nick has a bazooka-style weapon (a Carl Gustav), which causes mayhem. After a number of attacks by both sides, many are dead and there is a final showdown between Nick and Keefer; Keefer gains the upper hand in the fist fight and attempts to strangle Nick to death while drowning him. Nick manages to grab a nearby bone and stab Keefer in the neck, then proceeds to drown him. As the natives bury their dead, the few surviving mercenaries leave, but Nick stays behind.

Tags: revenge, violence

Review:
I rented this expecting a stupid but violent Dolph Lundgren direct-to-video action thriller.
In fact, I'd say this is the best direct-to-video action movie ever made, and at the very top of Dolph Lundgren's filmography.
The movie doesn't rely pure action to raise your blood pressure - All the time spent building the relationships and personalities pays off big time when it comes to the showdown.
Anyway, go see it, and keep any eye out for some cool actors in the supporting roles - BD Wong, Catherine Bell of tv show "JAG" fame (playing a hardass mercenary chick no less!), etc.
Most definitely Lundgren's best movie, with lots of action, gorgeous scenery, and an excellent supporting cast..
Rating: *** out of **** I don't generally make it a point to review Dolph Lundgren films, since they're usually steeped deep into mediocrity, but I gave this one a chance based on some fairly high recommendations.
And I have to admit, I'm pleasantly surprised; though not a great movie, Men of War delivers thrilling action amidst a plot that's actually not half-bad by "generic action flick" standards.Lundgren stars as Nick Gunar, an ex-special forces operative who's given a lucrative job by a corporation looking for someone to do their dirty work.
With some reluctance, Gunar agrees to the deal and rounds out the rest of his team with hard-boiled mercenaries (totaling eight in all, including Catherine Bell) looking for a good payday.But upon their first few days on the island, Gunar and a few of his teammates find themselves quite taken with the natives and their way of life, and are unable to bring themselves to complete the mission.
This splits the team in half, with Gunar and his group choosing to defend the island and the rest leaving to join another much larger mercenary group (led by Kevin Tighe and Aussie Trevor Goddard) that's got its eyes set on completing the mission.
No points for guessing this is going to lead to all-out war.The film's premise, though often used time and again in the annals of action cinema, is effective in immediately engaging the viewer.
Plot has often been a tricky complication in Lundgren's movies, as they tend to get in the way of the action or there's simply not enough of a hook in the story to hold one's attention.
Not so in this case, and while the script isn't particularly complex or convoluted, I found myself quite interested in the natives' plight and the way Gunar and his soldiers respond to the situation.It's also to no small degree that I even cared about the characters, and in this regard, even the natives aren't short-sighted, as ample screen time is given to both B.D. Wong and Charlotte Lewis.
He's clearly not a good actor, but he has an undeniably strong presence.The supporting cast immeasurably aids the film, most especially hottie Catherine Bell as one of the ass-kicking mercenaries with a heart of gold.
Also making strong impressions are Tom Wright and Tim Guinee as mercs on Gunar's side and Trevor Goddard as the over-the-top villain.The action scenes are spectacular and thrilling, even if most of it is held off until the climax.
Lundgren doesn't really get to show off his martial arts moves until his mano-a-mano battle with Goddard, but it's a damn good showdown that wraps the action up on an exciting note.Add to that the gorgeous scenery and surprisingly high production values (this certainly has the look and feel of a theatrical release), and I'd have to say Men of War is a winner.
It's not innovative or original cinema, but it is a highly entertaining action flick and that's all I ask from a movie starring Dolph Lundgren..
A troop of commandos-for-hire led by Dolph Lundgren are sent to an island to submit natives.
This action-packed picture concerns upon a bunch of commando-for-hire who is assigned by two businessmen as financial backers to obliterate a little group of natives (B.D. Wong , Charlotte Lewis , among them) at an island of Thailand .
It results to be a graphical depiction of a team of professional mercenaries driven by nothing but quest for power and money , being commanded by Dolph Lundgren in one of the best roles .
Large support cast formed by various actors who subsequently would get successful careers as Thomas Gibson (Criminal minds) , Catherine Bell(JAG) , Don Harvey , Kevin Thige , Trevor Goddard and several others .
a good action movie.
Men of War is a good action movie.
Dolph Lundgren is cool as Nick Gunner, a mercenary hired to force natives to sign over mining rights of the island.
The action sequences are pretty good, especially the fight scene at the end.
All in all, I recommend Men of War to anyone looking for an entertaining action movie..
Firstly the film marks a change of pace for Dolph, here playing an action man with a conscience and although still a muscled killing machine, he has a sensitive side.
The film is old hat in terms of idea, however it's given a good sense of humanity thanks to the work of original scriptwriter, the Oscar winning John Sayles.
Dolph plays a mercenary hired to persuade islanders to sell there land to a mining company and by persuade I mean destruction of the demands aren't met.
Clearly Dolph's years of doing rich peoples dirty work has gotten to him because he stays to fight by the side of the islanders and the few group members with enough conscience to stand by their leader.
This is an old idea but being an action movie, originality isn't high up on the list.
With Tiny Lister, Tim Guinee, Anthony John Denison, Tom Wright and Catherine Bell all good as Dolph's special forces unit.
Dolph Lundgren is surrounded by some strong actors and he also manages to give probably his best performance, understated and effective.Although we have seen far better versions of this film, on a technical level it can't be faulted.
It's beautifully shot in a glorious location (the same place Di Caprio's Beach was filmed.) and it has a decent budget allowing for a good chunk of action.
Overall a solid action movie and with Dolph's latest film being one of his best and involving him leading a military operation, there seems to be a hint as to his speciality.
Go in expecting a bunch of cardboard characters moving from point A to B shooting stuff and you'll be happily entertained, like I was.It's a very predictable "dude goes around recruiting his team, suffers moral crisis, and chooses to oppose his bosses and defend the little people" kind of story.
It's been done a zillion times, even in a throwaway movie like Star Trek: Insurrection.But Dolph Lundgren's got a rocket launcher.
After about a half an hour I realized I was watching a movie that was not only surprisingly well written (I didn't realize then that it was scripted by John Sayles) but was also very well directed and edited.
I'm a film buff, I don't usually go in for dumb action movies, but this one really caught my eye (and that was before I even knew who wrote the thing).
Probably the only Dolph Lundgren movie I can say with pride that I enjoyed..
Men could be very cruel.The people of this island did not deserve what happened to them.We as American's came in and destroyed their homeland.I would have to see this movie again to fully grasp the heartache of the destruction put upon the people of this paradise island.I mean, of course, they were not perfect, but still, they did not deserve what happened to them and my hat goes out to Dolph L.
Action genre icon Dolph Lundgren plays Gunar, a former Special Ops soldier turned mercenary.
The other members of the team remain mercenaries and become determined to complete the mission, leading to the inevitable all out war.The capable direction is by veteran actor Perry Lang ("The Hearse", "Alligator"), who also co- stars as one of the young corporate creeps.
Given that the script is co-written by indie favourite John Sayles, along with Ethan Reiff & Cyrus Voris ("Tales from the Crypt Presents Demon Knight"), one can also expect this to be more well thought out and interesting than the run of the mill action film.
Besides Dolph, Lewis, and Wong, the cast consists of Tony Denison, Tim Guinee, Don Harvey, Tommy 'Tiny' Lister (who, like Goddard, relishes chewing the scenery), Tom Wright, the lovely Catherine Bell (who looks mighty fine and also proves herself adept at kicking ass alongside the guys), Kevin Tighe as Dolphs' mentor, Thomas Gibson, and Aldo Sambrell, long ago co-star in Sergio Leones' "Dollars" trilogy, as a goon named Goldmouth.All in all, this is good, rousing entertainment that genre aficionados will likely savour.Seven out of 10..
"What if they made a really good Dolph Lundgren movie and nobody came?"Well, if they put it out directly to video, ...
This movie continually impressed me with excellent dialogue, good character development, humor, and most of all a story that I actually cared about.
Well, I'll mention it again, because usually that's the last thing I expect to like in a DL movie, but this one was smartly scripted.My favorite character was Po, who was exceptionally well written and nicely played by BD Wong.
If I were a mercenary in SE Asia, this is a lot like how I'd expect people might really talk to me.I can't say this is a great movie; it has its shortcomings.
Really, I'm very impressed by how well this worked.(BTW, lest you get the wrong impression, I actually like Dolph Lundgren, and have enjoyed some of his films, usually almost exclusively for the action.
The guy is awesome, an any movie that starts with Dolph shoving a bad-dude head-first through a limousine window has got to be cool.
Awesome.Dolph plays Nick Gunar, a retired mercenary hired to coerce some islanders into signing away their land to some mining company (an evil mining company, no less).
Nick gets his old back team together, but while on the island, Nick has an epiphany and pledges to defend the island and its people at all costs from evil mercenaries led by the evil Keefer (Trevor Goddard).This is a story we have seen in other movies, but on the hand, most other movies don't have Dolph Lundgren running around in a jungle with a rocket-launcher in one hand and a hand-gun in another hand.
'Men of War' is one of Dolph's best movies - 8/10.
He must have been very unhappy.This isn't about Men of War (I already commented on the movie, under my prior email address, in Feb. 2001) but I just felt like this death deserved some sort of note here.
Good action in this movie combined with some nice on location native scenery and native people.
A mercenary team is recruited by con-artists to convince the natives to move out and let the mines be plundered however half way through the mercenaries have a change of heart and stay and protect the islanders from the new mercenaries sent to fight the battle.
Lundgren actually does pretty well, not just that the movie gets away with his accent by making his character Swedish.
This is pretty much a man's movie with fights,guns,topless women, explosions and lots of shooting.
had the hots for Bell's character Grace and showed his good side when it mattered.All in all, this was a pretty decent action movie that really isn't that predictable.
I always say that a good action movie needs to have a decent story to work.
Dolph Lundgren movies not always seem to remember that.
They aren't bland and uninteresting like in many bad action movies.
It's also interesting that while a direct to video release this movie actually looks and feels like a theatrical release.
It is however a decent action movie with heart.
It has message (anti-war and pro–ecological ) , likable characters , some excitement and overall "Men of war" is a nice movie that might apply even to those who don't like action movies.
When you watch a movie about ex-Special forces guys who are now mercenaries, you know what to expect.
When Dolph Lundgren (Rocky IV, Universal Soldier, The Punisher) is involved, you know that it is going to have lots of good fights.
But there are more that native girls as we have Charlotte Lewis, Selected as one of the "9 Best Bodies For the 1990s" by SHAPE magazine, and Catherine Bell ("Army Wives", "JAG").Trevor Goddard (Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, "JAG") is there to be Mr. Evil; and Kevin Tighe makes a perfect "Colonel." B.D. Wong ("Law & Order: Special Victims Unit") provides the laughs.Just sit back and enjoy..
Dolph Lundgren can act better than Sly. Decent, though prototypical, plot.
Not much character development; may not be such a bad thing with these "actors." Film has horrible video transfer, as with its dreadful sound quality.All in all, for a b-movie, you could do worse in the way of action films.If you like Dolph, give it a spin.
Catherine Bell and Trevor Goddard bring us familiar faces, and of course does Dolph Lundgren.
A surprisingly good actioner in which mercenaries hired to attack a tropical island go native and defend it instead.
Seasoned character actors play most of the important roles, and they make Dolph Lundgren look bad in the lead, but the fine supporting cast and John Sayles's clever but unpretentious script more than make up for this.
However "Men of War" is Dolph's only film which makes a print in my mind.
I think this is a great action movie.
Dolph Lundgren plays Nick Gunar (from Sweden).
This film is very predictable but the action is great, there is quite a bit of humour, the scenery is beautiful, Dolph's acting is good, and his costars are good (except the Australian guy).
Men Of War is an Action-fest starring Dolph Lundgren, He plays Nick Gunnar a Mercenary sent to an island to intimidate the locals.Brilliant Film, let down by that Stupid Cockney accent by the token bad guy (it makes me wanna smash the T.V!!
And, there's a bit of pole dancing, to break up the action...The main villain is Trevor Goddard (as Keefer), who starts his first fight with Lundgren by kissing him.
That could be a cultural thing, but the way Mr. Goddard caresses Lundgren's shoulders after the fight looks like he wants to take it to another level.
Mostly, this is a collection of fights, gunfire, gore and explosions.**** Men of War (9/3/94) Perry Lang ~ Dolph Lundgren, Trevor Goddard, Charlotte Lewis, BD Wong.
Compared to other films that involve a bunch of highly trained misfits shooting the hell out of each other on some exotic location, MEN OF WAR turned out to be slightly better than I expected.
Pretty bad Dolph Lundgren movie..
Men of war is certainly one of dolph`s worst, The action scenes are bad and so the story, There are only a few landscapes that are really beautiful(shot in thailand!) and deserve attention but except that there is not much of a movie here!
Stick with Army of one or even Blackjack for a good action movie starring  Dolph LUndgren!....................................................4/10.
First I would like to say this movies first 45 minuites or so are not very good.
Let me put it to you this way, if this movie didn't have the great action and story that this has this would be a total loss.
Two of the worlds greatest and funniest action actors, Dolph Lundgren and Trevor Goddard, act superbly in this humorous action film, which contains not only great action and funny quotes, but also a message (Unusual in B-films).
In what attempts to be a positive story, Dolph Lundgren leads a group of mercenaries to take over a tropical island that looks a lot like paradise so that the men who hired his team can mine it for...bird droppings.
Actually, the nitrogen gas that exudes from the muck on this island is what they are after.There was only one good thing about this movie -- the island location in which it was filmed was beautiful.
Pretty Good Lundgren Film!.
This was a pretty good Lundgren film, and also an above average war film.
Perry Lang, does a pretty good job here, with realistic looking war scenes, keeping the film at a fast pace, and doing a solid job overall!.
Dolph Lundgren is AMAZING as always, he is excellent in the acting department, was very likable, had good chemistry with Charlotte Lewis, and kicked that ass!
This movie is your typical 90's action movie, it would be better if the cast was better, one of the worst actors to hit movies or TV is Trevor Goddard who is terrible in this movie and is unbelievable in his acting most of the other cast do a good enough job.
That being said, this movie is very much like McBain (1991) in many regards - the female member of the team really brings that comparison into perspective (Catherine Bell does an admirable job and its nice to see a female character getting into the action with the guys and not being another reporter).Of course, Dolph is named Gunar (with one N, apparently).
So his job was done well.This is what you'd call a classic "Assemble-a-team" movie - a common theme in action films perhaps best exemplified by Kill Squad (1982).
MEN OF WAR is a similar combination of the absurd and the effective, although not as good as the earlier movie.
It's pretty much devoid of any good or memorable moments, just some outlandish acting from a cast that includes Trevor Goddard, reaching a new low with his 'Cockney' accent.The extended finale of this film, however, doesn't disappoint.