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| Images courtesy of MVD Rewind Collection |
MVD Rewind Collection has been putting out a good number of
cult movies ranging from the 1980s to the 1990s with some titles even coming
out on 4K UHD. From Vampire’s Kiss to
Disturbing Behavior and more recently Swamp Thing and the Ghoulies
films on 4K disc, the sublabel of MVD have gathered together everything
from cult horror items to VHS action movie trash ala Sabotage, Kill
Zone and now the 1994 Dolph Lundgren wartime actioner Men of War. While their Rewind Collection line in general
has been entertaining and handsomely packaged replete with a video rental tape
styled slipcover with fake rewind stickers affixed to the front and a mini
poster, in the case of actor turned prolific television director Perry Lang’s
second feature Men of War sadly for all its ensemble action bravado and
scenic Thailand vistas is kind of a tiresome dud. Mercenary Fighters got this kind of military-invasion
turned rebel fighters premise a lot better and more entertainingly.
Swedish ex-Special Ops soldier Nick Gunar (Dolph Lundgren)
rummages about the Chicago winter bumming around when two well dressed men
offer him a job in the South China Sea, hastily agreeing while forming a ragtag
team of soldier peers also struggling to make ends meet. Arriving in the Far East, coming up against
the psychotic police chief and former fellow soldier Keefer (Trevor Goddard),
Nick and his crew of mercenaries are tasked with occupying a peaceful village
of Thai natives in the aim of persuading the residents to evacuate and abandon
their homes to make way for a jade gathering operation. Once he gets involved with the natives including
romantically with a young single mother, Nick’s tune changes and the group
splits into two factions divided by who will stay behind with Nick and the
natives and who will regroup with the military over an impending invasion of
the island.
More or less Mercenary Fighters again with Dolph
Lundgren playing a character closer to his roots than the fourth Rocky iteration
that immortalized him on film, Men of War shot on location in Thailand
in Arriscope anamorphic by Ronn Schmidt and given a reasonable poor man’s Alan
Silvestri Predator score by Gerald Gouriet for all its machismo and
exotic splendor just kind of saunters from one episode to the next. Incredibly the film was co-written by
legendary indie filmmaker John Sayles who himself directed Perry Lang in his
baseball drama Eight Men Out though comparatively there’s a massive
qualitative drop here with little to none of Sayle’s eccentricities or
mysticism on display here. Still, the
film’s got a solid ensemble cast including Jurassic Park actor BD Wong, The
Golden Child actress Charlotte Lewis and former WWF Superstar Tommy ‘Zeus’
Lister and Lundgren holds his own in the piece.
Originally intended for a theatrical run following strong
test screenings, Men of War became the unfortunate victim of the
Weinstein effect of buying a movie, shelving it and then eventually dumping it
on video. Despite alterations to Sayles’
script including the need for more action sequences plugged into it, the film
did secure an international theatrical release including France and
Sweden. While the film itself is of
varying quality, it does nevertheless represent some of Dolph Lundgren’s stronger
work up to that time and had it been given a fair handshake in theaters in the
US it might’ve become more than just another renter you pass by on the Blockbuster
Video store shelves. Somewhere in Men
of War is a decent action thriller with lots of arresting vistas and the
new MVD Rewind Collection blu-ray disc is good technically speaking including a
new introduction by director Perry Lang.
But as it stands, unless you’re inclined to scoop up each and every 90s forgotten
action offering the boutique label has, you’re best bet is to pass on this one.
--Andrew Kotwicki
