Men of War | 
| Actors: Catherine Bell, Ignacio Carreno, Anthony John Denison, Thomas Gibson, Trevor Goddard
Studio: Dimension
Category: DVD
List Price: $14.99
Buy New: $4.81
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Rating:  19 reviews
Sales Rank: 26028
Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dvd, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), Spanish (Subtitled)
Rating: R (Restricted)
Region: 1
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
DVD Layers: 2
DVD Sides: 1
Picture Format: Anamorphic Widescreen
Number Of Discs: 1
Running Time: 103 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.4 x 0.6
MPN: DISD21355D
UPC: 786936141757
EAN: 0786936141757
ASIN: B00004Z4SI
Theatrical Release Date: 1994
Release Date: November 14, 2000
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Amazon.com
Men of War stars tall, craggy Dolph Lundgren as a down-and-out commando who agrees to do another job because there's nothing else he knows how to do. He assembles a crack team and travels to an isolated Pacific island with orders to secure it for a mysterious business venture. But once there, he discovers an idyllic paradise with peaceful natives who welcome the mercenaries into their village. When Dolph learns what the venture is really about, he decides he's on the wrong side and, with part of his team, fights to defend the island from destruction. The first third of Men of War is drenched in sweaty machismo--the camera constantly lingers over rippling muscles and bruised skin during an endless bar fight. But once on the island, the mercenaries frolic sweetly with native children and the scenery is astoundingly beautiful (and beautifully filmed). A native who speaks English delivers some heavy-handed pacifist speeches. Then, as another team of more ruthless mercenaries arrive, the movie again turns into an ecstasy of gunshots and explosions--only, because of the genuinely charming middle third, there are actually some emotional stakes to the violence. Furthermore, the natives turn out to be not quite as peaceful as they presented themselves, adding some surprising layers to the movie's moral tone (likely due to the hand of co-screenwriter John Sayles, the man responsible for Brother from Another Planet and Lone Star). All in all, better looking and better written than any movie starring Dolph Lundgren has any right to be. --Bret Fetzer
Product Description
Studio: Buena Vista Home Video Release Date: 06/01/2004
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| Customer Reviews: Read 14 more reviews...
Honorable Men Nonetheless April 24, 2009
Mike Schorn (APO, AE United States)
Nick Gunar (Lundgren) is an ex-Special Ops soldier who's agreed to lead a mission to an island in the South China Sea, where he's to strong-arm the natives into signing over the rights of their land to a mining corporation. Accompanied by several of his military comrades - including Tom Wright ("Marked for Death"), Anthony Denison ("The Closer"), Tim Guinee ("Impostor"), Don Harvey ("Casualties of War"), Tiny Lister ("Little Nicky"), and Catherine Bell ("J.A.G.") - Lundgren finds it morally difficult to carry out his mission in light of his friendship with an English-speaking inhabitant (B.D. Wong, "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit"), and thus causes his team to split their allegiance between him and a new order led by the psychopathic mercenary Keefer (Trevor Goddard, "Mortal Kombat").
As far as action goes, there's not much to see within the film's first 75 minutes besides a bar fight and a bit of inter-soldier scuffles; its final 25 minutes, however, is a nonstop firefight between the two opposing teams. Few films effectively use the build-up style of action anymore, where dramatic tension is played up to the breaking point until exploding into an all-out guilty pleasure. I am greatly disappointed that director Perry Lang ("Little Vegas") had very limited work within the action genre following "Men of War", because the man really knows how to maximize guns and explosions: the action is comparable to that of "Commando" or "Predator". There are few martial arts encounters to be seen, but the climatic, lengthy fistfight between Nick and Keefer is very satisfying: Trevor Goddard demonstrates his boxing knowledge to extents that were sorely lacking in "Mortal Kombat" and Lundgren proves that he does not need roundhouse kicks to topple an enemy.
Don't expect to find Oscar nominations in store for too many of the cast, but know that just about everybody pulls their dramatic load to create a memorable bunch of characters (with the exception of Anthony Denison and Tim Guinee, whom we rarely see). Kevin Tighe ("Emergency!") rounds off the cast and provides some legitimate dramatic credibility, but then again, Dolph and the others were not really in need of help.
The production, by large, is in good shape. Though I counted at least four instances in which small clips of stock footage had been used, the film's cinematography and special effects are good, despite that the movie was clearly shot in an actual jungle without a 7-11 around the corner. The scenery is beautiful, from ethnic villages to lush rain forests and large underground caves, and plays a large part in describing the scope (quite large) and character of the film.
The cultural conflict aspect has been done before and probably better, but is handled without condescension on either side in "Men of War". If there's one major criticism to be given, it's that even though the movie has produced under the best circumstances for a $6 million picture and has excellent production values, it's still trying to tell a story a bit too big for itself (that and the sex scene that had no business existing). Regardless, it's one of Lundgren's very best - up there with "Dark Angel" or "The Punisher", and just underneath "Showdown in Little Tokyo". Watch "Men of War" expecting to see beautiful island scenery, and leave the rest of your expectations up to chance: this is the best way to experience one of Dolph Lundgren's better movies, despite the fact that it strays somewhat from the typical action hero formula.
 Unknown Classic March 1, 2009
Bret M. Turner (Topeka, KS, USA)
This was a movie I owned on VHS and recently found again on DVD. Most will think "Dolf Lungren? It must be a bad combat film." but it isn't. This is a well thought out story with great characters. BD Wong stars opposite Dolf, and also delivers one of the best performances of his career.
Because it didn't do well in the box office when it first came out, this movie, because of it's star, has been overlooked. It is a great find for movie watchers.
PARADISE IS BURNING December 29, 2006
K. Jump (Corbin, KY United States)
Nick Gunar (Dolph Lundgren) tries to put his mercenary past behind him, but fails because, in the words of his best friend, his heart isn't in anything else. When a pair of unscrupulous yuppies offer him a quick paycheck for what ought to be a walk in the park, the good old days seem to be back. Assembling an elite squad of merc friends, Gunar leads an incursion into a tropical paradise to squeeze the peace-loving natives into signing over the mineral rights to their homeland. But the natives have seen all this before and won't give in, and before they even know it Gunar and his warriors are infected with the island spirit--peace. But Gunar's bosses aren't so easily put off, and when it becomes clear Gunar isn't going to get them what they want, they bring in the big guns, led by Gunar's long-time rival, the sadistic Keefer. A line in the sand is drawn, and paradise explodes.
MEN OF WAR is a little-known gem of the action genre that is certainly one of Dolph Lundgren's two finest films, rivalled only by the much more lighthearted SHOWDOWN IN LITTLE TOKYO. Lundgren's performance as the war-weary Gunar, unable to escape a life of mayhem because it's all he knows how to do, is authoritative. The supporting cast is also strong, with the charismatic Charlotte Lewis as the beguiling Loki, an island girl who offers Gunar a life of more than bloodshed, and Terry Goddard chews the scenery with maniacal glee as the barbaric but formidable Keefer. Some of the film's best lines go to B.D. Wong in his role as Po, an English-speaking islander whose wit and sarcasm are often the story's conscience. The script is furious but focused with a strong moral center around which everything else revolves, and the direction from Perry Lang succeeds in sweeping the viewer up in the well-choreographed havoc. The cinematography is very good with lots of idyllic forestry for our characters to frolic and fight in alike. There are some jumps in logic, but nothing the willful suspension of disbelief can't easily sweep under the rug. All in all an excellent actioner that won't insult the viewer's intelligence, and quite a feather in Lundgren's cap.
Great Movie January 22, 2006
Eugene M. Light (Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, Malaysia)
I just love Thailand!!!
I've been to all the locations the movie was shot at, which gives it that much more appeal and familiarity!
A star gets taken away for the obvious movie mistakes. When will they learn machine guns DO NOT have unlimited rounds, and they are not double action and click multiple times after the rounds have finished.
An M16 expends its 30rd mag in less than 2 secs at full auto - same for the AK-47.
The amount of violence was superb!
Probably Dolph Lundgren's best movie........ October 16, 2004
Ollie (Ireland)
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
Don't have anything bad to say, Dolph Lundgren did himself proud with this one. Great location shots, good directing, good script, good acting and top notch action sequences. Probably the highest production standards a Dolph Lundgren production will ever see again.
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