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31 out of 40 people found the following review useful:
Not for children, 1 April 2004

Author: nonconformist from Texas

That is, not for those with child like tastes. If you require non-stop action ... move along. The characters are set up nicely and Walken is just too cool, I think it's his best performance. Most of his fans don't know about this movie but it's a gem. There are a few scenes I would have left on the cutting floor but they can be overlooked. There's a scene with his doctor that is worth watching the whole movie over. But there's plenty more. There's good dialog, nice scenery, some action and some characters you actually care about. This is not an assault on your senses; you will have to pay attention to enjoy it. But it will be worth your time. If you are a fan of Christopher Walken, then it will be well worth your time.

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23 out of 28 people found the following review useful:
Quite interesting…, 20 June 2008

Author: ironside (robertfrangie@hotmail.com) from Mexico

Shannon (Christopher Walken) is a mercenary war who accepted for the sum of 15,000 dollars to fly to a fictional country in West Africa on a survey mission to procure military information concerning the stability of a dictator's regime, his position strength, and if there is any chance for a coup?

Posing as an American naturalist—especially in native birds—Shannon landed in Zangaro and gathered all the facts he needed but after suffering a brutal beating from the guards for taking pictures of one of the mistresses of the dictator's in front of his compound…

When he's offered a large amount of money to gather a well-equipped mercenary force and go back to Zangaro and lead a military takeover, he reluctantly assents…

The assault has authority, power and unexpected... consequences. So don't miss it!

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21 out of 28 people found the following review useful:
Existential mercenaries go to war for war's sake. One of best of breed., 13 November 2005

Author: Albarino from United States

Lean, pared down to action, efficiently told story of a mercenary band with a code of honor worthy of Hemingway's life maxim "grace under pressure." Walken's performance is truly riveting, simply acting the truth without embellishment, this is professional soldier whose purpose --- loyalty to his fellow soldiers and dedication to his task --- is clean and spare: get in, win, get out, come home has been rarely topped in movies. A modern day samurai with fatalistic existential details all pass with utter credibility and uncluttered and unremarked on. Chillingly well told. Once it grips you, you will not be released until the end credits. Cuts to the bone. Jack Cardiff's cinematography is a textbook of low budget, maximum effect visuals. Walken seems skinned by combat; you never doubt this is a peak experience for him, there are no alternatives.

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17 out of 24 people found the following review useful:
Perhaps A Difficult Novel To Adapt For Cinema, 25 January 2005

Author: Theo Robertson from Isle Of Bute, Scotland

The great thing about reading a Fredirick Forsyth novel is that you're educated while being entertained . He gives you facts and details on everything from modern jet fighters to Ukrainian history . The problem with this though is that the info tend to hold up the narrative which makes a Forsyth novel difficult to successfully translate to screen and to be honest the original THE DOGS OF WAR novel isn't really a book that will appeal to a cinema goer who's into no brain action shoot them ups . I can forgive this since I know what to expect from a Forsyth story but would Mr action fan ? I can just imagine a disappointed Arnie/Bruce/Sly fan slagging the movie off for having only two battle scenes , one at the start of the movie and one at the end , so let me point out that if you're expecting to see DIE HARD IN AFRICA it's maybe not you're kind of movie

If there's a problem with the movie it's mainly down to the structure of the novel with much of the running time taken up with planning the coup , getting the equipment , hiring the boat etc . I also noticed the dialogue was a bit iffy " Which one of your men do I kill to make way for mine ? " . Things like structure and dialogue don't matter too much on the written page but tend to leap out at you on the silver screen , but as many of the commentators on this page have pointed out it's an action film/political thriller with a brain . It's perhaps not as enjoyable as say THE DARK OF THE SUN or THE WILD GEESE but there's certainly entertainment to be had trying to spot the actor before they were a well known face

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11 out of 14 people found the following review useful:
Solid tale of murky financial enterprise and it's violent muscle, 11 June 2006

Author: garyjpurcell-1 from United Kingdom

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

Frederick Forsyth's novels always lay firm ground for a screenplay adaption and next to Fred Zinneman's 1973 Day Of The Jackal this is the finest of the batch. It is not by any means perfect film-making as much of the sequences move along in a very by-the-numbers fashion, though never clumsily. Director Irvin seems more adept at the handling of his cast. Walken is solid as the coldly pragmatic soldier-for-hire, one of his best suited roles. And he has very convincing support all round.

There is very much the sense that the mercenary soldiers involved are bottom of the food chain in the greater and greedier scheme of things, and the money being offered for jobs risking life and limb seems pittance at that. The loneliness of the Walken character who seems to walk the land of the dead on civie street and only find his zest in combat is nicely emphasised. Most of the bureaucrats and tyrants are played perfectly for their complete lack of consideration for humanity. There are few if any obvious moral dictations in the narrative and this remains faithful to Forsyth's approach. We are, after all, not playing with children here. This is a most violent and unscrupulous underbelly of the political world. The violence is matter of fact, only stylised in one particular brief scene of torture with a shard of glass that this viewer found to be one of the most painful from any film.

The ending is certainly worth the wait as Walken's small fish turns the coup at the heart of the overall plot into a coup of his very own. In this there is something noble amidst the entire desolation of things and it is apparent that the man who wields the gun is always in charge.

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10 out of 14 people found the following review useful:
A good match for the times, 7 February 2005
Author: inspectors71 from The Man-Cave

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

I tried to read The Dogs of War when I was in high school in the mid 70's and got bored; yes, I had the attention span of a gnat and Forsyth's novel was both dry and clinical in its careful examination of the platinum-driven purchase of an African nation.

I saw the movie on cable in the early 80's and, thanks to its prudent editing of what I perceived as the book's excesses, I gave Forsyth's story my own inconsequential (in the grand scheme of things) stamp of approval.

I finally read the book in 2000; somewhere along the way I picked up a used full-length attention span! I've seen TDOW about five times (the last was yesterday; Superbowls generally bore me worse than dry, clinical novels) and I have to say that this is a rarity, a movie better than the book. Whether it was Christopher Walken's jerky, paranoid performance, the superbly shown squalor of the capitol of the country about to be taken, or the pathetic, teary fear in President Kimba's eyes, I was both hooked and pleased by the film version.

The Dogs of War isn't a great film or a well-known one, but it was both entertaining and diverting. All a viewer needs on Superbowl Sunday!

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10 out of 14 people found the following review useful:
A role made to order for Christopher Walken, 5 May 2004
Author: albates from Roi-Namur, Marshall Islands

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

Semi-spoilers ahead... Pretty faithful to the Fredrick Forsythe novel; not so much a war movie as a suspense movie; the short "war" at the end is the result of patience and careful planning - lots of international wheeling-dealing and intrigue. Walken plays the perfectly stoic aging mercenary who's beginning to wrestle with the moral aspects of his profession, and in the end decides to do the "right" thing instead of just what he's been paid to do............Well worth watching. Watch for Ed O'Neill in an early film role.

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17 out of 28 people found the following review useful:
Pretty intelligent and calm film by John Irvin, 8 July 2002

Author: Bogey Man from Finland

John Irvin directed this film, starring Christopher Walken as war veteran mercenary who gets a job by government to travel to Africa and inform the situation that is pretty hot in there. He does it, and sees the violence that takes place there, and when he returns to US and tells about the evil dictator that dominates there, the new job for him is to travel there again and wipe out the incarnation of evil..

This film isn't any action film as many seem to have expected - me included - but this is pretty sophisticated, but still also little slow moving (dir. cut. 15mins longer than the US version) portrait about the state of some countries in the world, and what these dictators can do to people and country. I'm mostly fascinated by the film's atmosphere and calmness as there isn't stupid gunplay or other usual flaws often found in these films. Walken acts greatly in his role of retired war veteran who takes the job only because of money offered to him. At the end, a twist in plot is coming and all the greediness and betrayal in the film gets a new face.

The end is little stupid as it tries to imitate Apocalypse Now a little, by depicting Walken's face and "the horror" as Francis Ford Coppola did, and the gun fights at the end are also little unnecessary, especially when the film managed to be without them for so long. Still the result is satisfying, yet little too long and occasionally may make the viewer feel little tired, but this film isn't meant to be watched when tired. The US distributor cut the original version by over ten minutes, and I saw the original director's cut which includes many important bits of dialogue and things that add to the film. So I recommend the director's cut of the film as it is the directors original version.

Dogs of War is pretty intelligent and interesting depiction of power and dictatorship, and also very nostalgic in its atmosphere and scenery. The gun battle at the end of the film is great looking and also gripping, but as mentioned, also little unnecessary and too traditional finale. 7/10

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11 out of 18 people found the following review useful:
Anybody want to buy a Coup'?, 5 September 2002

Author: Ghenghy from Charlotte North By God Carolina

The best of the "hired killers takes out a bassackwards third world African nation in ten minutes or less" genre. Christopher Walken fans will love this one as he occupies the camera for about 98% of the film and does an admirable job playing ringleader to a small band of mercenaries hired by London's Enron branch to take down some dude with a Gucci sword named Kimba, the benevolent ruler of Okka Bokka Boo. The pace is a little slow for my tastes but they threw in my favorite girl next door, JoBeth Williams, as Walkens ex-wife just to keep me occupied while the guns were being shipped in from Switzerland or somewhere. All I can tell you is the climax is worth waiting for. It's outstanding actually. The DVD is a little disappointing. 2ch sound and no widescreen. See if you can spot Ed O'Neill from Married With Children fame. 7 hand grenades/10

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11 out of 18 people found the following review useful:
A gritty and hard-boiled adventure., 12 July 2001

Author: mhasheider from Sauk City, Wisconsin

Sent to checkout the political situation in the Africian nation of Zangaro, Shannon (Christopher Walken in a solid performance), a tireless and money-hungry American mercenary, get caught spying by the president's secret police and nearly beaten to death before sent back to the States. Determined to strike back, Walken urges a few of his friends (Tom Berenger and Ed O'Neill being a few of them) to join in the mission and get the necessary weapons. Director John Irvin ("Hamburger Hill", "When Trumpets Fade") plays his cards right in saving the best stuff, which is the raid and how the scenery is displayed by veteran cinematographer Jack Cardiff is also great. The film was based on a novel by Frederick Forstyh ("The Day of the Jackal").

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