Opposing Force (1986)

User Rating:

5.3/10   

Director:

Eric Karson

Writer:

Linda J. Cowgill (written by)

Release Date:

August 1986 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

Where civilization ends and survival begins.

Plot:

The commander of an Air Force camp simulates prisoner-of-war conditions for realistic training goes too far, creating all too real torture situations. He prays on the only woman in the experiment.

Plot Keywords:

Training | Air Force | Island | Major | Lieutenant

Cast

Tom Skerritt	...	Logan
Lisa Eichhorn	...	Casey
Anthony Zerbe	...	Becker
Richard Roundtree	...	Stafford
Robert Wightman	...	Botts
John Considine	...	Gen. MacDonald
George Cheung	...	Tuan (as George Kee Cheung)
Paul Joynt	...	Ripkin
Jay Louden	...	Stevenson
Ken Wright	...	Conway
Dan Hamilton	...	Ross
Warren McLean	...	Dunn
John Melcher	...	Jerrell
Scott Sanders	...	De Carlo
Jerald Williams	...	Fisher

Also Known As:

Hell Camp (Australia)
Hellcamp

Runtime:

100 min | Norway:95 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Australia:M | France:-12 | Norway:18 | Sweden:(Banned) (original rating) | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Philippines

Company:

Eros International Film Productions

Quotes:

Stafford: [while torturing Logan] You know, I'm thinking maybe this is not enough pain for a man of your experience.

G.I. Jane meets Dr. Strangelove on the River Kwai

"Opposing Force [1986]" wasn't as good as "Dr. Strangelove" and it wasn't as good as "The Bridge on the River Kwai". Heck, it wasn't even as good as "G.I. Jane", which is pretty sad.

The film revolves around a basic ethical problem: In a simulated prisoner-of-war situation, how far can you go before you start breaking the law? What exactly IS the law in such a situation? How can you simulate the torture of someone without actually torturing someone? Can you intentionally inflict pain? How about breaking bones? Mock executions? Sexual abuse? Severe blood loss? Real guns with bullets? Death? Somewhere between these is a really fuzzy line dividing "acceptable" from "atrocious".

Now, what could you do if you found yourself in such a training program and the lines between simulation and reality begin to vanish? What could you do? This movie attempts to portray this dilemma.

I found it interesting to see the types of tactics used in "resistance training". I have a brother who went through the USAF's POW training program. According to him, it was pretty close to the mark technically.

The film has a fairly good premise, but it doesn't have a particularly good story. I wondered if it might be based on some actual event, but it became pretty apparent that it wasn't when the explosions started. They must have changed scriptwriters three quarters into the film, because it takes a real extreme turn and devolves into a somewhat pointless shoot-em-up with lots of distracting explosions.

I found it to have a rather unsatisfying ending; again, kind of pointless. I'm left wondering what the point of the whole thing was - I'm beginning to suspect there simply wasn't one. It could have been much better with just a little more story to go along with the fireworks.