Men of War (1994)

Director:

Perry Lang

Writers (WGA):

Stan Rogow (story)
John Sayles (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

3 September 1994 (Japan)

Genre:

Action | Drama

Tagline:

Killers for hire are paid for what they can do, not for what they believe... until today.

Plot:

A former Special Ops soldier leads a group of mercenaries to an island in the South China Sea: their mission is obtain the rights to the unusual treasure that the island beholds.

Plot Keywords:

Island | Mercenary | Fight | Violence | Village

Cast

Dolph Lundgren	...	Nick Gunar
Charlotte Lewis	...	Loki
B.D. Wong	...	Po
Anthony John Denison	...	Jimmy G
Tim Guinee	...	Ocker
Don Harvey	...	Nolan
Tommy 'Tiny' Lister	...	Blades (as Tiny 'Zeus' Lister)
Tom Wright	...	Jamaal
Catherine Bell	...	Grace Lashield
Trevor Goddard	...	Keefer
Kevin Tighe	...	Colonel Merrick
Thomas Gibson	...	Warren
Perry Lang	...	Lyle
Aldo Sambrell	...	Goldmouth (as Aldo Sanbrell)
Juan Pedro Tudela	...	Waldo

Also Known As:

A Safe Place (USA) (working title)
Hombres de acero (Spain)
Soldiers of Fortune (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for non-stop violence, strong language and some sexuality.

Runtime:

103 min | Sweden:99 min | Germany:76 min (heavily cut) (TV version)

Country:

USA | Spain

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Ultra Stereo

Certification:

Germany:16 (heavily cut) (TV version) | Finland:K-16 | Iceland:16 | Germany:18 (heavily cut) (retail version) | Germany:Not Rated (rental version) | Spain:18 | Singapore:M18 | South Korea:15 | Philippines:R-18 | UK:15 (re-rating) | Australia:MA | France:-12 | Norway:18 (video premiere) | UK:18 | USA:R | Germany:BPjM Restricted

Filming Locations:

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Company:

Arco Films S.L.

Trivia:

Was to be directed by John Frankenheimer.

Quotes:

Nick: [to a mercenary who tried to shoot him in the back but got burned by the backfire of the bazooka] Don't sneak up on people.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Ciné6: (1995-07-09)" (1995)

Soundtrack:

I MIGHT BE LEAVING YOU

Would-be thinking man's action movie ?

Everything John Sayles does reeks of intelligence one way or another, and this movie tries to imply issues much more important than macho bravadura, "Broken Arrow"-like. I'll leave you to check those issues by yourself, since this wasn't intended to be a philosophy lesson in the first plane (and doesn't fall in Hemingway-esque clichés like "Sniper")but this one also features one of the greatest mug-catalogue since the heyday of Spaghetti-western (Too bas Danny Trejo wasn't on the boat !), including the charismatic English actor from "Mortal Kombat", who really, really shines in this one. I'm as tired of guns-and-explosions movie as the next guy, but this one is really worth a look, if only for its lush photography and elegant direction. Besides, the latest reel, chock-full of adrenaline, is really better than average. I'm glad I saw this one.