Mercenary (1996)

Jonas Ambler is a rich businessman who's wife is killed by kidnapers. So he decides to get even. He hires a mercenary to find and kill the kidnapers. There's only one catch, he wants to go ... See full summary »

Director:

Avi Nesher

Writers:

Steven Hartov (screenplay), Patrick Highsmith (screenplay),

Stars:

Olivier Gruner, John Ritter, Robert Culp

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Olivier Gruner	...	Capt. Karl 'Hawk' May
John Ritter	...	Jonas Ambler
Robert Culp	...	McClean
Ed Lauter	...	Jack Cochran
Michael Zelniker	...	Alan Bailey
Martin Kove	...	Phoenix
Lara Harris	...	Joanna Ambler
Lindsey Ginter	...	Klinge
Nils Allen Stewart	...	Bad Dave
Michael Reid Davis	...	Hendrix
Duke Valenti	...	Bandit Boss
Kevin Knotts	...	Barman
Mark Poitras	...	Commando Man #1
Robert Werhan	...	Frank
Bryan Lee	...	Yakuza

Storyline

Jonas Ambler is a rich businessman who's wife is killed by kidnapers. So he decides to get even. He hires a mercenary to find and kill the kidnapers. There's only one catch, he wants to go with them.

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Plot Keywords:

mercenary | part of series | hero for hire | punched in the face | commando unit | 

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Genres:

Action | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 January 1997 (USA)

Also Known As:

La vengeance du mercenaire

Filming Locations:

Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico

Box Office

Budget:

$10,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Conquistador Entertainment, Home Box Office (HBO), Mahagonny Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

102 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Connections

Followed by Mercenary II: Thick & Thin (1999)

User Reviews

Mercenary Man...

Olivier Gruner stars as Hawk, a commando who is hired by John Ritter(!) to take on Phoenix (Martin Kove) the Russian terrorist who killed Ritter's wife and our band of mercenaries have their share of problems since there is sabotage on the inside and Ritter goes the one man army route to get vengeance for his disturbingly (much) younger wife. This is probably the only time you'll ever see John Ritter as a one man army teaming up with Olivier Gruner kickboxing various people and jumping behind explosions. Truly this novelty is enough to give one the giggles but the biggest shock is that Mercenary is surprisingly well made. It's no classic and none of it is worth watching unless you're a fan of straight to video schlock, however this is probably the best movie i've seen from Olivier Gruner and the action sequences deliver the sufficient crunch that you would expect. Plus it's an action flick with John Ritter getting the lion's share of the action and that alone is something you won't see ever again. So Mercenary isn't as bad as I thought it would be, on the other hand this is movie reserved only for those who are fans of the genre. Hence why it's a two star rating.

* * out of 4-(Fair)