Operation Sandman (2000) (TV)

User Rating:

4.0/10   

Director:

Nelson McCormick

Writers (WGA):

Beau Bensink (story)
Beau Bensink (teleplay) ...

Release Date:

11 February 2000 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drama | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

The worst war to fight is your own mind.

Plot:

In the heat of an American desert, Captain Jean Farrell arrives at a secret military installation, run by the enigmatic Doctor Harlan Jessup...

Plot Keywords:

Soldier | Grenade | Experiment | Explosion | Hallucination

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Ron Perlman	...	Dr. Harlan Jessup
Rod Biermann	...	Kazinski
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Bob Howard	...	Sturner (as Bob 'Hardcore' Holly)
Melik Malkasian	...	Billy
Mario Iván Martínez	...	General Podell
John Newton	...	Major Martin Richards (as John Haymes Newton)
Richard Tyson	...	Gunnery Sergeant Riggins
Mary B. Ward	...	Captain Jean Farell
Persia White	...	Private Winslow
Michael Woolson	...	Chaney

Also Known As:

Operation Sandman: Warriors in Hell (Australia)

MPAA:

Rated R for violence.

Runtime:

91 min | Germany:85 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Denmark:15 | Australia:M | Germany:16 | USA:R

Company:

Paramount Network Television

Trivia:

Acting debut of wrestler Bob Howard.

off-beat idea

A group of soldiers go through a sleep-deprivation experiment designed to increase combat availability. Using a drug concoction called "juice" the soldiers perform mission after mission flawlessly for three weeks with incredible efficiency until they began seeing "freaks," hallucinations induced by the combination of drugs and sleep deprivation. After a training accident kills one trooper a scientist is sent to evaluate the program. By the time she begins her investigation the remaining troopers are beginning to have difficulty separating reality from hallucination.

The first half of the movie is the more interesting as the problems are gradually uncovered, but the second half lags as it turns into an X-Files style cover-up/conspiracy flick. The low-budget is covered well for most of the film but shows glaringly at times. Definitely worth a watch. All the actors are pretty convincing, particularly Richard Tyson as the senior NCO who looks and sounds exactly like what a hard-assed senior NCO should look like and sound like. Ron Perlman has played the evil guy enough times to do it sleepwalking and does enough to pull it off here. But Mary Ward as the scientist sent in ostensibly to rubber-stamp her approval on the project comes off best as she slowly discovers what is wrong and also realizes she is virtually powerless to prevent what is happening. *** out of *****