Diamond Dogs (2007)

Director:

Shimon Dotan

Writer:

Léopold St-Pierre (screenplay)

Genre:

Action | Adventure

Tagline:

Meet Ronson: Adventurer, world traveler, always short of money, a man of a few words, a gun for hire. The solution to your problem.

Plot:

A mercenary is hired to protect an expedition group while they search for a Tangka, a Buddhist artifact worth millions of dollars.

Plot Keywords:

Buddhist | Mercenary | Temple | Dirt Bike | Attempted Rape

Cast

Dolph Lundgren	...	Xander Ronson
Nan Yu	...	Anika
Xue Zuren	...	Ang Shaw
William Shriver	...	Chambers
Raicho Vasilev	...	Zhukov
NuoMing Huari	...	Sonia (as Noming)
Hu Sha	...	House Manager
Gregory MacIsaac	...	Sinister Man
Zhang Chunnian	...	Eye Patch
Huriga	...	Mongolian Man
Wang Heping	...	Old Monk
Wang Xinmin	...	Main Judge
Wang Lusha	...	Young Judge
Wang Jun	...	Female Judge
Gabriel Alejandro Carrillo	...	Steve

Also Known As:

Chiens de guerre (Canada: French title) (DVD title)
Quan zhang (China: Mandarin title)

MPAA:

Rated R for violence and some language.

Runtime:

94 min

Country:

Canada | China

Language:

English | Mandarin

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Germany:18 (video premiere) | USA:R | Australia:MA (2008) | Australia:MA | Singapore:NC-16 | New Zealand:R16

Filming Locations:

Huhhot, Inner Mongolia, China

Company:

Golden Ocean Entertainment

Trivia:

The version released is the producers cut. Dolph Lundgren subsequently supervised a new cut that remained unreleased.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: As Chambers and gang are leaving the cave, after Ronson is trapped, a production tent and crew members can be seen a few times on top of the hill behind them.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Making of 'Diamond Dogs' (2008) (V)

Not your typical action movie

Judging by the comments here on IMDb, public opinion on this movie is divided into 2 distinct camps.

Firstly you have the salivating fans for whom the mere presence of Lundgren is enough to make any film a work of cinematic genius. If that's all it takes to please you, then no comment on here will change your mind. That's fine, enjoy your Dolf - try not to drool on him.

Then you have those who expect, nay DEMAND that any movie which features plot elements such as relics, temples and gunfights follow the big budget Hollywood formula of intricate death traps, load bearing treasure and near superhuman heroics which made the Indiana Jones movies, Mummy series and Tomb raider so successful.

This is where I begin to have a problem. The aforementioned films derive most of their entertainment value from witty one liners, flashy special effects and slick choreography. Diamond Dogs on the other hand goes in the opposite direction, moving the focus of the film away from elaborate action and adventure, on to the characters and their survival.

The majority of the film appears to have been shot on location and most of the characters (played well by a less than famous cast) lack the exaggerated personalities and convoluted motivations you'd find in a Hollywood blockbuster. The result of this shift is that the whole film feels more 'National Geographic' than 'National Treasure'. The sporadic action is fast and lethal, no fancy footwork and no coming back with multiple wounds for one last shot. The 'bad guys' are bad as opposed to villainous and the 'good guys' are played straight, behaving in a practical and decidedly un-heroic manner. I for one found the lack of comedy quipping a refreshing change. In fact the only thing that bothered me in the whole movie was William Shriver's portrayal of 'Chambers' which WAS admittedly slightly over the top toward the beginning of the film.

All the above waffle basically boils down to this; You want an action adventure romp, packed with booby traps, wisecracks and villains? Go watch something else. If however you think you could appreciate something a bit different, with beautiful scenery, an unusual soundtrack and a sizable (but rarely flashy) body count, then you could do an awful lot worse than Diamond Dogs.