Men of War (1994)

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.

Director:

Perry Lang

Writers:

Stan Rogow (story), John Sayles (screenplay)

Stars:

Dolph Lundgren, Charlotte Lewis, BD Wong

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Dolph Lundgren	...	Nick Gunar
Charlotte Lewis	...	Loki
BD Wong	...	Po
Tony Denison	...	Jimmy G. (as Anthony John Denison)
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

Storyline

Nick Gunar (Dolph Lundgren) is a burnt-out, jaded and hard-up former mercenary who is having a difficult time adjusting to civilian life. At the end of his rope, he is hired by the Nitro Mine Corporation to strong-arm the natives of a South China Sea island into giving up their rights to its valuable mineral resources. Nick loathes the thought of another mission, but this seemingly easy job will earn him enough money to get back with his estranged family. He recruits some of his former mercenary buddies to help him with the job. The island people refuse to give up their land and Nick decides to help them fight the greedy corporation that hired him. The island and its people bring Nick back to life. He finally finds something worth fighting for and a place to call home. As greed and treachery begin to unravel, Nick's band of mercenaries choose sides. Some are with him and others, still working for the corporation, will stop at nothing to destroy him.

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Plot Keywords:

island native | island | mercenary | fight | cockney accent | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Action | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

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

Details

Country:

USA Spain

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 May 1995 (Spain)

Also Known As:

A Safe Place

Filming Locations:

Thailand

Box Office

Budget:

$8,600,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

MDP Worldwide,Pomarance Corporation,Grandview Avenue Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

102 min 76 min (heavily cut) (TV)

Sound Mix:

Ultra Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39:1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Original script opened with prologue set in Kabul prison where Nick, Keefer and one of their friends are tortured by enemy soldiers but Nick manages to break free and helps Keefer who then leaves him and escapes on his own while Nick tries to save his friend but he gets killed during escape.

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Quotes

Kiefer: [burning the flag of truce] I'll see you in hell, Nicky Gunar!

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Alternate Versions

The R-rated Region 1 DVD is cut during a few violent moments (about 13 seconds), but on one hand is presented in a beautiful, remastered widescreen presentation. The German release in presented in a Pan and Scan presentation, but is fully uncut. The UK DVD (not VHS) release is uncut and widescreen.

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Connections

References The Dirty Dozen (1967)

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Soundtracks

TYPEWRITERS ON PARADE
Written and Performed by Gene M. Best
© 1994 Zoo Baby Music. BMI/ Pilato Entertainment Group
All Rights Reserved

User Reviews

Better than usual Lundgren vehicle.

Action genre icon Dolph Lundgren plays Gunar, a former Special Ops soldier turned mercenary. He's hired by sleazy corporate interests to force the residents of an Asian island to sign over the mining rights. Well, as you may expect, he experiences a change of heart when he meets the natives (including gorgeous Charlotte Lewis of "The Golden Child"), as do some of his comrades. The other members of the team remain mercenaries and become determined to complete the mission, leading to the inevitable all out war.

The capable direction is by veteran actor Perry Lang ("The Hearse", "Alligator"), who also co- stars as one of the young corporate creeps. Given that the script is co-written by indie favourite John Sayles, along with Ethan Reiff & Cyrus Voris ("Tales from the Crypt Presents Demon Knight"), one can also expect this to be more well thought out and interesting than the run of the mill action film. It's quite serious (yet not totally without some humour), and the natives, as led by amiable young spokesman Po (B.D. Wong) are an inherently sympathetic bunch.

Of course, the natives do turn out to be pretty effective fighters once the stakes are raised. The set pieces are largely confined to the last half hour, but are intense and enjoyable once they occur. There are some nifty demises devised for our antagonists, and Dolph is given a formidable opponent with Trevor Goddards' over the top psycho mercenary Keefer. The location shooting in Thailand allows for some beautiful scenery, and it's all nicely shot by Rohn Schmidt.

The cast is above average for this sort of thing. Besides Dolph, Lewis, and Wong, the cast consists of Tony Denison, Tim Guinee, Don Harvey, Tommy 'Tiny' Lister (who, like Goddard, relishes chewing the scenery), Tom Wright, the lovely Catherine Bell (who looks mighty fine and also proves herself adept at kicking ass alongside the guys), Kevin Tighe as Dolphs' mentor, Thomas Gibson, and Aldo Sambrell, long ago co-star in Sergio Leones' "Dollars" trilogy, as a goon named Goldmouth.

All in all, this is good, rousing entertainment that genre aficionados will likely savour.

Seven out of 10.