Movie Review: Never Say Die

Never Say Die

Nu Image / Millennium Films, USA, 1994.

Ex spec ops soldier Blake (Frank Zagarino) lives on the bayou repairing boats with his young friend Shane (Skye Svorinic). On the neighbouring island FBI is trying to infiltrate the hippie cult of Reverend James (Billy Drago).

Blake

Reverend James

When Congressman Le Roux (Michael Brunner) and the agents try to evict the cult, the disciples coldly shoot them. The FBI is not taking it easy so it means war! But Rev. James is an ex-spec ops grunt also, and his hard-to-kill right hand man Angel (Robin Smith) is a burly brute so they will not go down easily. A lot of stuff blows up.

Angel

Earlier in the swamp Blake met pretty disciple Brooke (Jenny McShane). As she finds out that the peaceful religion is a murderous cult, she wants to warn her friend Lesley (Vanessa Pike) but it is too late. James follows the example of Jim Jones and arranges a mass cult suicide leaving only his henchmen alive. He seems to not have any deeper motive, he's just being evil lunatic. Brooke manages to escape and kids and Blake rescue her. When Brooke is kidnapped Blake must save her again.

Brooke

Lesley

Blake has a bone to pick with James, as they share a common history. Over-eager FBI Agent Roper (Todd Jensen) is trying to arrest Blake, as he has the same special forces eagle tattoo as Rev. James has. So Blake has to teach Roper some manners first, "First Blood" style. Then Blake goes rescuing hostages jumping through windows in slow motion and chasing thugs with motor boat.

Roper

Tarzan bundolo!

The film has good old 90s-action with unapologetic gun fights and explosions, sullen faced army officials and ladies in peril. It has gratuitous vehicle jumps for and random acts of violence against beer bottles. Cruelly leering Billy Drago, the reliable bad guy of 1980s-90s action films is perfectly cast and without him the film would be less fun. Frank Zagarino represents the typical stone-faced hero type, who has a soft side because he is always friendly to kids. It has nothing special but fills the need for pulpy action snack.

Beer and driving don't mix

Now you made him angry.

Rating: Average

Starring: Frank Zagarino, Billy Drago, Jenny McShane (as Jennifer Miller), Todd Jensen, Robin Smith, Frank Notaro, Hal Orlandini, Michael Brunner, Ted Le Plat, John Simon Jones, Vanessa Pike, Skye Svorinic, Michelle Bowes, Graham Clarke, Victor Melleney, Norman Coombes, Annabel Linder, Craig Freimont, Kevin Fitzpatrick, Jeff Fannell, Kelly Bratton, Len Sparrowhawk, Gideon Emery, Phillip Ferreria, David C. Webb, Steve Burgess, Kevin Liebenberg, Craig Ginsberg, Deon van Schoor, Gavin Mey, Neville Strydom

Director: Yossi Wein

Movie Review: Stealth Fighter

Stealth Fighter a.k.a Nighthawk 

Cinetel Films, Artisan Entertainment, Grey Matter Entertainment, Stealth Fighter Pictures, USA, 1999.

Owen Turner (Ice-T) and Ryan Mitchell (Costas Mandylor) are two rival pilots bombing drug fields in Nicaragua 1986. As contrast Turner is a macho gangsta and Mitchell is a softie. Their rivalry turns out to be more serious than was the case with Maverick and Iceman. While on a mission Turner turns into a traitor and fakes his death. Admiral Peterson (William Sadler) first scolds then congratulates Mitchell for the work well done but losing his wingmates saddens him. Not that it has much effect to the story.

Mitchell and Turner

Adm. Frank Peterson

In 1999 terrorists steal F-117 Stealth Fighter Turner and surprise! It is Turner again now working for arms dealer Roberto Menendez (Andrew Divoff). The terrorists use the codes of the stolen plane to hack a satellite and use it to  disable a submarine. President Obama I mean Westwood (Ernie Hudson) has a bad day and he must arrange rescuing operation for the submarine crew and search party for finding the stolen airplane. Meanwhile Turner is ticking off his employers and Menendez's bodyguard Berg (Tommy 'Tiny' Lister Jr.).

Erin Mitchell

F-117

Roberto Menendez and Turner

Despite the 13 year gap everyone still looks as young as yesterday. Mitchell is nowadays a F-117 pilot. His work is busy and his marriage with his wife Erin (Erika Eleniak) suffers because of that. Daughter J.P. (Sarah Dampf) wants daddy back home. She'll have to wait as daddy has been selected for the mission to destroy the terrorist base and steal back the airplane.The commandos use similar tactic as Christopher Walken used in "The Dogs of War." Wait, the raid scene is taken from the "The Dogs of War!"

The President and Clancy (George Gerdes)

Berg

And this scene is from "Flight of the Intruder"

Jim Wynorski is known for churning out B-movies using various aliases. Here he cuts corners and uses cut and paste film making, taking the action scenes from big budget films. Stock footage from numerous movies makes this a good movie for spot a movie game. The technique creates a mismatch of the expensive action scenes and the cheaply filmed scenes. The fighter jet interiors look more like transport planes. The submarine scene looks like that is filmed in some real warship with some guy shaking the camera so that it looks like it is sinking.

The plot is quite generic for the genre but the simple story is padded up with some demented twists. Amusing dialogue and cheesy action saves this from being an utter mess. Especially dialogue between with Mitchell and his daughter is fun. Also Ice-T:s dialogue is hilarious, now there are gangstas in the air force. Perhaps the makers realized how absurd the movie was and inserted some tongue in cheek dialogue. Little bit more comedy and this would have been a challenger to "Hot Shots 2"

Rating:So bad it is good

Starring: Ice-T, Costas Mandylor, Erika Eleniak, Sarah Dampf, William Sadler, Ernie Hudson, Andrew Divoff, William G. Schilling, John Enos III, Alex Meneses, Tommy 'Tiny' Lister Jr., Steve J. Hennessy, Michael Gregory, Mark Adair-Rios, Paul Terrell Clayton, Steve Eastin, George Gerdes, Trevor Gordon, Clay Greenbush, Jon Huertas, Peter Spellos 

Director: Jim Wynorski (as Jay Andrews)

Movie Review: Red Scorpion

Red Scorpion a.k.a Red Exterminator

Abramoff Production, Scorpion Film Production, South Africa, USA, Namibia, 1988.

Lt. Nikolai Rachenko (Dolph Lundgren) is a tough Spetznaz officer. Soviet Union sends him to Mombaka to assassinate anti-communist rebel leader Ango Sundata (Ruben Nthodi). He must infiltrate the rebels and gain their trust. After wrecking a local bar he gets into a prison where Sundata's commander Kallunda (Al White) is held. Also foul-mouthed American reporter Dewey Ferguson (M. Emmet Walsh) is captured.

Lt. Nikolai Rachenko

Kallunda

Dewey Ferguson

The trio escapes prison and heads for Kallunda's home village. However the Soviets got there first and there are only smoking ruins left. Nikolai begins to question the Soviet occupation. When he fails to kill Sundata, the rebels abandon him in the desert. Nikolai's Russian and Cuban comrades find him and torture him. Nikolai has to escape again. Bushman Gao (Regopstaan) finds him and heals his wounds. Now it is time to help the rebels to drive away the evil Commies!

Ango Sundata

Gao

Col. Zayas (Carmen Argenziano)

"Red Scorpion" is a good old Cold War era Rambo-style action movie that has the twist of introducing a Russian hero who realizes that the Soviet system oppresses people. The African setting makes it feel a bit smarter than usual flicks of the genre. Also the addition of the Bushmans brings some emotional depth to the story with couple of touching scenes. This is one of Dolph's best action movies. Regopstaan as Gao the Bushman is fun. Brion James drops in as a cruel prison warden. Considering the low budget the action looks good and does not need to be outshined by the bigger budget Hollywood actioners. Goremaster Tom Savini made some special effects.

Nikolai in action

Something funny happens to Nikolai's bayonet:

Part of The 2016 Movie Watching Challenge (#28. Movie that has a colour in its name)

Rating: Good

Starring: Dolph Lundgren, M. Emmet Walsh, Al White, T.P. McKenna, Carmen Argenziano, Alex Colon, Brion James, Ruben Nthodi, Vuzi Dibukwana, James Mthoba, Dinky Motsemme, Ernest Ndlovu, Thapelo Mofokeng, Mxolisi Hulana, Nicky Rebelo, Drummond Marais, Charles Comyn, Tullio Moneta, Jurgen Hellberg, Graham Clarke, Irene Stephano, Nomsa Nene, Elijah Dhlamini, Patrick Shai, Peter Se-Puma, Tu Nokwe, Salathial Maake, Regopstaan, Anthony Fridjhon, Greg Latter, Rob Smith, Neo Matsunyane, Joe Mafela, Isaac Mavimbela, David Vlok

Director: Joseph Zito

Movie Review: Interceptor Force 2

Interceptor Force 2 a.k.a Alpha Force a.k.a They Have Returned 

Unified Film Organization (UFO), Interforce Productions LLC, Media Entertainment GMBH & Co.1 Filmproduktions KG, Sci Fi Pictures, USA, Bulgaria, 2002. 

As the Finnish DVD-title was "Alpha Force" I did not notice at first that this is a sequel to "Interceptor Force", which I haven't seen. 

U.S Predator surveillance drone is shot down in Chechnya. Lt. Sean Lambert (Olivier Gruner), the sole survivor of the Alpha Mission, is sent to retrieve it. He is captured and tortured. He escapes using a clever trick. The opening gambit looks like poor man's James Bond. 

Sean Lambert

Chechen rebels

Russian air force shoots down an UFO. Alien takes the form of a hooker (Eve Scheer) and destroys the original. The alien infiltrates and destroys Russian army base. It is planning to attack a nuclear plant. Lambert and Nathan McCallister (Roger R. Cross) barely have time for a couple of beers when they are sent back to Russia. Lambert can not choose his own team members but he is given a team instead. Chief Bavaro (Nigel Bennett) says take or leave it.

It's a UFO!

Alien woman (Eve Scheer))

McAllister

Together with Lambert and McCallister the happy lottery winners are demolition expert Adriana Sikes (Elizabeth Gracen) and German special agent Björn Hatch (Alex Jolig). Scientist Dawn DeSilvia (Adrienne Wilkinson) comes as a bonus. DeSilvia has examined the tissue samples that were left from the alien of the first film. The team has a formidable and futuristic arsenal: electromagnetic disruptor, microwave rifle and chain gun. 

Adriana Sikes

Björn Hatch

Dawn DeSilvia

Russian commander Gorskov (Hristo Shopov, regular actor  in Syfy and other TV movies) sends his own soldiers inside the nuclear plant. Too bad they are armed with regular pea guns. The Interceptor Force has to go save them. The shapeshifting alien is on a revenge mission and the plant is full of nuclear warheads. 

Gorskov

Alien

As with many direct-to-video movies Bulgaria is used to portray Russia. The alien creature combines ideas from space monsters in "The Thing", "Species" and "Predator." It can also can reassemble itself like liquid metal cyborg T-1000 from "Terminator 2." Also the movie makers have aimed at "The Thing"- style paranoia, as anyone of the characters can be alien. The UFO effects look nice although the limits of the CGI are seen on the alien effects. 

For being a SciFi Channel production this is quite good action flick, at least when leave your brain at the door. Considering the track record of the Unified Film Organization this is a positive surprise and on par with some of Steven Seagal's and Jean-Claude Van Damme's films produced in the 2000s. In the opening gambit Olivier Gruner shows some of his martial arts skills but for the rest of the film he mostly uses firearms. The rest of Lambert's team are veterans of TV-series or TV-movies and generally do good job. Although many of the Syfy-productions have hipster ironic touch, this one stays faithful to the direct-to-video action film style. 

Rating: Good (for a low budget scifi action film) 

Starring: Olivier Gruner, Roger R. Cross, Adrienne Wilkinson, Elizabeth Gracen, Alex Jolig, Eve Scheer, Nigel Bennett, Richard Gnolfo, Hristo Shopov, Vladimir Kolev, Maxim Genchev, Julian Vergov, Georgio Borissov, Georgi Ivanov, Alan Austin, Steven M. Blasini 

Director: Phillip J. Roth

Movie Review: Sniper: Reloaded

Sniper: Reloaded 

Stage 6 Films, ApolloMovie Beteiligungs, Film Afrika Worldwide, USA, South Africa, 2011. 

Fourth in the "Sniper"- series and first without Tom Berenger. 

Son of sniper legend Thomas Beckett Marine Sgt. Brandon Beckett (Chad Michael Collins) is accused of going AWOL in Congo. Working under UN he was training Congolese regular army and Captain Ngoba (Khulu M. Skenjana) to fight terrorists. Col. Hans Jaeger (Richard Sammel) sends Beckett and Captain Nelson (Conrad Kemp) ro rescue a plantation owner Jean Van Brunt (Rob Fruithof).

Sgt. Brandon Beckett

Col. Hans Jaeger

Enemy sniper tries to kill Van Brunt and several Marines die. Hunter Martin Chandler (Patrick Lyster) saves Beckett. Beckett and Chandler decide to take Van Brunt's daughter Kelli (Kayla Privett) to safety. The rebels kidnap orphaned children. Beckett gets wounded but he promises to come back later to help Chandler. 

Martin Chandler

Great scenery

Richard Miller (Billy Zane) from the first "Sniper" movie is now training snipers. Richard Miller is not the shell shocked rookie he was in the first film, but more tougher and experienced sniper. Miller goes to get Beckett back home. Beckett wants revenge but Miller says he can't survive against a sniper. After a romance with Lieutenant Ellen Abramowitz (Annabel Wright) Beckett starts his mission. Beckett dislikes sniping but has to learn it if he wants to survive. He gets advice and help from Chandler and Miller. However there is a traitor in the UN forces.

Richard Miller

Captain Ngoba

Enemy sniper (Justin Strydom)

The movie is action-wise good and the filming locations are beautiful. However the plot holes appearing after the first half are terrible. For example Ngoba is all the time locking horns with Beckett. There is a scene where Ngoba watches the baddie sniper going to mission, so it looks that Ngoba is understanding that something fishy is going on. This makes his actions afterwards illogical. It is almost as the script writers intended to make Ngoba more important to the plot but then sacrificed the setup just to get one more bigger firefight near the end. Also the actions of the main bad guy are illogical, why send sniper to the plantation at the same time when the Marines are there also?

Rating: Average 

Starring: Clyde Berning, Chad Michael Collins, Billy Zane, Annabel Wright, Hlomla Dandala, Rob Fruithof, Calvin Holloway, Conrad Kemp, Chumisa Kosa, Martin Le Maitre, Patrick Lyster, Huguette Marara, Hlelo Nhlapo, Tefo Paya, Kayla Privett, Noluthando Radebe, Nic Rasenti, Richard Sammel, Justin Shaw, Bonginkosi Shibe, Khulu M. Skenjana, Justin Strydom, Ian Van Der Heyden, Adrian Waldron

Director: Claudio Fäh