CONTAINS MINOR SPOILERS!!
I love my action films - don't get me wrong you can't beat a good drama but you can't watch The Killing Fields or The End Of The Affair everyday!!
After a couple of lacklustre efforts this series really picked up with this episode. Crazy action from the word go and a total no-brainer plotline - characters that disappear and reappear as the director wants and to facilitate the plot, chase scenes for no reason, a man who takes 2o minutes to cut a wire, and even a bizarre cameo by Keith Carradine!!! Yes I Love This Film!!
This film is properly violent as well and for once it seems that someone other than Spielberg is interested in showing that gunshots do hurt, aren't pretty and sticking knives in people usually does more than tickle. It's a shame that they couldn't do this all the way through as no doubt the American censors would have a fit.
These films all follow a B-Movie Special Forces Film formula and as it works why fix it/break it/ do something original. It's history dates back to the original Delta Force movie by the erstwhile talent that was Chuck Norris. It goes something like this;
1/ Meet the men on a mission that goes FUBAR 2/ They lose a man/ gain a new member 3/ They get new mission 4/ They get chased 5/ They think they get what they want 6/ They don't 7/ They go back in and kick the villain's arse 8/ Some may die (at least one must) 9/ The end.
Oh you may complain about the small things like why does a Special Forces team from the most sophisticated army in the world have a sniper using an old Italian bolt-action rifle? And why is he sighting it through the wrong eye? How is that tank still working didn't they just blow it up? And why is the camera so close in on Greg Collins face? If the world really is in that much danger why only send 5 blokes? Why does that attractive young lady only turn up in two scenes - and fully clothed?? Was that Keith Carradine?
Who cares, it IS stupid but made with such gusto and the performers really do try to believe in their situations that you can't help but love this film. Joe Lara even got rid of his ponytail! Someone give him a chance! One chance - even Gary Daniels has had that.
Obviously shot in Eastern Europe the film benefits from the fact that the Bulgarian government obviously wants to entice film-makers back and even allowed them to throw a tram down a street and blow it up!
A quick word about Operation Delta Force 2 and 3. Now these are really bad films. Not even enjoyable, Number 2 suffers from Main-Villain-Won't Die-itis and number 3 suffers from How-The-Hell-Did-He-Survive-Oh-he's-A-Good-Guy-itis. Worse still is the fact that number 2 contains a performance by Captain Dale Dye who is the Hollywood Military Advisor No.1 and he always complains about the lack of realism and accuracy of the depiction of the military and he appears in that!!! Maybe he needed to pay a big bill. And don't even watch the film U.S. Seals - Turd of the highest order - it doesn't even have a lot of action. Although for us Brits it does have a cameo by the actor who played Michael in "Desmond's" (a performance he is really embarrassed about or so he told me!)
If I could make these type-films for the rest of my career I would be happy, probably bored after the first five but hey it beats not working.
As I said before watch it after a hard day and you won't care after a few beers. Hell I watch these things when I'm sober and I think they're grrrrrreat.
I love my action films - don't get me wrong you can't beat a good drama but you can't watch The Killing Fields or The End Of The Affair everyday!!
After a couple of lacklustre efforts this series really picked up with this episode. Crazy action from the word go and a total no-brainer plotline - characters that disappear and reappear as the director wants and to facilitate the plot, chase scenes for no reason, a man who takes 2o minutes to cut a wire, and even a bizarre cameo by Keith Carradine!!! Yes I Love This Film!!
This film is properly violent as well and for once it seems that someone other than Spielberg is interested in showing that gunshots do hurt, aren't pretty and sticking knives in people usually does more than tickle. It's a shame that they couldn't do this all the way through as no doubt the American censors would have a fit.
These films all follow a B-Movie Special Forces Film formula and as it works why fix it/break it/ do something original. It's history dates back to the original Delta Force movie by the erstwhile talent that was Chuck Norris. It goes something like this;
1/ Meet the men on a mission that goes FUBAR 2/ They lose a man/ gain a new member 3/ They get new mission 4/ They get chased 5/ They think they get what they want 6/ They don't 7/ They go back in and kick the villain's arse 8/ Some may die (at least one must) 9/ The end.
Oh you may complain about the small things like why does a Special Forces team from the most sophisticated army in the world have a sniper using an old Italian bolt-action rifle? And why is he sighting it through the wrong eye? How is that tank still working didn't they just blow it up? And why is the camera so close in on Greg Collins face? If the world really is in that much danger why only send 5 blokes? Why does that attractive young lady only turn up in two scenes - and fully clothed?? Was that Keith Carradine?
Who cares, it IS stupid but made with such gusto and the performers really do try to believe in their situations that you can't help but love this film. Joe Lara even got rid of his ponytail! Someone give him a chance! One chance - even Gary Daniels has had that.
Obviously shot in Eastern Europe the film benefits from the fact that the Bulgarian government obviously wants to entice film-makers back and even allowed them to throw a tram down a street and blow it up!
A quick word about Operation Delta Force 2 and 3. Now these are really bad films. Not even enjoyable, Number 2 suffers from Main-Villain-Won't Die-itis and number 3 suffers from How-The-Hell-Did-He-Survive-Oh-he's-A-Good-Guy-itis. Worse still is the fact that number 2 contains a performance by Captain Dale Dye who is the Hollywood Military Advisor No.1 and he always complains about the lack of realism and accuracy of the depiction of the military and he appears in that!!! Maybe he needed to pay a big bill. And don't even watch the film U.S. Seals - Turd of the highest order - it doesn't even have a lot of action. Although for us Brits it does have a cameo by the actor who played Michael in "Desmond's" (a performance he is really embarrassed about or so he told me!)
If I could make these type-films for the rest of my career I would be happy, probably bored after the first five but hey it beats not working.
As I said before watch it after a hard day and you won't care after a few beers. Hell I watch these things when I'm sober and I think they're grrrrrreat.