My review was written in July 1990 after watching the movie on Media Home Entertainment video cassette.
A few more rewrites might have saved "Fatal Mission", an interesting two-character war film that self-destructs in the final reel.
Six scripters are credited already on this 1988 Filipino-located production originally titled "Enemy". Protagonists are Peter Fonda, a CIA hireling in Vietnam in the '60s who assassinates a North Vietnamese general, and Tia Carrere, a beautiful agent from China on a similar mission who captures Fonda.
Like dozens of similar films, notably the Peter Strauss-Candice Bergen trekker "Soldier Blue", pic revolves around the love-hate relationship of the duo. They traipse southward and begin to treat each other as equals since both must kill various enemies to survive. Climax is very disappointing, as Fonda escapes in a stolen plane with Carrere written out of the script.
Up until that stinko fadeout, hemer George Rowe does a decent job whipping up atmosphere. It's still tough to accept "Easy Rider" Fond as a gung-ho war hero, but the romantic chemistry between him and the too-pretty Carrere (she looks more like a Miss Philippines finalist than secret agent in black pajamas) works. Name talent like Mako and Jim Mitchum have only brief roles.
As is often the case in these pictures, Filipino thesps in supporting roles do not look convincing as Vietnamese.
A few more rewrites might have saved "Fatal Mission", an interesting two-character war film that self-destructs in the final reel.
Six scripters are credited already on this 1988 Filipino-located production originally titled "Enemy". Protagonists are Peter Fonda, a CIA hireling in Vietnam in the '60s who assassinates a North Vietnamese general, and Tia Carrere, a beautiful agent from China on a similar mission who captures Fonda.
Like dozens of similar films, notably the Peter Strauss-Candice Bergen trekker "Soldier Blue", pic revolves around the love-hate relationship of the duo. They traipse southward and begin to treat each other as equals since both must kill various enemies to survive. Climax is very disappointing, as Fonda escapes in a stolen plane with Carrere written out of the script.
Up until that stinko fadeout, hemer George Rowe does a decent job whipping up atmosphere. It's still tough to accept "Easy Rider" Fond as a gung-ho war hero, but the romantic chemistry between him and the too-pretty Carrere (she looks more like a Miss Philippines finalist than secret agent in black pajamas) works. Name talent like Mako and Jim Mitchum have only brief roles.
As is often the case in these pictures, Filipino thesps in supporting roles do not look convincing as Vietnamese.