Dolph Lungren is back! He’s at least back in commercials. The action star of Rocky IV, Masters of the Universe and The Expendables is selling antiperspirant. He’s pushing Zaxby’s Philly Cheesesteak on Rocky’s turf. He’s even part of an online betting ad where he destroys a seafood restaurant with his hunches on the Philadelphia Eagles. We’re in the middle of a Dolph revival. Added to this excitement is one of his best films is out on Blu-ray and features him teaming up with a superstar of independent cinema. Men of War sticks Dolph in the middle of a John Sayles script. Some of the words coming out of Dolph’s mouth were written by the man who gave us Eight Men Out, Lone Star and The Secret of Roan Inish. It works.
The former soldier of fortune Nick Gunar (Dolph Lundgren) is on a bad luck streak as winter arrives in Chicago. He’s rather reluctant to accept an offer from two “businessmen” in need of his services. He’s been recommended by The Colonel (Emergency and Lost‘s Kevin Tighe). They promise him it’s a simple mission. He would only need to put together a team and do a little show of force to convince the natives on a tropical island to sign a deal for mineral rights. He finds a few old contacts who wouldn’t mind a trip to a warmer climate including Blades (Tom Lister, Jr from Friday and The Fifth Element), Nolan (Eight Men Out‘s Don Harvey), Ocker (Iron Man‘s Tim Guinee) and Jamaal (The Brother From Another Planet‘s Tom Wright). Although this isn’t just a testosterone fest as Grace Lashield (JAG‘s Catherine Bell) gets locked and loaded with Nick. The mission hits a bit of trouble when they arrive at a nearby island for a little pre-invasion party at a nightclub only to have it raided by local police headed by Keefer (Trevor Goddard of Mortal Kombat and JAG). Turns out Nick and Keefer fought together in Africa and there’s a touch of unfinished business between them. Nick doesn’t take care of Keefer that night. The next day Nick and his crew hit the island with their weapons ready to tear everything apart. What they discover is the place is occupied by people who aren’t just pacifists – they don’t care if they die. Po (Oz & Mr. Robot‘s B.D. Wong) lets them know that they aren’t scared. They can’t even be held hostages. This disturbs a few of the mercenaries. Nick finds himself attracted to Loki (The Golden Child‘s Charlotte Lewis) who tells him about the island life. This leads Nick into discovering what exactly the mineral rights treaty involves. He figures out that this deal isn’t good for the islanders. He stops being a “no questions asked, do the job soldier of fortune.” Nick’s rebellion makes him a target by his employers and a few of the guys he hired for the mission.
John Sayles did not actually write the script for Dolph in 1993. He had written it more than a decade before when he was cranking out classics such as The Howling, Pirahna and Alligator. This was not part of Sayles’ art house era. Screenwriters Ethan Reiff & Cyrus Voris were brought on to tailor fit the movie for Dolph and include a tactical team. A lot of Sayles’ character elements for Nick remained. Director Perry Lang keeps the dimensionality from the original script. There’s depth to Nick as he goes from a soldier of fortune to a man who finally finds a place that he belongs. Dolph is doing more than just playing a tough guy on the screen. He even gets a convincing on-screen romance. This is all achieved without sacrificing the over-the-top action, violence and explosions. This is the kind of brilliant action movie you’d hear recounted on the Golan Globus Theater podcast. If you’ve never seen a Dolph Lundgren film before, Men Of War is the perfect place to start. I have a hunch that I’m right and you can bet on it.
The Video 2.35:1 anamorphic. You’ll see Dolph sweating in the jungle. The Audio is LPCM 2.0 Stereo. There’s also a 5.1 DTS-HD MA mix. There’s also a Spanish LPCM 2.0 dub. The explosions are at the right volume. The subtitles are in English and Spanish.
Introduction by Director Perry Lang (0:36) has him point out the fishing village in Thailand is now a major tourist attraction.
An Unsafe Place: Making Men of War (12:53) is a vintage featurette. Film Scholar Jeremie Damoiseau places it as the best of Dolph’s films since so much is top notch including John Sayles’ script. He explains how the project happened. The script turned from a single character to a buddy flick to a mercenary group. He brings up how the end duel was changed so watch this after the movie. The film went straight to video in the US even though Miramax promised it would get a theatrical release.
Raw Footage / Dailies of Select Scenes from “Men of War” (9:44) has Dolph in Chicago, the chess game with the Colonel, fights in the jungle and more. There’s no sound to the shots.
Photo Gallery (7:36) includes press photos, behind the scenes shots, lobby cards, posters, newspaper ads from around the world. We also see the original cover from when it was John Sayles’ script. There’s even the ad from when they sold the VHS cassette to rental stores.
Theatrical Trailer (1:47) shows how Dolph ends up on the island.
Collectible Mini-Poster is suitable for framing. You can be part of the Dolph revival.
Limited Edition Slipcover is only available for the first pressing.
MVD Rewind Collection presents Men of War: Collector’s Edition. Directed by Perry Lang. Screenplay John Sayles, Ethan Reiff & Cyrus Voris. Starring Dolph Lundgren, Charlotte Lewis, B. D. Wong, Anthony Denison, Tim Guinee, Don Harvey, Tom Lister, Jr., Tom Wright, Catherine Bell, Trevor Goddard and Kevin Tighe. Running Time: 103 minutes. Rating: Rated R. Release Date: December 10, 2024.
If you haven’t seen Dolph selling a betting site. (we are not sponsored by this gambling site)
