Movie Review: The Dogs of War (1980: United Artists/MGM/Twilight Time)

...ah, mercenaries...ya' gotta love 'em, right?? Heroes unto themselves, in the sense that...much like bounty hunters...they act and behave of their own accord, and get the job done via unconventional and unorthodox means, when those who subscribe to the lawfully established and so-called acceptable 'rules of the game', have failed. Driven by their own self-serving agenda...the culmination, be that of heartful heroics, thrill-seeking recklessness and/or monetary gain...and yet, wholly honor-bound and dedicated to the cause, in which they were hired to taken on. Confident, albeit arrogant in their ability to persevere, and yet...considering the unpredictability of the vocation...quite well aware that the next mission laid before them, might well be their last. As such, lovingly embracing a death wish, so to speak...but hey, at least there's a paycheck in it, should one survive, to fight yet another day...

...good grief!! 'Heroes', nothing...this viewer pretty much just defined the classic 'anti-hero', right??...



...and in considering the irresistible intrigue associated with such characters...this viewer cannot help but hypothetically ask...uh, pray tell who, over the years, saw fit to 'dumb down' these death-defying rogues...where's the compellingly true sense of drama, amidst these rogues of seemingly reckless joviality and arrogance?? Surely, a penchant desire for dead seriousness, high drama and character focus is much more compelling than the now-cartoonish caricatures, who seem to breeze through adventures and missions as effortlessly, and as sweatlessly as the anger-less, no-hair-out-of-place, not-a-speck-of-dust-on-the-tux Roger Moore era of the Bond flicks?? In the onset of the higher-profile, devil-may-care, wise-cracking antics of all-star ensembles in concepts like "The A-Team" and "The Expendables", it might well be easy to miss, overlook or even forget that there have been such compelling characterizations and visceral intensity, the likes of...say, anyone remember Rutger Hauer's medieval character of Martin, in 1985's "Flesh + Blood"...the unrelenting western strike-force team of Burt Lancaster, Woody Strode, Lee Marvin and Robert Ryan, in "The Professionals", from 1966...or heck, how about the troubled and fallible, albeit determined Kikuchiyo, Toshiro Mifune's samurai warrior, from 1954's "Seven Samurai"??...

...and herein, this captivating performance, from 1980...adeptly and keenly rendered by an equally captivating performer, in one of his early starring, and deliciously stand-out feature film roles...

...for hired and well-seasoned soldier-of-fortune Jamie Shannon (Christopher Walken) and his way of life, it's always been about the next mission...and the next one...and the next one...and so on. Though the monetary remuneration is a most assuredly a decisive perk, it's his obsessed and untiring sense of self-righteous dedication to 'the cause'...whatever it might be, at the time...which the weathered, albeit unwavering Jamie can never seem to shake from his system. Though she still loves him very much, and as such, cannot help but remain measurably, albeit frustratingly devoted to him, Jamie's ex-wife, Jesse (JoBeth Williams), is ever fearful and wary of Jamie's motivations...even in moments when he might suggest calling it quits and settling down, with such moments, quite short-lived...calling his way of living, reckless, heartless and irresponsible...

...coming off one seemingly ineffectual mission...his devoted and loyal crew, all scattering back to their own sedentary, though troubled...and for some, quite estranged civilian lives...there's little wait for a new mission, as Jamie...under the guise of a nature photographer...is called upon to infiltrate and investigate the governmental vulnerability of the African dictatorship of Zangaro...the results of said covert investigation, the decisive factor on whether or not an overthrowing coup can be successfully staged and instigated, in an effort towards resourcing a rich mineral deposit, being strategically horded in the region. However, Jamie's questionable activity arouses the already ruffled suspicions of the local Zangaro police force, and as the result, he is subsequently arrested, tortured and ruthlessly beaten to a pulp...an underlining glimpse of the regime's sadism and brutality, which...given the right motivation...clearly 'must' be dealt with...

...returning to his 'employer'...bruised and battered, though hardly beaten...after having been deported from Zangaro, and having been checked out by his physician...the latter of which has since frustratingly throw up his hands in futility, in suggesting that his patient cease and desist his covert activity, as it is clearly ushering him to an early grave...Jamie reports that based upon what he has observed...as well as under-handed pictures, provided by a journalist 'inside man'...an attempt at an internal coup, might well fail. Upping the ante, Jamie's natural resource-hungry 'employer' offers him a more than substantial pay-out, if he would spearhead a straight-out invasion of Zangaro with his team, remove the country's tyrannical influence, and open the gateway for placement of an alternative regime, in an effort to acquire and seal the rights of the country's mineral resources...

...Jamie accepts the mission, gathers together as much of his team as possible...as well as some rather substantial & unconventional weaponry...and proceeds to engage the clearly unstable proceedings, though with certain underlining, unspoken motivations, as well as indecisive hopes that this might well be his last mission...'cause for Jamie, it's payback time!!.....

...now, can this reviewer possibly cut to the quick, and consider saving all the fine readers out there, the (...cue the sarcasm) oh-so dull and meandering time of waxrapsonificating (...hey, my word, mind you; leave us not forget the immortal words of a certain 'candy man', who said, "...I am the music maker, and I am the dreamer of dreams) about how ideally perfect actor Christopher Walken is, as far as being cast in the role of soldier-of-fortune Jamie Shannon?? Nah...wouldn't want to 'bore' anyone with...What??...are you kidding?? The great thing about Christopher Walken's career performances..."Dogs of War", hardly withstanding...is his consistency of performance...that cool, swaggering, 'come on, let's go' deadpan persona, underlined by a deceptive measure of seemingly burnt-out frailty...a look from which Chris rarely deviates from, from film to film (...OK, so he broke character in 1983's "The Dead Zone", and outright smiled, albeit uncomfortably, in a couple scenes, but then, was quick to revert back to deadpan); and yet, despite that unswerving emotional detachment, it remains amazing that his state of mind can still almost always be read, despite the lack of said emotional state in his face...

...in the case of "Dogs of War", such unswerving characterization is all the more evident, whether Jamie is getting the shit kicked out of him by sadistic militants...whether he's fumbling an effort to re-connect with his estranged ex-wife...whether he's engaging a 'business deal' with covert, political suits, who in turn, are calling upon Jamie's special services and abilities...whether he's calling upon, mission engaging, or merely hanging out with his 'brother' mercenary team members...or even whether he's offering almost fatherly, sage-like direction towards the punkish young kid, living in the same run-down apartment complex, who seems to look up to him...

...and yet, such emotionless state of character, as well as dedication to whatever 'cause', he's hired to take on, does not seem to afford Jamie, an ability to get close to anyone, and at times in the course of the film, Walken's rendering of the character seems almost tortured by such conflict...wanting to get close, but knowing that in his line of work, such intimacy might be inertly hurtful...even dangerous. To further reflect that tortuously wanted sense of intimacy, the storyline...based upon a 1974 novel by Frederick Forsyth, who also deftly penned "The Day of the Jackel" and "The Odessa File", amongst others...is wrought with fleeting characters, whom the Jamie character engages...once again, his estranged wife (...played by the very under-appreciated JoBeth Williams), or even his team members, including his supposed best friend, Drew (...actor Tom Berenger, in one of his earliest performances), or the family man on the team, Terry (...yes, folks...that's Ed O'Neill, several years before he assumed his now-classic 'Al Bundy' character, in the 10-season run of "Married...with Children")...so fleeting, that much like Jamie himself, the viewing audience might well get a feel for Jamie's self-imposed sense of emotional isolation, and as such, might well be hard-pressed to connect with anyone besides Jamie, in the course of engaging his exploits...

...this approach all the more keenly and ideally provides intrigue and captivating intensity to the clearly focused character study herein, with little else to draw attention away from that focus and intensity, despite how momentarily integral those fleeting moments actually are...not the supporting characters, nor the mission desperation...the resulting explosions and warfare...the shocking and emotionally startling sight of Jamie's brutal and sadistic interrogation...or even Jamie's determined pose and exhibition of a rather striking piece of weaponry...yes, we're talking that kick-ass looking grenade launcher, so prominently featured towards the end of the film's proceedings...as well as oh-so exploitatively shown in the film's poster artwork. And though it all, Christopher Walken deftly carries the brunt of these proceedings, with ease and gusto, providing a dynamic, and at the same time, subdued performance. Yes folks...without exception, this is Chris' show, and it is oh-so captivating...

...Twilight Time's alternate cuts of "Dogs of War" (...herein, we are afforded a longer, 'international' version of the film, as well as the original domestic theatrical release) are very well rendered and detailed...once again, a very nice print, as might be expected. There's a preponderant and revelating emphasis of the striking color and lighting of the film, as originally directed by renowned cinematographer Jack Cardiff (...1947's "Black Narcissus", 1951's "The African Queen", and later "Rambo: First Blood Part II", just to name a few), and that works exceptionally well here, on this exceptional home video rendition, especially in framed close-ups of Walken, in the 'Jamie' role...measurably exploiting his rather weathered and pale appearance...a marked deception to most, whom at first glance, might not expect someone like this, to act, respond...or in this case, retaliate in such a manner, as Jamie invariably does...

...ya' know?? There was a line spoken in the 2010 mercenary-populated actioner, "The Expendables", whereby one of the supporting characters, 'selling' missions, says, "...well, I have three pieces of work...two, a 'walk in the park'...and one, 'to hell and back'..." And yet, despite all the grunting, posturing and wise-cracking...not to mention, the earth-shattering explosions, endless rampant gunfire and deftly applied power punches & kicks...the motley crew of that particular adventure...for the most part...manage to still make it through, with seemingly particular ease. Granted, that may well be the rhyme & reason of the writers and performers; after all, we just can't have our heroes...or in this case, anti-heroes...not come out on top, with typical brainless Dudley-Do-Right fervor, right??...

...however, considering all that Jamie Shannon endures, in the course of events, depicted in "Dogs of War"...physically, mentally, psychologically and emotionally...well, let's just say that it's much easier to believe in his 'to hell and back' excursion...as it is so much more in-one's-face shocking, intriguing, compelling and captivating...

...in the end...once the smoke has cleared, and the resulting blood, sweat & tears have been wiped away...Nope, no dumbing down here, folks.....