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Mercenaries

5/10

Stars: Andy Marlow, Billy Zane, Geoff Bell, Vas Blackwood, Robert-James Collier, Kirsty Mitchell, Anthony Byrne

Director: Paris Leonti

Action rather than depth of characterization is the keynote of this fast-moving saga of a small bunch of covert warriors, let by former SAS soldier Marlow, who are sent to rescue the US ambassador and his (female) aide who have been kidnapped from the American Embassy in Srebenica by wanted war criminal Byrne after a military coup results in the assassination of the Serbian president.

The political overtones are obvious and heavy-handed. What we get is a series of shootouts and assorted clashes, including hand-to-hand fighting with knives as the would-be rescuers achieve their never-really-in-doubt mission. Especially when they rescue a group of locals digging their own graves prior to being shot: in this kind of movie, no good act goes unrewarded.

When leader Marlow tells his fighters “You guys are unbelievable”, he’s merely emphasizing a story that casts the rescuers as a smaller, cut price riff on The Dirty Dozen. Location shooting adds realism, Roger Bonnici’s cinematography is a tad dark in places and performances are adequate, with Mitchell seemingly enjoying herself in the regulation role of the demure female who turns out to be a useful killer when the situation demands it.

There’s a strong affinity with those legions of post-war British B features which starred (usually) washed up Hollywood stars imported by UK filmmakers in the hope their movie might win some sort of appeal back in the States with an American ‘lead’. Here that token role is taken by Zane, bobbing up to the surface 19 years after going down in Titanic, to play the American commander of the covert mission, a role that demands a moustache but not too much in the way of real acting.

Alan Frank

UK 2011. UK Distributor: Kaleidoscope Entertainment. Colour.
97 minutes. not widescreen. UK certificate: 15.

Guidance ratings (out of 3): Sex/nudity 0, Violence/Horror 3, Drugs 0, Swearing 2.

Review date: 21 Jan 2012