Melodramatic war film which sometimes focuses too much on the forbidden romance shared between lead Law and the character played by Chang, daughter of the village elder who despises the Japanese but is also wary of the impact allied forces will have on his village. Elsewhere it's a capable action film concerning an elite group of soldiers who infiltrate an island village in Taiwan to extract a Japanese defector and his American minder who crash landed on the island.
There's plenty of future star power to rev the engines with Gibson showing glimpses of the livewire character he went on to regularly play, Neill as the reliable interpreter (who has an especially unenviable task to perform early in the mission that should make you gasp), and then Haywood and Waters occupying smaller roles. The child actor who plays the young son (Ti) covertly assisting the members of Z Force to carry out their dangerous mission is also good value.
I've read that original director Philip Noyce was replaced just prior to filming due in part to his desire to inject colonialist themes. Fortunately the moralities of war lessons are kept to a minimum, Neill giving us a half-hearted reminder that the allies are also the enemy, before a reasonably tense escape plan is executed (in the style of 'The Magnificent Seven', but bloodier) with mixed results.
Overall it's a fairly bleak tale with just enough action to hold the attention, which it obviously has gained more of since its stars have risen.
There's plenty of future star power to rev the engines with Gibson showing glimpses of the livewire character he went on to regularly play, Neill as the reliable interpreter (who has an especially unenviable task to perform early in the mission that should make you gasp), and then Haywood and Waters occupying smaller roles. The child actor who plays the young son (Ti) covertly assisting the members of Z Force to carry out their dangerous mission is also good value.
I've read that original director Philip Noyce was replaced just prior to filming due in part to his desire to inject colonialist themes. Fortunately the moralities of war lessons are kept to a minimum, Neill giving us a half-hearted reminder that the allies are also the enemy, before a reasonably tense escape plan is executed (in the style of 'The Magnificent Seven', but bloodier) with mixed results.
Overall it's a fairly bleak tale with just enough action to hold the attention, which it obviously has gained more of since its stars have risen.