I remember seeing this film in the video store when I was a kid and thinking it was so cool - an Aussie guys on a mission action movie, how awesome! - then being disappointed when I saw it. Re watching it years down the track the same feelings remain. This should have been could, it could have been good, but it's never more than average.
It starts well - the terrific title, a scroll explaining what Z Force was, touching on their two famous missions, then listing the cast with their characters full name and rank. And there's a great opening of a submarine dropping off the men - and the beginning sequence where one of the gang shoot their own is striking. But then it gets bogged down with too many scenes of people peering over ridges and firing machine guns. That sounds exciting, even writing it, but not as you see it.
It's a fairly rudimentary trudge through the jungle. They could have done great things with Jon Philip Law being a Dutchman from the area whose family was killed by the Japanese, but its thrown away. (Is this island meant to be a former Dutch colony? It's never clear.) His romance with local Sylvia Change is very chaste (they snuggle, not have sex), and there are some silly bits like local resistance leader going all kung fu fighter on the Japanese. And the ending rips of The Wild Geese with the human McGuffin carking it at the last minute.
I will say this for it - the cast is great, and they all have distinct roles to play: callow Mel Gibson, who is bullied into the final battle by the Japanese diplomatic (who looks like a caricature of a Japanese from a war comic); ruthless Sam Neill who nonetheless has sympathy for the villagers; cheery Chris Haywood; sensitive Jon Philip Law. It's a great opportunity missed- they should look at remaking this.
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