John Irvin directs Christopher Walken, Tom Berenger and Colin Blakely in this thriller where a mercenary investigates an African dictator and stages a coup for vested interests.

Talking of great openings…HOLY SHIT!… the explosive start of this pretty much out epics Apocalypse Now for at least five minutes. Bullets, napalm, vehicular mayhem, bad assery. Then it shifts into a neat little Grahame Greene rip-off espionager where Walken’s subdued, internalised expert organises a coup. If you are fan of The Day of the Jackal (both films are based on Frederick Forsyth books) you’ll appreciate all the meticulous prep and back channel dealings. Then the big action revs up again in a muscular invasion finale. Manville gun popping out grenades like it just don’t care! All in all, a solid night at the movies.

7

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We also do a podcast together called The Worst Movies We Own. It is available on Spotify or here https://letterboxd.com/bobbycarroll/list/the-worst-movies-we-own-podcast-ranking-and/