6/10
Much better than expected
20 April 2020
I just watched a copy of this, and I cannot believe it's sitting at below 4 at the moment. This was a really well put together story about Vietnam POWs attempting to escape to the Philippines. While it has a cast and crew of mostly unknowns, it appeared to have a much higher budget than most other cheaply made Filipino movies. The film stock is very high quality, and there are several large explosions, many aircraft, and lots of gunplay. I like that there were several different personalties among the prisoners such a the Jesus freak, the snitch, the genius, the junkie, the leader, the hippie, and they all play off each other nicely. Before the escape the prisoners befriend and elect to rescue several Russian and Vietnamese prostitutes who were servicing the soldiers holding them captive, and the ladies make a nice addition to the team. While escaping through the jungle the party stumbles upon a crashed Air America / CIA prop plane that just so happens to be completely loaded with food, weapons, and engineering equipment. With some help from an indigenous Vietnamese tribe, It then becomes the mission to hold back the enemy, repair the plane, and escape. While it is a "war movie", this film doesn't take itself as seriously as Platoon or Saving Private Ryan. The writing is more akin to an Indiana Jones movie, and there are several moments of comic relief. I highly recommend this movie if you're looking for something outside of Hollywood, yet still has a big budget look.
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