Operation Delta Force 2: Mayday

Being a fan of movies made by Nu Image was the main reason why I rented this movie. I wanted to start with part one, but I could not locate it anywhere, so I started with part two. (All the movies in the series seem to have different characters, so I knew I wouldn't be missing anything.)

Although this was clearly a low budget movie, I was impressed on how they managed to stretch the budget. We get things like tanks plowing through buildings, collapsing guard towers, submarine interiors, and sea ports. The photography is usually sharp, and the lighting is bright enough.

While this movie may look good, most of the remaining part of the movie is unfortunately not very well done. This is a sluggish movie - the story is dragged out to an overbearing length (the movie is almost two hours long!), and the action scenes lack zip, either due to excessive slow motion or flat direction. There are some technical goofs like the shadow of the boom mike being visible or some real inept editing. And none of the characters really manage to stand out, even the bad guys. Even if you watch this movie for free during a slow day, chances are good you'll be weary long before it ends.

A no-name cast, so-so plot, lots of action, and you've got a reasonable rainy afternoon movie. It was a miserable day, and all I wanted was a simple, typical action flick that wasn't preachy didn't worry about being politically correct (well, not too worried), and didn't require absolute attention to keep up with the plot. I didn't expect the greatest show on earth, and was entertained for 108 minutes. That's what I wanted, that's what I got.

The Operation Delta Force series had no reason to justify its five (proudly) American products or either the shoot the five of them in only two years...so, in this case, I can say the job was made fast, but in a bad way...This one isn't an exception...the same recipe over and over again...the invincible squad of American soldiers killing thousands of terrorists from other nationalities such as the usual Russia...Is that a "Made in America political speech"? What could be a plot summary for this movie if it's not "American muscled heroes kicking the terrorists' butts"? I saw Operation Delta Force 3: Clear Target, and it was the SAME thing, the only advantage in the third one was that it lasted shorter...A huge advantage in this case! The acting...if you call it so...is plain bad...I've never seen the actors of ODF2 before, and I hope I won't see them again! The characters are single-minded...definitely...and it is at some point funny...you can't say anything about any character...I don't even remember the principal character's name...no informations given about any characters except maybe the size of his gun...so in this film, the most important characters are the guns...The special effects are not bad, but they're not reinventing cinema...Another funny point is that SO many people get shot in this film, and there is almost no blood...And THE point that made the film last so long was the stupid and pathetic slow-motion with the backing patriotic American music during all the action scenes (that means more than three quarters of the movie)...Plain bad...If you like guns, soldiers and EXTREME cliches that you could see in a Simpson's episode put in a serious way, or if you really dislike Russians, you'll like this one...But, if you're someone who has healthy movie tastes...avoid it...I give it 28%.

Initially somewhat of an unknown quantity to me, Yossi Wein ultimately proves himself to be a more than capable action director, flexing some seriously steely celluloid muscle in his excitingly bullet-blasted, gallopingly Gung ho, Kill'em all 90s Alpha-fest 'Operation Delta Force 2'. And this pleasingly noisome sequel to the curiously neglected, no less bellicose 'Operation Delta Force' has an equally exhilarating, palpably sweaty, rewardingly OTT Canon Films vibe. The darkly charismatic J. Kenneth Campbell energetically puts in a truly dynamite performance as the amusingly glib, deliciously dastardly, ominously Poe-quoting, Nuclear sub stealing terrorist skeezer 'Lukash'. I'm genuinely perplexed that this boisterously camo-shredding, ordinance overloaded shoot 'em up doesn't get mentioned more often, since it really is a rather fine six-pack friendly, six-shooter and beer B-Movie classic! Not that my opinion will sway anyone remotely sensible, but I honestly dug part 2 a Teflon'd tad more than the 1st fiesty instalment of this fearlessly flag-waving America-uber-alles franchise. While the text is rarely better than perfunctory, the uniformly robust performances and consistently zesty action sequences are bona fide!

... well, not that good either. But compared to a lot of shoddily written tripe that gets top billing just because of bigger budgets, I'd say this was quite above average. Some rather impressive action scenes, albeit overshadowed by some really awful dialogue... but then again, intra-personal relationships and conversation isn't why you wanted to watch this film in the first place, is it? And a good thing too... Having said that, if you want snappy dialogue and razor sharp delivery, you're occasionally in for, if not a treat, then some truly appetizing morsels. There are many intellectual film villains, but few so deliciously literate and exquisitely brainy (and truly eeevil) as Flint Lukash (J. Kenneth Campbell; brilliant and dazzling as ever!). I'd go so far as to say this bad guy puts several other baddies to shame. (James Bond could have done with more adversaries like this... Now there's a thought!) A pity the good guys aren't quite up to scratch. Still, they tried...

A good evening's entertainment; decent plot outline, lots of big explosions, nice stunt work, and no problems identifying who's on which side during the fight scenes (a common 007-flaw, I might add). Relax, have a good laugh, cheer for the heroes and boo at the baddies and just enjoy the cruise... And get Mr Wein (director) a bigger budget and better dialogue next time! Could be fun...