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Men of War

1994 Directed by Perry Lang

Killers for hire are paid for what they can do, not for what they believe... until today.

Nick Gunar is a burnt-out, jaded and hard-up former mercenary who is having a difficult time adjusting to civilian life. At the end of his rope, he is hired by the Nitro Mine Corporation to strong-arm the natives of a South China Sea island into giving up their rights to its valuable mineral resources. Nick loathes the thought of another mission, but this seemingly easy job will earn him enough money to get back with his estranged family. He recruits some of his former mercenary buddies to help him with the job. The island people refuse to give up their land and Nick decides to help them fight the greedy corporation that hired him. As greed and treachery begin to unravel, Nick's band of mercenaries choose sides.

Dolph Lundgren Charlotte Lewis BD Wong Tim Guinee Catherine Bell Trevor Goddard Tommy Lister Jr. Thomas Gibson Tony Denison Don Harvey Tom Wright Kevin Tighe Perry Lang Aldo Sambrell Juan Pedro Tudela Ignacio Carreño Tookta Saengsuk Sri-Taow Soa Tong Master Bank Na Charat Petch Pao Porapak Saeng Ta Ngai Pongsuan Ancharee Suwanpong Po Pao Pee Somchai Santitharangkun Sukoltorn Tungkasen Somsak Homchantoa Pradit Seeriem Komkrib 'Krib' Wongwirot Numchai Polmuang Show All…

Alternative Titles

Najemnicy, メン・オブ・ウォー, L'ultima missione, L'homme de Guerre, Hombres de acero, Bărbați de război, מלחמתו של גבר, Dzsungelháború, Наемниците, Homem de Guerra, Švéd, Солдаты фортуны, 붉은 전사, Солдати фортуни, 魔鬼悍将

Genre

Action

Themes

Epic heroes Superheroes in action-packed battles with villains Epic adventure and breathtaking battles Show All…

Theatrical

03 Sep 1994

Japan

13 Apr 1995

Hungary16

19 Dec 1995

USAR

Physical

15 Jan 1995

Germany18

Germany

15 Jan 1995

Physical18

Hungary

13 Apr 1995

Theatrical16

Japan

03 Sep 1994

Theatrical

USA

19 Dec 1995

TheatricalR

103 mins More at IMDb TMDb Report this page

Popular reviews

Review by Josh Lewis ★★★ 2

Has aspirations of being something of a DTV First Blood Pt. II with a hint of those early scenes in Predator and is more successful than it probably should be. John Sayles is a co-writer here and probably responsible for the surprisingly committed anti-capitalist/colonialist attitudes these large, corporate-backed mercenaries eventually come to realize in what's ultimately this frequently kind of beautiful little island men-on-a-mission movie with an insanely violent climax. Lundgren is also used well here I think, he looks the part and maintains a kind of stock earnestness during all the shots of him framed against lush backgrounds yearning for a life outside of what he's good at followed by him turning almost everything around him into pieces of raw meat.
Review by Todd Gaines ★★★★ 7

One of my favorite Men on a Mission movies, Men of War is an action packed killfest with Dolph Lundgren acting like Dolph Lundgren. He’s so self-aware of his acting charisma. I love how he sneaks in a line of humorous dialogue or the way he looks at the camera. He knows his goal is to entertain the audience.
Each of the mercenaries has their own moment of glory. All the deaths of major characters are glorious. Each merc’s weapon of choice is an extension of their personality. I love Dolph’s shotty and M2. You can tell he loves to blow shit sky high. Tiny Lister uses a M60 machine gun. The type of gun a bad sumbitch would use to…
Review by Carlo V

Another severely underrated entry in the book of Dolph, this men on a mission movie sans Predator (but with a very similar score) has enough style and surprises to hold its own if you ask me. A rock solid cast with B.D. Wong, Tiny Lister, Charlotte Lewis, Catherine Bell as a bit of a Lady Rambo, and Trevor Goddard aka KANO from Mortal Kombat, choking on the beautiful island scenery. I'm being a bit generous with my rating, but it's to offset its current average which is unjustly low. If you like this type of movie, and don't mind a bit of dumbass macho bullshit, you likely won't get bored by this. A solid ass summer pick where a lot of people get blown up 💥👍
Review by kmeaston ★★★ 1

John Sayles must've been participating in some sort of Screenwriters' Challenge, because he literally made a MacGuffin out of bird shit.
Review by Old Man Angelo ★★★½

Men of War is a super underrated men on a mission actioner, it’s a surprisingly thoughtful slow burn that builds up to a pretty epic climax as good as any Expendables movie.
I wouldn’t go as far as calling it an arthouse action, but for a 90’s direct to video movie, it’s beautifully atmospheric, from its gloomy Chicago opening, to its almost dreamlike South asian island main locale. It might not fully earn having such a slow pensive pace for its first hour, but there’s a very beautiful anti colonial/corporate interest message. For a white blonde aryan ubermensch, it’s probably worth looking into Dolphs filmography as a political outlier for the time. Makes sense he’s one of the few anti…
Review by Justin LaLiberty ★★★½ 2

“Welcome to Hell”
fairly standard men-on-a-mission material that stands out from the pack due to a script by John Sayles and being truly nasty, even for this type of thing, with characters tossing around severed heads, exploding and even fighting with bones as weapons (including a gross impaling with broken bone) — maybe it’s all a bit too much, but I’m not complaining
Review by kjdson ★★★★ 2

You know I envy you, you're gonna die for something you believe in.
Dolph Lundgren plays a mercenary hired by some corporate jackasses to convince the native population of a small island to sign over their mineral rights. He gets himself a team who soon find themselves split on helping the people or attacking them.
After watching the Expendables 4 trailer I was looking for a movie where characters fired machine guns at one another, and this has plenty of that, but it's surprisingly well acted. Some solid performances by Dolph, Catherine Bell, Tom Wright and especially B.D. Wong as the moral center of the movie.
The DVD box says 'R for Non-Stop Violence' so perhaps the MPAA only watched…
Review by Andrew Miller ★★★½ 8

Leave it to John Sayles to pen a soldier of fortune flick as a paean to working stiffs. One of the few “men on a mission” movies with a lady on the team (JAG star Catherine Bell, unrecognizable) and maybe the only one to wrap things up in under 2 hours, without giving short shrift to the climactic orgy of death.
You’d think if there’s one person could disprove the old adage “there’s no such thing as an anti-war movie” it would be Sayles, but nope, not this time out. This story of mercenaries who get woke and join up with the indigenous folk they were sent to exterminate is about as anti-imperialist as it gets, but it’s also very much…
Review by Tao A ★ 2

It should actually be illegal making a Rambo: First Blood Part II knockoff this boring.
Review by Justin Decloux ★★★½

Great MEN (and one woman) ON A MISSION film that would have easily soared to four stars if it had one more action scene. As it stands, the gang is really fun to watch hang out, but you really start to feel the "When are we going to get to the fireworks factory?" until all the stops are pulled in the last act blow out. I love Dolph Lundgren and a new Dolph Classic is always nice to add to the books.
Review by Rich Trash🗑️ ★★★½

Men of War is one of Dolph's better 90s direct-to-video action flicks. He is working for a company that wants him and other mercenaries to intimidate the locals into signing away their land. Things don't go as planned and with a change of heart, Dolph begins to help the people defend what is theirs.
This movie has great pacing, even if it isn't back-to-back action like the rating board would have you believe. The ending really puts this over the top for me. The action just built so perfectly to the final confrontations that left a goofy smile on my face.
Review by PenguinBoss ★★★½

Nice production values and a much better than usual script help elevate this otherwise pretty standard men on a mission film. Has a slower build than you might expect but the character work is really when done which makes the extended end battle very satisfying.
During the final battle, Tiny Lister angrily throws a child onto a roof. Said child then jumps off the roof precisely onto Tiny’s crotch as he screams in pain. Definitely the highlight of the movie if you ask me.

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Men of War

Synopsis

Killers for hire are paid for what they can do, not for what they believe... until today.

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Theatrical

03 Sep 1994

13 Apr 1995

19 Dec 1995

Physical

15 Jan 1995

Germany

15 Jan 1995

Hungary

13 Apr 1995

Japan

03 Sep 1994

USA

19 Dec 1995

Popular reviews

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Story

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