The Dogs of War Reviews
kpn666
Super Reviewer
June 24, 2006
Classic and undderated! Noone gives this mercenary war movie enuff credit - it deserves heaps more! Christopher Walken is Shannon, the mercenary hired to subvert a small African nation for high paying executives - until his encounter as a prisoner and his morality takes charge in his firestorm war against the totalitarian government. WONDERFUL!
jam233
July 14, 2009
Fair to above average film, good performances, especially JoBeth Williams, but it never rises much above ordinary. Well produced with a reasonably interesting story. Watchable but not particularly memorable.
bloodrootgraveyarddi
July 14, 2007
Anything with Walken is bound to take a twist. He plays the double edged, half psychotic 'hero' very welll.
June 25, 2007
Chirstopher Walker is a badass, Fredrick Forsyth is a badass writer and better then Tom Clancy. This is a great adaptation of a novel and the perfect "how-to" guide for staging a coup. Just ask Mark Thatcher.
April 5, 2013
Without a doubt top 3 christopher walken movies. hes almost as insane as he is in deer hunter. Dogs of War is in the top 15 movies i have seen ever.
Philip C.
October 27, 2012
Deep at its core, the Dogs of War isn't a horrible experience. However, there is one fatal flaw, that drags it down. In the 1st act of the film, Jamie Shannon (Walken) is hired by a business tycoon to assess the political situation in an African country. His job is to determine whenever the local dictator can be overthrown.
He learns, that the despotic ruler hides in the garrison and decides to sneak his way in after dark. When he approaches the barracks, one of the guards ambushes him. They struggle for a while, soon Shannon manages to disarm his foe and subdue him. We then cut to our protagonist sleeping in a comfy bed in his hotel room. The next angle reviles the enemy soldiers surrounding the bed. Their commander gives them an order. We then cut to a prison complex.
This situation begs the question. What happened to the rest of the camp scene explaining, how did Shannon wind up in his bed? Did Shannon learn anything at the camp? Was he even able to get inside? What made him go back to the hotel? Last time we saw him, he got his way out of trouble and there was no indication of anybody else spotting him.
The editors did a poor job on this film, fortunately this is the only instance, where it creates a plot hole. Camerawork showcases the true lack of experience. Most scenes are shot without much though and could use some effective angles.
However there is a bright side. Story telling is decent, although pacing is uneven. Shannon's reunification with his ex-wife adds to the character's struggles, but slows the story down for no payoff. The second act feels like reading a novel. To the film's credit, it fostered storytelling far better than 1968 Italian Job. It takes its time to show us all the preperations Shannon makes.The only setback is the pace again, a few of those dialog scenes could have been left out of the final cut. The climax is your average shooting gallery, with not much to get excited about. Despite this, the very last scene at the president's office is something to look forward to.
The main character is the movie's redeeming quality. Shannon is haunted by unpleasant memories of past assignments and a wrecked marriage. A trip to Africa morphs the egotistical Jamie into a man willing to put his life at stakes once again.
Walken's performance is believable, especially in the few scenes with JoBeth Williams. However the script drops the ball on the rest of the characters, they seem to be coming and going without proper introduction. They exist on screen as wallflowers, while Christopher Walken gets all the attention. His performance is the only memorable one.
Overall, The Dogs of War is an ok movie, but it never works outside its own box. Making it as ordinary as it gets.
Verdict: Skip it.
Summary Review:
Deep at its core, the Dogs of War isn't a horrible experience. However, there is one fatal flaw, that drags it down. In the 1st act of the film, Jamie Shannon (Walken) is hired by a business tycoon to assess the political situation in an African country. His job is to determine whenever the local dictator can be overthrown.
He learns, that the despotic ruler hides in the garrison and decides to sneak his way in after dark. When he approaches the barracks, one of the guards ambushes him. They struggle for a while, soon Shannon manages to disarm his foe and subdue him. We then cut to our protagonist sleeping in a comfy bed in his hotel room. The next angle reviles the enemy soldiers surrounding the bed. Their commander gives them an order. We then cut to a prison complex.
This situation begs the question. What happened to the rest of the camp scene explaining, how did Shannon wind up in his bed? Did Shannon learn anything at the camp? Was he even able to get inside? What made him go back to the hotel? Last time we saw him, he got his way out of trouble and there was no indication of anybody else spotting him.
The editors did a poor job on this film, fortunately this is the only instance, where it creates a plot hole. Camerawork showcases the true lack of experience. Most scenes are shot without much though and could use some effective angles.
However there is a bright side. Story telling is decent, although pacing is uneven. Shannon's reunification with his ex-wife adds to the character's struggles, but slows the story down for no payoff. The second act feels like reading a novel. To the film's credit, it fostered storytelling far better than 1968 Italian Job. It takes its time to show us all the preperations Shannon makes.The only setback is the pace again, a few of those dialog scenes could have been left out of the final cut. The climax is your average shooting gallery, with not much to get excited about. Despite this, the very last scene at the president's office is something to look forward to.
The main character is the movie's redeeming quality. Shannon is haunted by unpleasant memories of past assignments and a wrecked marriage. A trip to Africa morphs the egotistical Jamie into a man willing to put his life at stakes once again.
Walken's performance is believable, especially in the few scenes with JoBeth Williams. However the script drops the ball on the rest of the characters, they seem to be coming and going without proper introduction. They exist on screen as wallflowers, while Christopher Walken gets all the attention. His performance is the only memorable one.
Overall, The Dogs of War is an ok movie, but it never works outside its own box. Making it as ordinary as it gets.
Verdict: Skip it.
September 12, 2012
Walken is terrific in the lead role and even though it is slow in parts the climax makes it worth the wait.
February 3, 2012
I read the book shortly after I saw the movie in the theater. Aside from the names of the characters, the book was nothing like the movie or should I say the movie was nothing like the book. This is typical of most movies, though. It (the movie) falls short of the book.None-the-less, I thought the movie was a fun watch. I would watch it again since it has been years since I last saw it on TV. I also recommend reading the book. It is a good read,as well.
Ky K.
November 14, 2010
The adaptation of Frederick Forsyth's book is pale; the movie has good things and corrections; however the story and characters are not stronger than those of the novel.
Dave J
April 6, 2010
(1981) The Dogs of War
WAR/ DRAMA
One of the best Christopher Walken film as a first starring role, extremely tense and fast pace, perhaps realistic based on the novel by Frederick Forsythe about a mercenary for hire!!! After the film had been over, I wanted to see more and was disappointed that was all there was!!!
This is also like a bases for "Rambo: First Blood Part II"!!
3.5 out of 4
Tuesday april 6, 2010
(1981) The Dogs of War
WAR/ DRAMA
One of the best Christopher Walken film as a first starring role, extremely tense and fast pace, perhaps realistic based on the novel by Frederick Forsythe about a mercenary for hire!!! After the film had been over, I wanted to see more and was disappointed that was all there was!!!
This is also like a bases for "Rambo: First Blood Part II"!!
3.5 out of 4
Diego E.
February 9, 2010
Another ok translation from the book to the screen, but not as good as the original. Interesting Walken interpretation.
Jesper J.
August 11, 2009
Took some time to get going but Christopher Walken delivers
jazza923
July 14, 2009
Fair to above average film, good performances, especially JoBeth Williams, but it never rises much above ordinary. Well produced with a reasonably interesting story. Watchable but not particularly memorable.
Alfod
June 13, 2006
One for the future: n/a
Stand-out scene: Confronting the new president after the coup
Brainer or no-brainer: No brainer
Stands up to one viewing or repeated?: One
DVD commentary any good?: n/a
TV
Author Frederick Forsythe may be a rabid old Tory, but when I picked up a omnibus edition of his at a cheap bookshop which contained both The Day of the Jackal and The Dogs of War I was prepared to give his writing skills a go, even if his politics are abhorrent. I'm glad I read both books before seeing the film adaptations but where 'Jackal' was a successfully abridged version, 'Dogs' is a slash and match affair. The bigoted Tory overtones to the depiction of the Zangorans whose African country is subject to the coup d'etat that forms the movie's finale are akin to those in the original King Kong movie. Forsythe does, amusingly, shoot himself in the foot somewhat by portraying the white protagonists as the true mercenaries of the piece only interested in the politics of the fictional country to get their hands on the precious substance - in this case a metal - abundant there (hmmm, sounds familiar). All this is glossed over in the movie; even though the mining contract is the heart of the plot it barely gets a mention. And in the lead character, seasoned mercenary Paul Shannon (Christopher Walken) Forsythe has *gasp* fashioned a decent liberal. Filmed in Belize, it follows Shannon as he first undertakes a solo reconnaisance mission to the region, which end with him being severely beaten and tortured. The promise of a payday that will allow him to retire tempts him into returning to finish the mission, the difficulty of mounting such an exercise depicted in a way incomparable to that in the novel. Reduced to its bare bones what is in printed form a detailed and researched novel about a British company's attempt to secure a cut price supply of a precious commodity has become a few skirmishes where instead of the spotlight being on a gang of mercenaries it's focussed on just one - Shannon. Christopher Walken is undoubtedly the best thing about this movie and his blank-eyed stares are as terrifying as ever. Shame about the material he has to work with here.
Best in Show: Christopher Walken
One for the future: n/a
Stand-out scene: Confronting the new president after the coup
Brainer or no-brainer: No brainer
Stands up to one viewing or repeated?: One
DVD commentary any good?: n/a
TV
Author Frederick Forsythe may be a rabid old Tory, but when I picked up a omnibus edition of his at a cheap bookshop which contained both The Day of the Jackal and The Dogs of War I was prepared to give his writing skills a go, even if his politics are abhorrent. I'm glad I read both books before seeing the film adaptations but where 'Jackal' was a successfully abridged version, 'Dogs' is a slash and match affair. The bigoted Tory overtones to the depiction of the Zangorans whose African country is subject to the coup d'etat that forms the movie's finale are akin to those in the original King Kong movie. Forsythe does, amusingly, shoot himself in the foot somewhat by portraying the white protagonists as the true mercenaries of the piece only interested in the politics of the fictional country to get their hands on the precious substance - in this case a metal - abundant there (hmmm, sounds familiar). All this is glossed over in the movie; even though the mining contract is the heart of the plot it barely gets a mention. And in the lead character, seasoned mercenary Paul Shannon (Christopher Walken) Forsythe has *gasp* fashioned a decent liberal. Filmed in Belize, it follows Shannon as he first undertakes a solo reconnaisance mission to the region, which end with him being severely beaten and tortured. The promise of a payday that will allow him to retire tempts him into returning to finish the mission, the difficulty of mounting such an exercise depicted in a way incomparable to that in the novel. Reduced to its bare bones what is in printed form a detailed and researched novel about a British company's attempt to secure a cut price supply of a precious commodity has become a few skirmishes where instead of the spotlight being on a gang of mercenaries it's focussed on just one - Shannon. Christopher Walken is undoubtedly the best thing about this movie and his blank-eyed stares are as terrifying as ever. Shame about the material he has to work with here.
