That was an excellent one.

hyped garbage

Good idea lost in the noise

Your blood may run cold, but you now find yourself pinioned to the story.

This seems to be a totally forgotten little low-budget movie from Umberto Lenzi, so much so that I can't find anything about the film at all on the internet, aside from three differing titles (plus the third that I found it under!). I picked it up in one of those ancient cardboard sleeve releases, and at the princely sum of 50p I really couldn't complain, especially when I saw the names of Ivan Rassimov and Umberto Lenzi in the opening titles.We're in routine action territory here, in a film which consists of dialogue, plot development, and lots and lots of shooting. This is a predictable movie which does at least satisfy with the amount of bullets flying around…I would say that a good third of this movie is made up of action scenes, including one stretched-out massacre at a prison camp in the heart of the jungle in which the enemies are based.This is a cheap but cheerful little film, and it's obvious that the low budget didn't hamper Lenzi at all, as he packs it with his trademark slapdash action and high body count. While the explosions may look cheesy (blowing up in front of the actors all the time, thereby obscuring them), the sheer quantity of bullets shot and people dying is impressive in a small way in itself. Once again Lenzi makes good use of a jungle setting as he charts our "wild team" making their way into the enemy camp - after all, he'd had good experience with his gruelling cannibal flicks, and the authentic Dominican Republic locations add to the experience.The B-movie cast are consistently amusing, especially Sal Borgese as the square-jawed clean-cut action hero type who spends most of the film giving orders and doing heroic things. He's joined by the typical blonde bimbo (in cut-off shorts and low-cut top, no less), an arrogant German (talk about stereotyping) - played by Werner Poctath, one of the most underrated actors in exploitation cinema, a lovable Mexican, and Lenzi's own reliable star, Ivan Rassimov! Rassimov is once again the "whipping boy" of the group. There's also a child actor who tags along for most of the movie, but thankfully he's not too annoying. The bad guys are over actors, as per usual.I would say that this movie is worth a look in a "so-bad-it's-good" sense. There are many unintentional scenes to laugh at. These include a moment where our heroes hang-glide into a swamp (so cheesy it's hilarious), one of those clichéd arrow-through-the-neck tricks (which you figure out as an infant) and some ripe dialogue that makes no sense ("I warned you to keep your gun clean - all you think about is Bo Derek!"). Plus some unconnected bits at the beginning and end involving stuffy officials shouting at each other. The bad focusing and appalling editing in the action scenes sink this movie from the start, but it's enjoyable enough in a cheesy kind of way.

Never one to ignore a trend, Italian director Umberto Lenzi has a crack at the jungle warfare/action genre as popularised by US hits like Rambo, Commando and Missing In Action, giving us this cheap and cheesy piece of instantly forgettable nonsense about a team of hard-as-nails mercenaries hired by a mining company to rescue the kidnapped son of a deposed South American president.A mish-mash of ideas borrowed from the aforementioned American movies, Lenzi's film is unremarkable guff from start to finish, a repetitive succession of lame jungle encounters between the fearless soldiers-for-hire and numerous heavily armed goons. Expect the endless 'ratatatat' of machine gun fire, lots of explosions, a dreadful hang-gliding scene (the team's very ordinary equipment supposedly made of special material capable of avoiding detection by radar), random encounters with jungle critters, hilarious dubbing (the son of the president has a particularly irritating voice), much macho posturing from the mercs, and a gratuitous shot of explosives expert Sybil (Julia Kent) bending over in hot-pants, but nowhere near as much gore as one might hope for in a film by the man who gave us Cannibal Ferox.

A good assemble cast of B-movie stars including Antonio Sabato (who bears an uncanny resemblance to a young Ricardo Montalban!), the ever creepy Werner Pochath and Ivan Rassimov star in this sadly flat 'action' flick in which a group of highly trained mercenaries undertake a dangerous mission (yawn) to rescue a kidnapped boy from some guerrillas somewhere in South America.Boring throughout with poorly executed action scenes, bland characterisations and a particularly sloppy and childish feel to it, this film has very little to recommend it.Certainly one of director Umberto Lenzi's lesser efforts, this one is best left on the shelf. Oh, and did I mention the horrific 'humming' soundtrack over the end credits?.....*shudder*

On the tropical island of Manioca, during a MardiGras-like festival, the child of the former president is kidnapped by the thugs of a communistic dictator. A large corporation in Miami finances an expedition to recover the child, and thus hopes to put the democratic nominee back in power. To this end, they send four mercenaries into the jungle, all of whom are masters of warfare. However, while the four mercenaries are fighting their way through the green inferno, new developments are occurring back in Miami. It seems that the corporation has changed its stance, and is now trying to work out a deal with the communistic dictator. This is sadly one of Umberto Lenzi's most neglected films--and for no good reason at all. Perhaps the lack of distribution has contributed to the obscurity of this gem; but, for all serious fans, it remains to be rediscovered. This film is not remarkable insofar as it is extraordinary, but that it so keenly represents the ending of an era. Never again will we see the likes of Antonio Sabato, Ivan Rassimov, Werner Pochath, and Franco Fantasia, all teaming up together in one great film such as this. Besides being well-directed, this movie is augmented by a very nice soundtrack by Stelvio Cipriani, as well as a surpise appearance by Andrea Aureli. Of course, it has its drawbacks as well. For instance, Ivan Rassimov's character is killed off much too soon (the same fate he suffered in Ruggero Deodato's "Atlantis Interceptors"). However, this movie contains some genuinely wonderful scenes that recall all the glory of Lenzi's earlier films. Highly recommended!