Operation Delta Force

When I first saw this on video I thought what a pile of poo but why the hell did I enjoy it??

The thing is when a film is called "Operation Delta Force" you don't go into it thinking that you are going to see the finest display of realistic military action film making. You go for a fun 90 minutes where you can leave the world outside your living room.

Obviously when the film came out there was a shortage of bad guys so who better than the local population of where the film was shot - Bad South Africans! At least this explains the accents of supporting cast, unlike other worthier fare that lensed in SA (eg: Bravo Two Zero)

In fact I loved hearing Africaans in a film as it really lends itself to villains. I never was a fan of Jeff Fahey and at least he doesn't detract from this film but I never wondered why Joe Lara didn't get a chance to do at least one good film. Okay apart from the rubbish Seagal ponytail he has a good look and I guess... Oh who cares man this film is fun - why am I analysing a film that is formed around a B-Movie Special Forces formula (see my review of Operation Delta Force IV: Deep Fault)

I love this film for all it's B-list cast and terrible continuity - for it's absurd action scenes (anyone that doesn't realise that a film where a group of men run at a concrete machine-gun emplacement and don't die but actually destroy it, isn't to be taken seriously is lacking a fun gland).

See it when you've had a hard day doing something important - my dad and I did and we loved it - A Proper B-Movie!!!.

The film deals with a South African terrorist group commanded by Nash (Joe Lara) who have robbed vials of a deadly virus called Ebola and threatening to release on the population . Delta Force is assigned by Security Chief (Hal Holbrook) for the mission to track down them . The leader (Jeff Fahey) and other members (Frank Zagarino , Rob Stewart , Natasha Sutherland) are flown into Mozambique to stop'em . They must battle to vanquish in this overly violent actioner .

The picture is exciting and tense at time lackluster thriller . This standard noisy action movie is less than memorable . However ; fights , gunplay , shootouts and explosions are well done in this routine actioner . The flick is plenty of macho man , frenetic action , chases , struggles and firepower . Delta Force original story is in ¨Delta Force I¨ based on hijacking TWA plane with Chuck Norris , Lee Marvin , George Kennedy , Robert Foster and directed by Menahem Golan . It posteriorly continues ¨Delta Force II operation stranglehold¨ with Chuck Norris , Richard Jaeckel, John P. Ryan , Billy Drago and directed by his brother Aaron Norris . Furthermore , ¨Delta Force III , the killing game¨ with the sons Hollywood's bigger stars : Eric Douglas , Nick Cassavetes , Mike Norris and directed by the same director this film , Sam Firstemberg . Rating : mediocre but entertaining .

Why why why do people decry films like this, ok it`s not a good film, but it`s a lot better than some films made in the 90's, Jeff Fahey is good as the leader of the Delta Force, Joe Lara is ok as the 'baddie' and it`s nice to see Hal Holbrook doing his stuff.

If you want some escapisum this is ok and it`s no worse then any of the TV series 'The A Team'...give it a try, the story line is not to bad either...come on it is a 'B' grade movie but live and let live...

6/10

Bear in mind that I haven't seen this film since it first came out on Channel 5 about a year ago.

This film has one of the most stupid scenes I've ever seen in a film of its type. The bit where they are dropped off by helicopter to the bottom of that railway bridge, and then climb up the bridge supports to the top. WHY????? WHY NOT JUST GET THE HELI TO DROP YOU OFF AT THE TOP???

Anyway, apart from that little annoyance, which actually adds a little humour to the film (from our point of view), this film is utterly cr*p. Simple as that.

It's plain to see that the writers/directors didn't do any homework on spec ops. Our highly trained heroes stand out in the open, shoot from the hip at targets 200 metres away and get them every time, while the enemy couldn't hit the Titanic from 2m away. This is brainless, team-based Rambo action.

I personally wouldn't waste my time even rating this film, except that now I'm here, I might as well. Can the rating system take negative numbers???

When you have seen so many bad films then you begin to acquire a taste for them. It's films like 'Operation Delta Force' that give bad films their good name. Just sit back and relax and forget about all your worries and delve into fantasy land as Jeff Fahey and that black guy out of Ghostbusters run around pretending to be USA army specialists. Trouble is the makers of this film didn't intend for it to be a fantasy tale, its supposed to be a serious tale of guerilla warfare. Well, this just makes it all the more amusing. You'll not believe how silly some of the scenes are. Bad films like this serve a purpose because when you see a good film then you will really appreciate it.