Review of Dogs Of War, The

Introduction

This 1980 action movie sees Christopher Walken leading a team of mercenaries into the small African state of Zangora on the payroll of a major corporation keen to get their hands on the mineral rights. They need to remove the incumbent leader and install their own man in order to achieve their aims.

Video

The video is presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen and is of above average quality, providing a reasonably sharp image that is stable and colourful. The print is reasonably free of grain, but there are a few noticeable specs of dirt. Overall, the video looks pretty good given the age of the film.

The film is effectively split up into three segments – the first sees Walken on a reconnaissance mission in the fictitious state of Zangora, the second sees the team preparing for the assault, primarily in London, and the third concentrates on the assault itself. The scenes set in Zangora feel quite claustrophobic, with little scale to the sets and limited locations. This makes it look like the team are going after a small town instead of a country. The visual effects during the attack aren`t to bad, but again seem to be on a small scale.

Audio

The soundtrack is presented in Dolby Digital 2.0, which provides adequate but unexciting reproduction of the sound in matrixed Dolby Pro-Logic.

The sound is focused heavily on the front three speakers, and the effects consist primarily of gunshots and explosions, all of which sound reasonably good. The dialogue is clear and understandable throughout the film, and is set at an appropriate level so that it can be heard above the melee.

Features

The only extra on offer is the trailer.

Conclusion

Overall, The Dogs of War isn`t a classic movie by any means, but is quite watchable, helped by the presence of Christopher Walken. The plot has several inadequacies, but the primary failing is the lack of scale – the whole film centres on the take-over of a small country by shooting a couple of guards on a bridge and storming a lightly defended compound.

There isn`t much depth to the build up, and despite Walken going on a reconnaissance mission, we don`t really learn much about any of the characters or scenario involved. The team`s preparation for the assault is handled better, and when we get to the assault sequence, it fails to live up to the expectations built up during the rest of the film. The action itself isn`t particularly exciting, and looks a little low-budget, despite plenty of pyrotechnics.

In summary, an average movie with good picture and adequate sound which is watchable but probably not worth buying.