War Pigs (2015) Review!!

Synopsis – A rag tag unit of misfits known as the War Pigs must go behind enemy lines to exterminate Nazis by any means necessary.

My Take – I am sure right from the trailers & the look of the film no one expected this to be an Inglorious Basterds standard film, but with B action movie stars Dolph Lundgren (The Expendables, Universal Soldier) & Luke Goss (Death Race 2 & 3, AWOL-72) at helm we can surely expect some old school entertainment. Written and made in the same vein as famous WWII movies like Kelly’s Heroes and The Dirty Dozen, this is a movie for fun WWII action movie lovers! A ragtag group of misfits being thrown together to take on a mission no one else would attempt, and no one else thinks this ragtag group of misfits has a chance in hell of accomplishing. Frankly, this basis for a movie is nothing new. Films like Inglorious Basterds, The Monuments Men, The Dirty Dozen and Kelly’s Heroes are some fine examples. I guess it gets used so often because audiences like it, I know I do especially when it’s done well. While, this film may not end up in the masterpiece category, its good to add spice to a lazy weekend. Sure, if you look closely enough, you can see the much better movies that inspired this, but so much of the quality of those originals has been lost in other cheap imitations. Being a B movie itself, It gets the ingredients and process kind of right, but it never pays enough attention to the little details.

In a good example of this kind of movie, you only care about the soldiers accomplishing their goals because you care about the soldiers. Here, every member of the this film is such a thin stereotype, it’s hard to care. There’s the smart ass, the conflicted man of faith, the fresh faced newbie. But we only know that because these characters basically introduce themselves as such. We never learn these things organically in a way that makes them seem real. They’re never people, they’re all just movie characters. The story follows Captain Jack Wosick (Luke Goss), who after following orders based on bad intel loses his entire platoon and is stripped off his rank. Until Major AJ Redding (Mickey Rourke) offers him a new assignment of conducting an operation behind enemy lines in exchange of giving him back his rank (should he choose to accept it). He is handed over a group of ragtag, misfit men know as the War Pigs. Along with French commando Captain Hans Picault (Dolph Lungren), These two train the War Pigs in various fighting techniques with knives, climbing ropes etc. the WWII “norm.” At first flaunting their rebellious nature and contempt for authority, a training montage shows the War Pigs learning to respect their new superiors and learning to work as a well disciplined team. While pegged as an action movie, I would say the relationship between Wosick and Picault, is the real heart of the story. Wosick is dealing with the loss of his platoon from an early mission, while Captain Picault helps Jack come to terms with his loss. He tells him “Orders are orders.” A common theme amongst soldiers. The first half of the movie is frankly tedious, it slows down a lot and there is a lot of contemplation (don’t overdo that in such a movie), the opening action sequence is also terrible and uses CGI muzzle flashes, although those are absent later in the film, odd. The second half is better, it raises the bar to execute enjoyable action scenes. A throwback to war movies before they had to blow up the whole world, the film is most reminiscent of an old TV series. There are attractive American heroes with slightly rebellious or sardonic attitudes, minimal production values, and Nazis that make you wonder how they ever conquered Poland. Luke Goss, who I usually refer to as a poor man’s Jason Statham (not because they are bald), but due to his own screen charisma reminiscent of Jason Statham‘s early days. He is instantly likeable here, & plays his part here well. Lundgren puts in his best performance here since his role as Gunnar Jensen in the original Expendables, at times you even forget that it’s him.

That goes a long way! And he’s also in most of the movie (unlike Mickey Rourke’s cameo). Dolph Lundgren enters the picture with a funny little French Foreign Legion hat that he mercifully doesn’t wear much. He grew up near here, speaks German, wants revenge for his parents’ deaths. Mercifully, we don’t visit their graves. The filmmakers avoid mawkishness and sentimentality at every turn – lest they give this a sense of reality. I have to say again the understated conversations between Lundgren and Goss are probably the best thing about the movie. Mickey Rourke shows up in a cowboy hat as Major A.J. Redding and gives Jack an assignment to redeem himself: find a Nazi supergun. Mickey’s in good form though he looks like he spends all day eating fried food. On the whole, ‘War Pigs‘ is an old fashioned WWII film which can be enjoyed if you are a fan of B grade action flicks. Running at a run time of 91 minutes, the film ends just when you expect the real mission to begin: something like conquering the Berlin when Hitler isn’t watching. You know: go all Dirty Dozen with the real pyrotechnics. Maybe a sequel? Nevertheless, if you’re into this kind of uncomplicated fare and not looking for a Tarantino spin of ultimate gruesomeness, you probably will enjoy this!