The Dogs of War

Academy AwardÂ(r) winner* Christopher Walken (Pulp Fiction) is a brutal mercenary who must fight the ultimate battleagainst his own consciencein this powerful action thriller with a "heart-thumping tempo" (The Hollywood Reporter). The Dogs Of War is a spectacular adventure that brilliantly captures the gloryand horrorof war. Jamie Shannon (Walken) is a cynical warrior-for-hire who feels truly alive only in the heat of battle, and now he's aboutto take on the most challenging assignment of his career: to invade a corrupt African dictatorship and shift control to the "puppet" of a powerful British corporation. To prepare, Shannon masterfullytrains and equips a squad of deadly mercenaries with the latest and most destructive tactics and military hardware. But as their explosive assault begins, Shannon finds himself embroiled in an internal conflict of his own: Will this be his greatest triumph or has he sold his soul along with his battle expertise?

Back before Christopher Walken became a caricature of himself, when he was still considered a rising actor based on his Oscar® for The Deer Hunter, he made this graphic, exciting action film, about a group of professional mercenaries. Walken leads a band of soldiers of fortune, who are hired to overthrow a dictator in West Africa (think Idi Amin). But when their mission is compromised by political and monetary forces, Walken returns to the United States, disillusioned, battered, and not sure the high life of lawyers, guns, and money is really for him. Still, vengeance is sweet, as his partner, Tom Berenger, keeps whispering into his ear. A better film than it's generally given credit for, The Dogs of War features the kind of cool, detached performance Walken used to be capable of, before he began believing both the hype and ridicule about his over-the-top style. --Marshall Fine