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In a Kabul prison, an AMERICAN
SOLDIER is being brutally tortured by his SOVIET INTERROGATORS.
Handsome but currently bloodied NICK RILEY (Dolph Lundgren) still
won't talk, despite the repeated vicious blows. His torturers,
disgusted, throw him back into his dingy cell along with with
his two comrades, KEEFER, an American soldier like Nick, and
BADGHIA, an African.
Badghia is hauled out,
and it's not long before the prison resounds with his screams
of pain. Nick, moved to new heights of fury, pulls on the chain
which binds him. The chain is connected to the ground with a
cement with a stake. With a superhuman effort, Nick actually
pulls out the stake! He then uses it to stab the GUARD, who dies
instantly.
Nick grabs the guard's
gun, frees Keefer, and they go for Badghia -- almost a suicide
mission, considering the tight security in the prison. When the
alarm sounds and more armed Russians pour onto the scene, Keefer
abandons Nick, preferring to save his own skin instead. Nick
can't believe Keefer would abandon him and Badghia like this,
especially after Nick just saved him.
Nick's efforts to save Badghia are in vain, for Badghia is riddled
with bullets as they run. Nick himself barely makes it out from
the prison, as his escape turns into one long, horrible blood-bath.
We suddenly realizes that all this happened long ago; we' ve
been seeing it in a FLASHBACK by Nick. Nick, vividly reexperiencing
this awful memory, screams with anger as he empties a machine
gun into a wall of his suburban house. Suddenly he snaps out
of it -- and finds his WIFE and young SON cowering, terrified
of his violence. They both want him out of the house, and in
fact his wife gets a restraining order that bars nim from coming
near either of them.
Nick, a prisoner of his own past, goes on a steep downward slide.
He moves into a seedy motel and hits the bottle hard. He stops
shaving and lets his appearance go to hell. Nick even comes close
to committing suicide.
But from deep inside he summons his will to live, and starts
working out hard at a local gym. Nick's return to self esteem
is hastened when he gets a job. An old military commander of
his -- dynamic and authoritative COLONEL MERRICK, recommends
Nick for a freelance gig. It's a potentially dirty job, one that
requires a top-notch warrior and munitions expert. Nick takes
a meeting with sophisticated WARREN and his short, unimpressive
sidekick LYLE, executives in a company called Nitrodyne Corporation.
They've found some extensive mineral deposits on a little South
Seas island. One problem, though: the NATIVES won't sign a contract
handing over the rights, even though Nitrodyne is willing to
pay them a bundle. Nick's job is get together some soldier-of-fortune
buddies of his, and go "persuade" the natives to sign
the contract -- one way or the other. If violence is required,
then so be it. Nick's job shouldn't be that difficult, for the
natives are unarmed. It sounds like a good deal to Nick; it will
be simple, quick, and it pays well. He goes about the job of
rounding up some fellow soldiers he used to serve with:
DEWEY has turned into a
manic-depressive. TI-JEAN ( "TJ" for short) is just
the opposite of Dewey. A high-spirited Cajun who speaks a mixture
of English, French, and Creole, TJ is the ultimate playboy. Lots
of fun and very sensual, women seem to gravitate to him like
a magnate. OCKER is a big Australian who has seen a lot of fighting.
But like TJ, he's basically a happy guy with an understated sense
of humor. If TJ's weakness is women, Ocker's is gambling. Besides
being a tough soldier, JAMAAL X was once a hell of a football
player. But he had problems -- attitude problems. In short, Jamaal
hates everyone.
In addition to Jamaal,
Ocker, TJ, and Dewey, Nick also picks up TWO OTHER MEN, both
seasoned fighters who like nothing better than killing. The entire
group gets off for the South Pacific.
The first stop is Poona
Bay.At a sleazy bar there full of ROUGH MEN and young, jaded
PROSTITUTES, Nick runs into an old enemy-- Keefer. Keefer sits
surrounded by his own crew of surly FIGHTERS. They too are guns
for hire. To Nick, Keefer is the lowest kind of scum -- a man
who deserted his friends. Keefer is equally contemptuous of Nick.
Keefer insults Nick, trying to provoke a fight -- and he gets
one.
Nick's guys and Keefer's
men battle it out, devastating the bar as they go for blood.
Only the arrival of the local POLICE averts certain death for
several of the fighters.
It's then on to the real
exploit. Nick and his men take a small boat to their island destination.
They're loaded down with weapons when they hit the beach. There
they're greeted by a happy native man named PO, who speaks pretty
good English. He's colorful, he's got a great sense of humor,
he's brilliantly ironic, and he's warm and self deprecating.
Po gladly takes on the role of tour guide to Nick and the group.
Nick and his men came here
prepared for a fight. Instead, they find that all the VILLAGERS
welcome them like long lost family. Although some of Nick's soldiers
think the entire friendship thing is a trap, soon it becomes
obvious that it's not. Nick and the others come quickly to realize
that they've landed in paradise! Balmy weather, beautiful beaches,
and friendly people...who could ask for more? One stunning native
woman, LOKI, seems to fancy Nick. Despite Nick's initial reservations,
the attraction is just too strong, and before long they're lost
in passionate love-making. It seems like all the rest of Nick's
men also find what they need on the island-- whether it be inner
peace, acceptance, a female partner, or in Jamaal's case, the
love and adoration of the island's many CHILDREN.
Of course, Nick and the
others came to the island for a purpose, and Nick is distressed
to learn that the natives won't sign the contract. They enjoy
their lives and don't want the island overrun with civilization.
Nick, desperate, explains that they'll all get killed -- if not
by Nick and his group, then by others who will surely follow.
An OLD MAN answers Nick
by taking an ax -- and chopping off his own wrist! He then bleeds
to death without even complaining ! Nick and the others are completely
stunned. They realize that these people are ready to willingly
die for their cause. Worse still, all the children in the village
approach the soldiers, and aim the soldiers rifle barrels right
at their own small foreheads. They silently wait to have their
brains blasted out. Nick and the others -- especially Jamaal
-- can't take it.
Warren and Lyle, the heads
of Nitrodyne, wait in a ship off the island. Nick pays them a
visit and informs them that he's no longer going along with the
program. No mineral rights are worth destroying forever the lives
of these gentle people. Warren and Lyle are predictably disgusted
with Nick's behavior and warn him that they're going to have
that island -- one way or another.
Nick returns to his followers
and gives them the option: leave the island, or stay with him
fight -- only this time, they'll fight to protect the islanders.
A few of Nick's men leave, but Jamaal, Dewey, Ocker, and TJ all
remain. The group wastes no time, teaching modern warfare methods
to the natives. However, the natives aren't very good at handling
weapons. Things don't look promising.
Soon the invasion occurs.
Warren and Lyle have sent in new fighters to take the island.
They're leader is Nick's former commander Colonel Merrick, who
is also a co-owner of Nitrodyne... (incomplete) |
