Idea that USA should send its military to Middle East and use all of its might without any subtlety in order to exterminate terrorists is usually associated with 21st Century. But, even in the decades before War on Terror such views were popular, especially when in line with jingoistic sentiment of Reagan’s America. One of the films trying to exploit such sentiment was Death Before Dishonor, 1987 action film directed by Terry J. Leonard.
Protagonist, played by Fred Dryer, is US Marine Gunnery Sergeant Jack Burns, dedicated veteran and inspirational leader for his men. He, together with his superior, Colonel Halloran (played by Brian Keith), gets assigned to (fictional) Middle Eastern country of Jemal, which recently became US ally and is about to receive shipments of US weapons. Burns is tasked with providing security for US Embassy and observing weapons transfer. Because of this he witnesses attack by local militants led by Abu Jihad (played by Rockne Tarkington), whose organisation is aided by Maude (played by Kasey Walker) and Gavril (played by Mohammad Bakri), duo of ruthless European terrorists. Burns tries to pursue terrorists, but his efforts are hampered by ambassador (played by Paul Winfield) who insists on diplomatic protocol. Everything changes when Halloran gets abducted and held for ransom by Abu Jihad. Burns tries to locate his commanding officer through Elli Bauman (played by Joanna Pacula), photojournalist embedded with Abu Jihad’s organisation.
This was the only feature film directed by Terry J. Leonard, who is better known for his prolific career as stuntman. Leonard also directed couple of episodes of Hunter, popular 1980s crime TV show which also had Fred Dryer, former NFL player, as main star. In Death Before Dishonor Dryer uses his imposing height and physique to convincingly portray tough Ramboesque hero. He doesn’t need to show acting skills much, because character of Burns is, like more or less everyone else, one-dimensional, with possible exception of scenes in which he shows affection for his subordinates or sadness when they get killed. Other characters are also simple, which includes menacing Abu Jihad (with Tarkington’s height that matches Dryer’s serving film well during the scene of final showdown, making that contest slightly less predictable). Maude and Gavril are immediately shown as monstrous villains in the scene at the beginning when they butcher family of Israeli ambassador in cold blood. Joanna Pacula, an exotic Polish beauty who plays obligatory female role, tries without success to hide the true moral alignment of her character. There is very little subtlety in the film, which clearly points who is the hero and who is the villain in Middle East quagmire. Death Before Dishonor, just like Rambo 2 tries to give Americans fictional revenge for real life military setback, although, in this case, more recent than Vietnam War. The script is clearly inspired by events in Lebanon few years earlier, when terrorist attacks on US Embassy and military barracks ended American and other Western countries’ attempt to directly intervene in Lebanese Civil War.
The viewers who care little about politics would, on the other hand, probably appreciate Leonard’s direction which shows great experience in handling action scenes. Film was shot on locations in Israel and used some of the local acting talents, as well as military props. Despite occasionally going over the top, like Burns using rocket-propelled grenade while driving at the same time, action scenes are good. Final showdown features mostly satisfying combination of shooting, hand-to-hand combat, car chases and pyrotechnics. Music by Brian May, Australian composer best known for Mad Max films, on the other hand, sometimes sounds subpar and relies too much on the military marches associated with US Marines, with those segments often playing at the wrong time. Although far from being classic, it is still a solid piece of entertainment that could satisfy even viewers who aren’t too nostalgic about 1980s action cinema.
RATING: 5/10 (++)
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