Act Of War (1998)

 Act Of War (1998)- * * *

Directed by: Robert Lee

Starring: Jack Scalia, Douglas Arthurs, Ingrid Torrence, and Milan Gargula

Uh oh. There has been (another?) military coup in Bazrakhistan. Just when you think the long-suffering Bazrakhis have found peace and security, along comes Sergei Constantine (Arthurs), a General with a terminal case of evilface, and the new Bazrakhi President, Krutov (Gargula) wants to be recognized by the U.S. He threatens that if they're not, they'll launch their nukes. The baddies take everyone at the embassy hostage until their demands are met. But said baddies didn't count on one thing: Jack Gracy (Scalia). Gracy crashes the party (literally) so he can see his girlfriend Katherina (Torrance), but he ends up with the classic Disc that would enable the nuclear strikes. Of course, the baddies want the disc. What then follows are some classic shootings, beat-ups and blow-ups. Will Jack Gracy be able to stop this ACT OF WAR?



The mystery man of Eastern European-shot DTV extravaganzas - Lloyd Simandl - teams up with the most underrated director in DTV - Robert Lee - for this slab of Die Hardiana with John McScalia front and center to save the day. Even his white tanktop and brown pants combo will remind you of a certain person from a certain movie series we all have become familiar with over the years. Jack Gracy is not likable but somehow that all adds to the humor of the film. The fact that he's somewhat of a jerk is just funny. Because...of course he is. At one point he does fly sideways in the air while shooting his gun (s), so that kind of makes up for his rather humorous unlikability.




Because it was 1998, world-destroying nuclear missiles cannot be launched without a CD-ROM disc. Naturally, this is the MacGuffin that everyone is looking for, from the baddies to the nerdy Willmont (Nykl). Leave it up to Simandl's James Bond - Jack Gracy - to get the disc and the launch codes. It's all about those dang launch codes. This cliche is backed with another one, the Wacky Taxi Driver. Seemingly you couldn't enter any foreign country in the 80's or 90's without one. Here we get a classic. He's a wacky Bazrakhi that even gets Scalia/Gracy to show his sillier side. Maybe that was unavoidable.




The new head of Bazrakhistan is named Krutov, and he's played by Lucio Fulci lookalike Gargula. Every time his name is said, it sounds like they're saying "Crouton". This just takes an already very silly and stupid movie and adds another log on the silly/stupid fire. There are meatheaded "Ox" and "Moose"-type dum-dums, an out-of-nowhere exploding helicopter, and plenty of other instances of good-natured dumbness that you just can't hate. But some of the best dialogue scenes come in the War Room, presumably somewhere in the U.S. government recesses. It's there that the actors involved really come out to shine. We imagine it's an accurate reflection of what really goes on behind the scenes.


In the end, if you like your DTV movies both dumb and unintelligent, you will get a big kick out of Act of War. You can certainly get some laffs and yuks out of it, if that's what you're after. It will make you yearn for the slickness and stylishness of Don Mogavero. So, you'll probably have a good time with it, even if that may not have been the original intention.

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty


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