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Joshua Tree (1993)

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21 comments in total

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8 out of 8 people found the following comment useful :-
Pretty good early 90's-esque action movie..., 2 September 2003
Author: rmadesp (rmadesp@yahoo.com) from LA, USA

Army of One proves to be an acceptable film for fans of the genre, and a great "not to miss" film for fans of Dolph Lundgren. Entertaining "fugitive on the run or chase" movie with a solid cast and nice directing.......which fortunately makes up for the sometimes incoherent editing and the real bad score.. (apart from the title theme, which is nice)...with a mix of innovative to standard action sequences. Go ahead and enjoy this one.

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7 out of 8 people found the following comment useful :-
Full of action, 29 July 2001

Author: jcholguin (jcholguin@lycos.com) from los angeles

Dolph Lundgren as Santee does not do much talking but makes up for it with action. Santee is a convicted cop killer who was framed by Det. Severence played by George Segal. Santee manages to escape during transport and kidnaps Rita Marrick who unknown to Santee is an off-duty cop herself. Now the action begins as Santee sets out to get revenge against Severence while at the same time is being hunted by Severence and the whole states police force. Who will get Santee first, Severence & company or Marrick the off-duty cop.

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5 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :-
One of the best!, 8 December 1999

Author: Teemu J. Päiste from Finland

"Army of One" is an actioner obviously made by people who truly love the genre. It was directed and produced by Vic Armstrong, stunt co-ordinator and second unit director on films like Total Recall, Starship Troopers and the two latest Bond-films (Tomorrow Never Dies and The World Is Not Enough). This man is responsible for some of the best action sequences ever made so he obviously knows what he's doing.

The film was written by Steven Pressfield. He co-wrote Steven Seagal's first film, Above the Law, as well as Freejack. Based on this film, he might just be the perfect writer for tough action films. He successfully takes a basic concept (a man convicted of a murder he didn't commit sets out to find the true killers and get his revenge) and elevates it above similar films with his characters, scenes and dialogue. He takes the film and it's subject matter with just the right dose of self-irony but never lets it become a parody. The dialogue flows nicely and occasionally there are some truly classic lines (for example, Alfonso: "You're not a very nice person. You've hurt several people." Lundgren: "I never said I was running for pope").

This is quite a bit smarter than your average actioner. As I said, the plot is formulaic (and fans like myself want an action film to have a formulaic plot), but the characters and dialogue are interesting. Dolph Lundgren has the right stuff for an action hero. He's got the looks and the voice and he knows his way around action scenes. But it's George Segal and Beau Starr as the nagging duo, who really steal the show.

Of course, there's the beautiful woman (Kristian Alfonso) as Lundgren's sidekick but they don't portray her as a helpless victim. Instead, she's a cop and more than able to take care of herself. Luckily, she does still wear tight jeans (Lundgren even notices this and teases her about it!) and there's the obligatory love scene. The scene where Lundgren and Alfonso check in a hotel is a classic! Alfonso immediately takes a shower and even asks if she has enough time to wash her panties(!). Alfonso uses a body double who turns around and around for the camera to the extent that the scene is almost comical. This scene is so gratuitous that it's hard not to like it. Because the film shows so much class in other scenes, it becomes clear that this scene isn't just here to fill time and show T&A. It's here because an action movie like this _always_ has gratuitous nudity. It's one of the trademarks of this masculine genre and if you love the genre, you will include a scene like this.

All this is nice and well but what really counts is the action. And the action here is absolutely breathtaking! The action-scenes are choreographed so beautifully that I'm still impressed while watching them although I've seen the film for over 30 times. First, there's a major shoot-out during which Lundgren kills probably over 30 guys using his fists, a shotgun and two handguns (this ain't John Woo and it doesn't really try to be but the fans of his style will probably still like this). When he runs out of bullets, he just picks up another gun from the floor. Once again, this scene is _not_ a parody but it _is_ so over-the-top that it obviously isn't meant to be taken too seriously. Anyway, there are some great stunts here and Armstrong has directed the scene flawlessly. All this amounts to one of the coolest shoot-outs in recent history and one which has since been copied in countless b-actioners. Then there's the car chase with a red Ferrari and a black Lamborghini. Phenomenal!

The score by Joel Goldsmith is brilliant. There's a strong theme, atmospheric background music for the opening scenes and really energetic music during the action scenes. Also the cinematography by Daniel L. Turrett works well. And even the acting is pretty good. As I said, Dolph Lundgren makes a good hero, Alfonso has the looks and Segal and Starr are responsible for the film's class and laughs (there aren't that many laughs in the film but when there are, they work).

"Army of One" is a film which might seem like just another action movie but as a true fan of the genre, I recognize when the director is just filming something for money and when he's passionate about his work. And this is clearly a film made with passion for the genre. This isn't "a story that needs to be told" nor is this anything original or groundbreaking as far as the story goes but this is definitely one of the best action films made in the 90s and a must-see for fans of the genre. I can't recommend this highly enough. I give this a full 10. Kudos for everyone involved!

The film is available as R- and unrated-versions. The unrated-version adds one fight scene and has a slightly different ending. Otherwise they're the same.

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5 out of 6 people found the following comment useful :-
Surprisingly good., 18 May 2000

Author: Metal-9 (extol69@hotmail.com) from Norrköping, Sweden

This movie surprised me. You don't expect much when you starts watching movie with Dolph Lundgren. But this turn out to be a great action-flick. The thing that is worst (as always in this kind of productions) is the acting. Dolph is bad, he just sits there with his stone-face and looks concentrated. Kristian Alfonson looks good but she can't act so well.

But the moments of action in the movie is good. The shooting is pretty much belieavble, except the shooting of chineses at the end. The car chase is a great piece of work but what can you expect when the director has made action-scenes in Tomorrow Never Dies, Starship Troopers and Total Recall.

See it and enjoy it.

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6 out of 8 people found the following comment useful :-
Fantastic Action Film and Dolph's 2nd Best!, 20 February 2005

Author: (callanvass@hotmail.com) from victoria b.c canada

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

This is a fantastic action film and Dolph's 2nd best right behind Uinversial Soldier!. It's action packed, with 2 Fantastic performances from Dolph Lundgren, and Kristian Alfonso!. The story was great, and the film never lets up, and the finale was especially good!. Dolph, was kind of unlikable at first,(since he was a jerk to Rita) but he soon grows on you!. and becomes extremely likable!. However i don't think Dolph should have been arrested at the end!.The action scenes are incredible and It's not your typical action film, since it has an excellent story to to it as well. The Direction is awesome!.Vic Armstrong does an excellent job here, in keeping the film action packed, and some really cool shots, during the car chase scenes! Great job. There is TONS of bloody violence!. We get HUNDREDS Of EXTREMELY gory gunshot wounds, people, are riddled with them!, spike in the neck(very bloody), 2 gunshot wounds to the head with lots of blood and brains splattering, bloody fist fights, and more!. The Acting is AWESOME!. Dolph Lundgren is AMAZING as always, he kicks that ass, had awesome chemistry with Kristian Alfonso, was really good in the acting department, i felt for him in some scenes, plus for the most part he was extremely likable!. (Dolph Rules!). Kristian Alfonso, is Awesome here, she is extremely likable, GORGEOUS!, and kicked that ass!, plus her chemistry with Dolph was excellent, she was also excellent in the dramatic scenes. George Segal, is good as the main villain and was pretty menacing. Geoffrey Lewis, is okay as the Sheriff, but was kinda miscast, and didn't have much to do. Beau Starr, is good with what he has to do. Matt Battaglia, is good as Michael , and was quite likable. Overall SEE THIS NOW!!!It's Dolph 2nd best, and it's a spectacular action film! ***** out of 5

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3 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :-
Amazingly good., 19 August 2001
Author: lartronic from Akron, Ohio.

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

There's nothing like a good brainless action movie, and this is one of the best (warning, minor spoilers). It starts with the guy from "Dawn of the Dead" getting shot and it takes off from there. Some of the action scenes are simply fantastic, you wouldn't expect them to be, but they are, especially in the car warehouse. Man, that's one great sequence. I was really hoping that Santee would rip Severance apart from limb to limb, instead he punches him the face a few times and is about to smash his head with a rock before Severance is arrested for a being a jerk. That scene is a let down but that's about the only part that's disappointing. What's really important is that this film has a sense of humor, which makes it all the more entertaining. A must-see action classic.

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3 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :-
Car Chase Heaven (Almost)!, 27 February 2001

Author: Stevie G from UK

Low budget, c list actors, expanses of wide open scenery but for all that a really good film. There are some parallels with Vanishing Point but generally stands out on its own. Dolf does a reasonable job but the character just isn't believable. Just a note all the cars used are replicas, but then what a crime it would be if they were real. Just ordered it on DVD from the US hope it is better than the UK video release was as the quality of that was the worst I had ever come across. Looking for something to kill a couple of hours and enjoy car chases then add this to the list of classics : Bullit, The Hidden, Ronin, Taxi, Gone In 60 Seconds, The Rock, Vanishing Point.

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4 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :-
very good action flick, 24 August 2004
Author: actionmoviestar from United States

This undoubtedly, is the best Dolph Lundgren film I've ever seen. You'll have to take into consideration that I'm not a big fan of Mr. Lundgren. This movie had great action scenes. You can tell that John Woo had a strong influence on the producers and directors because one special shootout looked very reminiscent of John Woo's type of filmmaking. This movie also has to feature, I think, one of the best car chases in a straight to home video film ever. It's sad that movies like these don't get highly promoted or promoted at all, therefore they become lost in the film world, where nobody discovers them for the true action movies that they really are. Watch this movie, you will not be dissapointed.

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6 out of 9 people found the following comment useful :-
VERY GOOD, 23 December 1998

Author: Shawn Watson (gator_macready@yahoo.com) from The Underverse

This movie is very well made and has a decent plot. The editing may be a little ham-fisted in places but the shoot-outs are far from simple and the car chases rival that of even RONIN. It also has a sly sense of humour and self aware of it's stupidity. I like the music, it's highly thematic. I like George Segal's character, adding a little class to the oily villain he plays and Dolph is good. He's always good. Much better than Seagal or Van Damme or Stallone. It's a pity he's not in many high profile movies. But this one is definitely one of his best.

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2 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :-
Entertaining!! !!!, 21 July 2000
Author: sixsixsix from Ludwigshafen, germany

I really enjoyed viewing the unrated US Laserdisc of ARMY OF ONE. Dolph isn´t as cool as in THE PUNISHER but he´s doing quite a good job when it comes to those great shoot-outs. They sometimes reminded me on those John Woo-flicks.if you have the chance watch the unrated version, gives you more detail and is much more exciting.

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