1980: "The Dogs of War"

                                  The Dogs of War is an 1980 "war" film starring Christopher Walken as a mercenary who is hired by a rich industrialist to depose a militaristic African king with the help of his mercenary friends. The movie was based on the novel by Frederick Forsyth (author of political thrillers like "The Day of the Jackal" and "The Odessa File") and directed by John Irvin (best known for made-for-tv movies and documentaries)

                               The movie is, to put it frankly, dull. It is a movie that seems to have all the right elements (a potentially exciting coup d'etat, strategic planning, strong characters, etc.) but the movie lacks passion or tone. I'm guessing it was going for a hard-edged, unsentimental tone, but instead of nuanced execution, it's terribly blunt, going for action/espionage caper (and it's not even exciting on that level). It trudges through its plot without examining the people and their lives, and bombards the audience with dull exposition dumps. I wasn't even bothered to pay attention through most of it since it felt predictable and telegraphed.
                            As for Christopher Walken, I thought he was woefully miscast as this war-hardened mercenary. He has played a soldier before (his Oscar-winning turn in The Deer Hunter) but he felt right because of the vulnerability he brought to the part. Here, he doesn't seem to project anything, though I'm sure it's more script than performance.
                          It does have a decent enough climax (the coup sequence), with fiery explosions and a really cool grenade launcher weapon (which is featured prominently in the movie's promotional materials) but I was way past caring to find it compelling.

                         The Dogs of War was not exciting or compelling or thoughtful. It was nothing.

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