THE STORY: I'm no expert on militia groups. To me they seem like dangerous gun-freak whackos. Hell, I'm pretty sure they are dangerous gun-freak whackos. And since many of them seem to be into white supremacy they can't really expect to get any sympathy from me. You know, you have the right to bear arms, but I don't think anyone needs to own a personal arsenal of assault weapons.

ATF agent Ethan Carter takes part in a raid on a compound of the militia group called the Brotherhood of Liberty. The ATF is shown being particularly ruthless in this assault. They mow down the militia members and on the orders of the ATF commander blow the compound to teeny tiny bits. The compounds leader, William Fain watches in custody as one of the buildings that house his wife and son is destroyed...or is it?

Years later, Carter is put on a mission to infiltrate the brotherhood. A beaker of anthrax virus was stolen from a government facility and all clues point to the brotherhood and their charismatic leader, Montgomery. To assist him on this mission is Agent Sanders, and William Fain! Fain has exchanged his help for early release from prison. Carter doubts Fain's loyalties, but agrees to go anyway. He crosses swords with Army Major Wilson about the case, but Carter's a movie hero. He's not going to let the brass tell him what to do.

Fain explains to Carter midway through the movie that his wife called the ATF in the first place. Her death and the death of their son were faked. That's why Fain agreed to help...to be released from prison and reunited with his family. That's what Fain says at least. We see later that Fain agreed so he could get revenge on his wife on his wife for turning him in the first place. But there's nothing Carter can do about that when Fain tells him that. By that point he's a prisoner of Montgomery's. Montgomery is planning to use an old missile in a tourist attraction park (modified by his men) to deliver the anthrax at a trade summit or something. I forgot what it was, but suffice it to say a lot of big time government honchos will be there. Montgomery thinks that by killing all of the delegates he'll be able to rally the people into...I don't know...anarchy? He wants a NEW United States, and I'm almost glad they don't explain what he expects of it. I'm sure not to like it. (I'm fairly certain people like me wouldn't be welcome in it for one thing.) It also turns out that Major Wilson is a traitor. He's assisted Montgomery in various ways, and he's the worst kind of traitor. Wilson didn't do it for ideals, he did it for money. I was glad when he got killed...by Fain!

Yes, Fain...he has yet another change of heart and decides that the huge number of deaths caused by Montgomery's plan isn't worth it. With his help, Carter manages to avert the missile and kill Montgomery.

I don't know how well the portrayal of Militia groups was in this movie...but I think the ATF was shabbily treated. Agent Carter was Dean Cain, who we know as Superman from the TV series "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman". Agent Sanders was Jennifer Beals, the chick from Flash dance. Montgomery was Stacey Keach who actually looks like a crazy militia jerk to me.

1.)  Even though its revealed later in the movie that the death of Mrs. Fain and her son were faked there's no plausible explanation for it. Why would the ATF bother to fake their deaths? It can't be just so they can get Fain to do their bidding...they could have done that without faking the deaths.

2.)  Am I the only one who wonders why not one of the ATF agents asks why or objects to blowing up Fain's compound? There are many reasons why that's a pretty dumb idea, but here's the most compelling one...by blasting the place to smithereens the ATF effectively destroyed their own evidence!

3.)  I've never been to an abandoned missile base...but I doubt that the military keeps old missiles that are used now as museum pieces in any kind of condition that would allow them to be fired with a few modifications. If you follow that logic you ought to be able to go to your local VFW and fire up the tank they keep in front of it. (In my hometown the old WWII tank in front of the VFW building was in pretty crappy shape. When I was 12 I remember an old guy that was showing it to us. He even opened it up and told me and the other kids we could go into and look around. He was kidding about that part....the inside was full of spider webs, mold and murky rainwater.)

4.)  Major Wilson puts on a poor display for an officer of the US Army. When he meets with the ATF agents he's a real jackass. (This is before we find out that he's a bad guy) I found it odd that he complained about the fact that the army isn't allowed to go after the people that stole the anthrax. First off, he should know that the army isn't prepared to conduct an investigation in a civilian matter. Secondly Wilson comments that the army isn't allowed to operate on US soil...where did he get this info? If martial law is declared, the army can. Didn't he remember the part of the oath he swore...to defend the Constitution from enemies foreign and domestic? There's a damn good reason why the military can't go around catching bad guys on US soil...I like law and order but I wouldn't want armed troops marching around my neighborhood to enforce it.

NUDITY AND SEX:  none

HUH? :  Montgomery's plan is one of the dumbest I've heard in awhile. There's a lot of ways it wouldn't work in reality, but the goal is ridiculous. He believes that by unleashing the anthrax via missile on an unsuspecting city it will help bring about a new United States? Right. If Montgomery was a run of the mill movie terrorist this wouldn't seem so bad, but he's a Militia leader and considers himself a patriot. I guess he's not patriotic enough to worry about the thousands of innocent lives he'll end with his plan.

Carter is out of his mind. There's no way I'd trust Fain to help me infiltrate the militia. Carter even doubts Fain's trustworthiness, but he goes along with the mission anyway. Boy oh boy....they'd have to give me a big ass raise before I'd agree to a mission that has a 95% chance of me being found dead in a dumpster.

The whole stealing the anthrax scene was really silly. Two guys? I'd like to think that a vial of anthrax in a guarded facility would be harder to get to.

THE FINAL JUDGMENT:  For a Straight to Video action flick I actually enjoyed watching it. Dean Cain is a little to much like a pretty boy for an action hero, but I could be jaded by his Superman role. I'll have to keep my eye out for any other flicks he's in.