THE STORY:  I'm getting tired of being blindsided by movies like this. I haven't had HBO or anything for a long time...more than a decade.So when I find a movie and it turns out to be a made for TV movie or something that was made for pay cable, I silently curse under my breath. I like my action movies raw, not like the clean, non-threatening watered down versions you see on TV. Not that made for TV movies always suck, I just find them kinda boring.

This movie revolves around California National Guard Unit and their annual training. The Guard unit is going to Honduras to build a runway and the men expect it to be a sunny south American Holiday. So lets meet the characters....Colonel Thompson is in command of the overall mission, and Captain Deason, an architect, is the company commander. His XO is LT. Garfield, who is a doctor in reality. Why Garfield is the XO of an engineer company and not in some kind of medical unit is only slightly amazing to me. The only person that seems to have any real military experience is the First Sergeant, Kolchak. There's also two soldiers we'll see a lot of, Dulce and Wiley. Wiley's the token black character which really amazed me because he didn't get killed in the movie.

The unit arrives in Honduras and begins working on the runway, but an American diplomat that I'll call Slimy Diplomat Guy asks Colonel Thompson if his men can spare some time to repair a bridge in a little village. the farmers, he says, need the bridge to herd their goats. Thompson agrees and tells Deason to take some men ad fix the bridge. The village is a considerable distance away, nestled in the Honduran jungle. Since there is a war going on with the Sandinistas and the Nicaraguans and whoever the hell was fighting down there back in the 80's, Deason takes some weapons, but doesn't hand them out to the men right away.

It becomes apparent real fast that the bridge didn't just fall into disrepair...it was blown up by somebody. But Slimy Diplomat Guy won't say who. At night the soldiers hear the sounds of combat echoing through the jungle. Considering this, I'd think that Deason would either arm his men, build some hasty fighting positions with a few M-60's or pack up and get the hell out of dodge. But he doesn't. I guess he doesn't want to make the National Guard look bad....Deason also has a bad habit of calling Kolchak "Sergeant" even though the rank on his uniform is that of a First sergeant...most First Sergeants like to be called "First sergeant" or at least "Top".

The bridge happens to be the only passable link between the jungle and the village and both sides of the Honduran war want it. Soldiers, Weapons and drug smugglers need it. Before it was blown up a local priest tells Deason that the village was constantly under attack by the bad guys. Once Deason's men finish the bridge both sides of the war start fighting over it and both sides attack the US soldiers. Lt. Garfield is killed first. Deason might not be much of a commander, but he has two things on his side: 1SG Kolchak who is a pretty bad Mo-Fo, and a little common sense. Deason knows they're not going to win this so blows up the bridge himself. This way the villagers are safe and the attacking forces can't get to the Nat'l Guardsmen. As the unit is begin evacuated out the next morning Slimy Diplomat Guy tells Deason he'll only have the bridge rebuilt by someone else. Jerk. But to rub salt into the wound, Colonel Thompson tells Deason that no one needs to know the truth about this incident when they get back to the US. Right. Like no one will notice only half the unit is returning alive and most of them are injured!

I wanted to like this movie and it did have some good moments. But it was weak on characterization. I didn't really understand why Deason was even in the military to begin with. I didn't actually give a rats ass about any of the characters. When Garfield bought the farm I was kind of like "oh well". He got so little screen time and had no personality, so it was impossible to care. None of the other characters did anything suprising or heroic, except at the end when Dulce and Deason risk their lives to blow the bridge...and that didn't even work well. I find it hard to believe that they didn't get hit by a million bullets and Dulce didn't seem like the kind of guy to be that brave.

There's a lot of familiar faces in this movie but the credits didn't list all of them so I'll mention the ones on the stinkin' box cover. Stephen Collins was Deason and Daniel Stern was Lt. Garfield. Now that you know that feel free to rent another war movie to curb your combat hunger. This one will leave you wanting a bit more.

Best Lines: "No!"- Dulce tells Captain Deason this when asked if he's ready to face a hail of bullets and commit some daring-do.

ARE YOU KIDDING ME?:

1.) What does Captain Deason mean by "Where people are fighting they're not supposed to be."? They're soldiers for the love of Pete! Combat engineers! They always go where people are fighting. How'd this guy even get into the Army National Guard? Someone sure lied to him at the recruiting office.

2.) Even before the real fighting begins I'm suprised that Captain Deason doesn't post a guard at the units perimeters. They know they're in an unstable part of the world, they know guerilla warfare is going on in that country and Deason is well aware of the fact that someone blew up the bridge. 1SG Kolchak seems pretty smart. I'm shocked that he didn't post guards and just tell Deason about it later. I damn sure would have. Nothing can ruin your day faster than having your head shot off.

3.) I don't know exactly whose attacking...looks like both sides in this piddly little war are assaulting the American position...but they must really suck. They hardly hit anything! You mean these guys can't what looks like a maximum of ten California National Guardsmen? In bright clothing?

NUDITY AND SEX:  None

HUH?:  Slimy Diplomat Guy would have been a dead man if I were Deason. Its not really explained but its obvious that he wants the bridge to be rebuilt for something other than altruistic reasons. He pretty much smirks about it even though several of Deason's men were killed or injured defending it. He certainly would've gotten more than a punch in the face like Deason gave him....his treachery deserves a full scale Royal Ass-Whoopin'.

Didn't Colonel Thompson do any kind of risk assessment before sending Deason off on this mission? It'd be more important that the men come back alive, not how good it'll make the unit look. I almost laughed at loud when Thompson asks Deason at the end to not tell anyone what really happened. Deason of course, plans to spill the beans, but that was stupid for Thompson to ask in the first place. The rest of the soldiers in the platoon are going to talk anyway. Besides...how can you tell Lt. Garfield's wife and kid that Garfield died in an accident when his body is full of bullet holes?

THE TALLY: Well, it looks like this flick was made in the 80's so I didn't expect a whole lot....and I got what I expected. While it wasn't bad, it was only barely interesting and it certainly wasn't that exciting. I'd give it an A for the idea and a B for effort but when all is said and done and the sun goes down its only getting two devils.