The Dogs of War

With almost 20 books to his name, author Frederick Forsyth has carved out quite a little niche for himself in the world of thrillers and espionage. His characters are killers, mercenaries, hard-edged cops, all the dirty jobs that no one wants to talk about but know exist nonetheless.  His realistic, detail-oriented stories translate well to film, including The Day of the Jackal, The Odessa File, and also 1980's The Dogs of War, based off a 1974 Forsyth novel.

The book is a quality example of Forsyth's style as an author.  His talent isn't coming under fire here, anything but. His stories of killers, hired guns, and mercenaries are flashy or Hollywood.  They're based in the darkness of those people's lives, the constant fear and battle with death. 'Dogs' as a novel is more a day-to-day description of how to mount a mercenary operation than a shoot 'em up, action-packed story. If anything, it gets somewhat tedious in its ridiculous amount of detail and description. Reading it, you can't help but wonder how a movie version would translate, all the while wondering, how would they make this work? Easier said than done, but the movie is certainly enjoyable, if flawed.

A mercenary who has fought all over the world, James Shannon (Christopher Walken) returns home to New York City after doing a job in Central America. He is approached to do a recon job in a tiny west African country, Zangaro, just a quick job where he sees what the country's military forces have to offer. Shannon agrees, taking the long trip to the poverty-stricken, desolate country ruled by a blood-thirsty dictator. During his visit, he is arrested and beaten within an inch of his life, only to be rescued by a British journalist, North (Colin Blakely). Returning home, he delivers his report and is offered another job by the mysterious Endean (Hugh Milais). For a large sum of money, Shannon must lead a mercenary outfit into Zangaro and topple the government. Looking for revenge, he agrees, starting from the ground up, recruiting a small team of mercenaries to help in the effort.

If the story sounds somewhat familiar, it should. With a few tweaks here and there, 2010's The Expendables borrowed heavily from the basic storyline.  That movie was more fun overall, but The Dogs of War is the better movie. Forsyth doesn't portray his mercenary warriors as anything but what they are, hired killers, working for whoever will pay them, ideals and principles long since thrown out.  This is a story interested in the details, the things many movies would brush to the side. Where do you get guns? Where do you acquire uniforms? How do you sneak into a country? It may not sound too exciting, but there's an interesting angle of the mercenary movie -- the background -- that you just don't see that often.  'Dogs' isn't as good as Dark of the Sun or The Wild Geese, but it certainly belongs in the conversation.

Intending this in the most positive sense, I think Christopher Walken is one of the weirdest, oddest, and ultimately, coolest actors to ever star in a movie.  Watching him, you can't pull your eyes off of him. He's quirky, eccentric, different and rarely goes where you think he will with a character.  Reading the book, Walken was nothing like what I imagined the Shannon character to be like.  But the joke was on me because above all else, this movie works because of Walken.  He carries this movie. Jamie Shannon is a veteran mercenary with countless battles, firefights and wars behind him. He's alone in the world (JoBeth Williams is his ex-wife) and doesn't particularly like what he does, but he's good at it, and the pay is good. A great main character, and a sympathetic one.

One of the cooler aspects of the book was Forsyth's assembling of this multi-national team of mercenaries Shannon works with in hopefully leading the coup d'etat.  The movie drops the ball in that respect. Tom Berenger plays Drew, Shannon's best friend and right hand man, a mercenary who loves fighting, getting some sick enjoyment out of it. Also joining the team are Paul Freeman as Derek and Jean-Francois Stevenin as Michel. Eddie Tagoe plays Jinga, leader of the exiled African fighters working as Shannon's attack force. Other than Berenger's Drew, we're given no character development or any kind of personal background on either man. They're more cardboard cutouts of characters, ideas of what and who they should be. The team is still cool because they are the steely-eyed, cold-blooded mercenary, but so much more could have been done with the team as the book proved.

Interested in the little things, the background details, the movie (directed by John Irvin) saves up all its action for the finale, a nighttime assault on the Zangaro dictator's heavily guarded compound. Irvin spends a long scene showing Shannon's team (along with 24 exiled African fighters) moving into position, moving through the empty streets of Clarence, the capitol city.  It builds the tension to a boiling point so when the action does start, it is like a release of anxiety.  The attack is loud and chaotic, but still a little short.  It doesn't feel rushed, but like so much more concerning the movie, I felt like more could have been done.  The finale does deliver a solid twist, one that stays true to the Forsyth novel, neither a downer nor a happy ending. Just an ending.

Still, I can't help but feel disappointed after watching the movie.  The book is a hefty if very readable 400 pages, and the movie does an admirable job trying to stick to the novel. Too much gets left out though, like an actual reason for why the government needs to be toppled. It is hinted at, but never explained, left to be unexplained by those who haven't read the book.  The ending is a particularly dour note, a sudden ending and a moving one, but not as moving as it could have been. Other than Shannon, you don't feel much for the other characters. That's the main problem. 'Dogs' keeps you at a distance from the start.

The Dogs of War <---trailer (1980): ** 1/2 /****