The Human Shield (1992)

Strictly average movie

Best movie ever!

if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

This was reportedly the first fictional film to deal with the Persian Gulf War. It even was shown in the theaters. Still , it's more of a straight to video product. This movie doesn't work either as an actioner or war drama. Too bad . It could have been fun movie in style of "Rambo 2"."The Human" shield finds Michael Dudikoff ("American ninja") heading to the Middle East when his brother is taken prisoner just as he's about to leave Iraq with his wife and daughter. The acting here is surprisingly decent and the movie looks really OK for a low budget production.Aside from the good location this movie is nothing more than a boring low-budget pile cliché. Veteran director Ted Post ("Magnum force") directs the movie very badly. It drags all the time. There is some action in this movie , but it lasts about ten minutes and certainly isn't impressive. The movie is so predictable and boring that you wonder why they even made it in the first place. This is a rescue movie with all the clichés in the world . Yes , even the love interest of main hero is connected to the villain. I've already seen that set up in a hundred other movies.It's boring right from its ridiculous beginning to its very poorly done end. I give it 1/10.

It was 1985 when Doug Matthews (Dudikoff) first crossed paths with the diabolical Dallal (Inwood) while he was in the military working for the U.S. embassy. Matthews was stationed in northern Iraq, and the two men had a life-changing altercation. Fast-forward five years later, and Matthews is safe back home in America...but Dallal's goons have kidnapped his brother Ben (Hinkley). Receiving no support from his own government, it's not long before Matthews goes rogue and travels back to Baghdad to rescue his beloved brother. He gets his Kurdish friend Tanzil (Gavriel) to help him, as well as an old acquaintance, a doctor named Lila (Azoulay-Hasfari), but it's going to be difficult to face the ruthless Dallal and his supporters. With the clock running out on the life of the diabetic Ben, Doug Matthews is going to have to shield himself from the onslaught of bullets...HUMAN shield himself! Yeah, that's the ticket...The Human Shield was perfect for video stores in 1991 - it starts with Dudikoff riding an open-topped jeep in the desert with his awesome hair blowing freely in the breeze. Jeeps seem to be Dudikoff's vehicle of choice in this movie; he really uses them to maneuver around the machine gun fire and even rocket launchers aimed at him this time around. It's also perfect for video stores because before the movie starts, there are no trailers for other Cannon films, or any other movies, but there is an anti-drug PSA. You gotta love the 90's. It truly was a time when anti-drug PSA's were inescapable: you couldn't even watch Parker Lewis Can't Lose or any of your other favorite shows without crazed maniacs smashing fried eggs or children screaming "I learned it from watching youuuuuuuu!!!!!". You go pop in a VHS tape looking for some respite, and they're there too. No wonder no one does drugs anymore.But back to the topic at hand, the movie is filled with innumerable mustachioed extras. At any given point while watching The Human Shield, there are an average of five men in the background, whether they be soldiers, baddies, or just plain townspeople, with thick black mustaches. It was either the height of fashion in the middle east, or maybe it was a "no mustache, no paycheck" financial matter. Regardless, it truly is a catalogue of distinctive facial hair on your screen.If you enjoyed films such as Death Before Dishonor (1987) and Dudikoff's Chain of Command (1994), you'll surely also like The Human Shield, even if it does have some slow moments, as well as some awkward camera zooms. Those things shouldn't be enough to put you off. Dudikoff has to pretty much carry the movie on his shoulders, and while he is capable of doing that, another major name would have helped out the proceedings. Someone like Lee Majors the Second, Jay Roberts Jr. or Evan Lurie, to name but a few shining stars in the DTV firmament, could have helped Dudikoff bear his load. But the movie does include many of our favorite items: plenty of blow-ups and shooting, not one, but two screams of "Nooooooooo!!!!", and of course a baddie admonishing his underlings that there better be "No More Mistakes".It was also somewhat refreshing that Dudikoff's brother was kidnapped. It's not usually an adult male that is the target of the hero's rescue mission. It's usually a woman, a young girl, or a young boy. So that was an interesting difference. Also we got to be privy to the Pentagon gym. There's even a title card on-screen that tells us we're in the Pentagon gym. Never before have our eyes gotten to witness where Dick Cheney does his squat thrusts and where Congressman Henry Waxman (D-CA) blasts his lats. Thank you Human Shield for this inside information.The Human Shield is classic early-90's Dudikoff fare.

A seemingly innocent man is taken hostage by a Saddam Hussein look-a-like who then proceeds to hold him to lure his special forces brother back to Iraq in order to gain vengeance for his past vendetta. However our hero takes the bait and returns to Iraq to get his brother out and he's prepared to do whatever it takes. The Human Shield actually believe it or not went to movie theaters. I myself saw it on video but it did actually reach a few cinemas, of course there was no advertisement (Aside from Chuck Norris' Hit-man which showed a trailer) and therefore it was more of a straight to video product. That being said this movie works somewhat as an actioner but hardly as a gulf war drama which the material is treated as. As far Dudikoff movies go, he's actually in decent form here and there are some cheesy fun moments which surface but mainly it's like watching the obvious take place. Although the movie is consistently watchable through out.* * out of 4-(Fair)

This is one of those rare movies I can watch over and over again without getting bored. It was a well written story and the acting was surprisingly good for a "low budget" film. Steve Inwood as general Dalal was amazing and anyone who has seen this movie can attest to that...he steals the show (Pardon the pun). I'm not of middle eastern descent, but the directors did a fine job of portraying the culture. From the music, settings, food, lifestyle and nature of the people---and anyone who thinks culture isn't important in a film, it is said that Godfather was so successful because it portrayed the Italian culture to a tee.Nonetheless, it was a good plot with decent sup-plots such as the romance between dudikoff and laila, his brother being kidnapped and the whole revenge factor.The movie also has some memorable lines such as: "Insults here can only be washed away in blood" "I like your scar because it reminds me of the man who gave it to you" "Things done in a hurry are done in the ways of Satan. While things done with patience are done in the way of god" "A son should always be by his father's side during his proudest moments" Dalal talking about his 4 year old kid as he's about to go kill dudikoff "Should I wait?" "Not unless your wife has a sense of humour" Dudikoff to cab driver after being dropped off at the Iraqi border "American...what is it you want? Hash? Coca Cola? A woman? And anyone who has seen this movie or is thinking of seeing it should pay particular attention towards the end of the movie when Dalal is being driven to the chemical plant. The car phone rings and he picks up this HUGE MUTHER****IN phone that must have been state of the art at the time but DAMN! The thing easily could have been 5 pounds.Also Hana Azoulay Hasfari was good as Laila. I say there should be a rule where if you're doing a film that revolves around a certain culture you should get actors from THAT culture to portray characters. It makes things more believable and credible. Even if they aren't known you'll be surprised at how good some "unknown actors" can be. The biggest flaw I can think of was Hollywood using Penelope Cruz to play a Greek girl in Captain Corelli's Mandolin. I love Penelope but that was a joke.