Beyond the Call of Duty

Under the auspices of Roger Corman, Jan-Michael Vincent takes up where Marlon Brando left off in Apocalypse Now. He plays a version of Colonel Kurtz. Vincent has got his own private army fighting the Viet Cong his way.

But the USA is now pulling out and he won't be smelling napalm in the morning much any more. A Navy swift boat commanded by Eb Lottimer has come to take Vincent. some of his guys, some orphans and journalist Virginia McWhirter.

Both Vincent and Lottimer would love to get something going with McWhirter but the Viet Cong harasses them all the way down the Mekong River and the bulk of the film is the chase.

This reminds me of that Errol Flynn-Ronald Reagan flick Desperate Journey from World War II years with Flynn leading hi s crew from a downed bomber through Germany escaping the stupid Nazis. Something similar here.

Hope no one went above and beyond in shooting this Thanksgiving Day gobbler.

Waste of time; as a vet of the earlier era, before Nixon's war, I'm insulted (Nixon's war started in 1968 when, to win the election, he went behind Johnson's back and told Diem not to attend peace talks because he'd get a better deal from Nixon as president. I hold Nixon responsible for the more than 5K additional deaths of my fellow Americans. Nixon was not only a crook, he was a traitor); no professional acting with Vincent & McWhirter the worst; gun boat never even planed; action scenes are enemy soldiers drop like flies and Americans, especially, Vincent, standing in the open never hit, but the nun shot in the back inside the cabin; a pleasure cruise to the orphans who weren't always below deck and always disembarked to play on the shore whenever the boat stopped - it's not like they would have to make a quick get-a-way in a war zone; an extremely poorly done, obviously untrue event; wasted watch, W-0.

Why waste your time with filth like Platoon, Full Metal Jacket, or The Siege of Firebase Gloria? Well, I have to admit, too, that those are all great films, but they don't live up to the excitement of Beyond the Call of Duty. Take all of the action of any Hollywood film and times that by two. That's how much action is here. Jan-Michael Vincent even guns down a chopper with an M-60. And that boat takes a beating! Explosions ripping left and right, Vietnamese soldiers flying in the air, squibs all over. You thought John Woo's films had a lot of squibs, think again. This has double that amount. I also love the ending when they must pass under a bridge. Cirio Santiago has created yet another classic. I not only recommend this one, but also check out his Field of Fire. It's even better!

Avoid !

that says it all. The entire "movie" looks like an arcade-shoot'm-all-up from the period people got tired of playing pacman over & over again.

While the Nva hits only water, bushes & wildlife, the Americans will kill 5 with only 1 bullet. If you don't believe me, feel free to verify yourself.

In general i would say that the boat is the best actor... that one never disappoints. It survives multiple enemy mortars, thousands of ak47 rounds, an entire tank-arsenal & even an air-attack.

No story-line, No dialogs, No Acting, just: NO !

Is this really a 1992 flick? ... i'm thinking that must be a typo. It looks more like 1985 or something.

This was a really good, low-budget Vietnam action movie!!! I saw this right after seeing the hilarious Vietnam spoof "Tropic Thunder", and I couldn't help but laugh. This movie had some really decent special effects! I think it's one of the best action-war movie's I've even seen. It didn't go over the top, but it has a very good pace about, suspense is excellent, and when the action does come, it hits hard. The story takes place during the last frantic days of the American presence in Vietnam. Hanoi is falling, and people are trying desperately to get out. Jan-Michael Vincent plays a tough, ex-military man, Len Jordan, who's been lurking in Laos during the war. As Eb Lottimer, who plays Lt. Sam Henderson, prepares to flee down the Mekong with his troop, he's asked to go back up river and get Jordan out. Jordan is accompanied by a woman reporter Mary Jackson, played by Jillian McWhirter. She's a little annoying when she screams (or shrieks!) at gunfire, but overall she does a decent job in this all-male war-fest. The PT boat ends up escorting Jordan, Jackson, and some Amer-Asian children and a nun downriver!!! So of course many adventures ensue as they are chased and hunted by the VC and the North Vietnamese Army. This is a later role for JMV, but he looks very good (and blond!). I think he's still a little coked up, because his eyes look a little whacked every now and then. This was during his major cocaine/alcohol issues, but he (luckily) is able to overcome these problems for the most part during this movie it looks like. I think JMV was trying out for the next Rambo, as he does a lot of shooting with a machine gun in the jungle!! If you can find this movie, and you are a Vietnam Movie fan, this is a good one to add to your collection!