My review was written in May 1990 after a Times Square screening.
"Any Man's Death" turns out to be a preachy morality play instead of an action pic. Made at the height of the 1988 South African production boom, pic is another video-ready title that doesn't hold up well on the big screen.
John Savage indulges in some laughable tics and method mannerisms as a burnt-out reporter sent by tyrannical editor Michael Lerner to Namibia to get the story behind some mysterious photos. He ends up discovering Nazi war criminals, contacts the Israelis and comes up against a crisis of conscience.
Iain Roy and Chris Kelly's pretentious screenplay tries to address important issues, but is uncinematic. Helmer Tom Clegg, known for his tv work and features like "McVicar", founders in the final reels, culminating in a 20-minute talking head exchange between Savage and snake researcher William Hickey. Latter plays a Jew who assisted Nazi death camp experiments.
This boring talkathon is followed by an anticlimax of hammy Ernest Borgnine spewing Nazi venom in a role usually essayed by Donald Pleasence. Naturally the Israelis pick up Borgnine for a little glass booth action, but not before Savage is duped into committing himself for once on a moral issue.
Hickey brings conviction to his role, overcoming most of its cliches. Mia Sara handles her accent best and adds diverting beauty to the bleak African expanses.
Fans will chortle over the dubious casting as an Israeli secret agent of South African action star James Ryan (star a decade ago of "Kill or Be Killed" and other films for Film Ventures International, now a subsidiary of the U. S. backer of "Any Man's Death").
