Soldier of Fortune, Inc

Rating:
Summary: Worth Watching
Review: This movie version of two episodes (Deja Vu and Apres Vu) from the tv show Soldier of Fortune Inc. was not a failed pilot for the series. The pilot episode was entitled "Genesis" and there were 20 awesome episodes, including "Deja Vu" and "Apres Vu". (The second season was a major disappointment. They changed the series name to Special Ops Force, canned two of the actors, replaced them with none other than Dennis Rodman (need I say more) and generally wrecked the show...) However, back to the DVD.

The show starred Brad Johnson, Tim Abell, Melinda Clarke, Real Andrews, and Mark Shepard as ex-military and CIA types, and David Selby as their "boss". They became "Soldiers of Fortune" and conducted various black ops missions around the globe. In these two episodes, they were sent on a mission to rescue someone who they believed had been kidnapped, but discover that their intel was "flawed" and the mission goes really really bad. This is portrayed through two perspectives, first by Major Shephard's point of view (Brad Johnson) and by what really happened. If you watch carefully, it is not confusing, it is an interesting, creative way of presenting an action-packed story.

I really wish that Jerry Bruckheimer would release the whole season one series of Soldier of Fortune, Inc. on DVD. I would be first in line to buy it, it will always be one of my all time favorite tv shows! And by the way, Jerry Bruckheimer has had several successful tv shows since then, ever hear of CSI and Without A Trace?

Rating:
Summary: JERRY'S MACHINE NEEDS A LITTLE OIL
Review: This was one of Jerry Bruckheimer, the movies' premier action scions, first t.v. ventures. A pilot for a failed series, SOLDIER OF FORTUNE INC. tries to use slow motion action sequences to further its plot. While not a bad movie, it is derivative and offers little new for the genre.
Brad Johnson (Always) stars as the leader of a special ops group who is critically wounded in a botched Mexican raid. The opening sequences are confusing, and redundant, done from each character's prospective fate. The misleading technique doesn't do much but confuse the viewer as to what's really going on. Johnson uses his macho presence to good effect and gets able support from Real Andrews and Tim Abell. David Selby (Dark Shadows, Falcon Crest) is even on hand as the by the books commander.
Entertaining but not stimulating. One can see why the pilot didn't sell and why Bruckheimer and company didn't do too much t.v. work afterwards.