Now we may like the odd dumb action movie here at Outsider, but we usually draw the line at the work of Swedish muscle-box Dolph Lundgren, and claims that the 1994 Men of War is his best movie don't cut a lot of ice when you look at what you have to compare it to. But there's just one thing here that stops us slamming the interest door in the film's face, and that's seeing the name John Sayles on the screenplay credit. One of the USA's most resolutely independent directors, Sayles funded many of his own projects by writing exploitation movie scripts for others and working as a script doctor for hire. When paired with the right director – as with Piranha, Alligator or The Lady in Red – the results were a treat, but to take the Sayles involvement as a guarantee of quality and wit is pushing it a bit. But on the basis of the collective quality of his work, we've agreed to give this one a cautious push.

Dolph Lundgren stars as Nick Gunar (OK, I'm starting to suspect a Sayles piss-take with that name already), a down-and-out former commando and mercenary struggling to readjust to civilian life in Chicago. An opportunity to get his life back to how it used to be presents itself when two businessmen offer him the job of leading a team of guerrillas to a remote Pacific island in order to convince the local natives to sign over the island's lucrative mineral rights. To assist him on the mission, Nick recruits a small group of his former mercenary buddies, all crack commandos with dubious moral values and whose only concern is getting the job done quickly and claiming their pay, no matter what the cost.

Having arrived on the idyllic paradise island and met the peaceful locals, who bluntly refuse to give up their land, Nick learns the truth behind the venture and decides to change sides to help defend the island against the industrialists. But his about-face causes a rift amongst his band of soldiers of fortune and he soon finds himself caught in the middle of a violent conflict as the battle for control of the island spirals out of control.

Co-starring Charlotte Lewis and an apparently scene-stealing B.D. Wong, the film is directed by Perry Lang – we shouldn't perhaps read too much into the fact that after this film Lang abandoned features to direct episodes from TV series.

Men of War will be released on UK DVD by Anchor Bay Entertainment on 23rd February 2009 at the RRP of £15.99. No extras have been listed.