Freaktana A Major Disappointment

ChicRawIdol A brilliant film that helped define a genre

Nessieldwi Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

Mandeep Tyson The acting in this movie is really good.

Bezenby It's yet another late eighties adventure/action film featuring such greats as Ernest Borgnine, Herbert Lom, Oliver Reed, Robert Vaughn and…Daniel Greene (from Atomic Cyborg and many, many Italian action films – maybe he got lost on his way to some Fabrizia De Angelis production?). This one has a kind of Dirty Dozen type deal going on which I'll explain….now: Over in some African country I never bothered remembering the name of, Borgnine's son gets kidnapped by the government (or the rebels, something like that), and Ernest goes to Africa to get him back, employing the help of Herbet Lom, then gathering together a rag tag group of mercenaries (Daniel Greene, token chick, token martial artist, old man, religious nut etc) and heads off into the desert with loads of guns to get him back. You know, the usual crap.It's fun watching Borgnine and his crew blowing the crap out of stuff, and facing off first against Oliver Reed's security forces (you've got to love the way the film makes you think that Reed will come back for another battle, but vanishes from the film instead) then Robert Vaughan's nazi-style forces. Things blow up, people fire machines guns at each other, and is it just me or did Borgnine and his crew just flat out murder those smugglers in order to get that plane? Why are action films from this era so appealing? I'm not sure. There's no barrage of over-stylised shots, no self-parody, no Tarantinoisms, and no modern film would end with such a cheesy freeze frame like this one does. That all helps. Plus, who doesn't like Ernest Borgnine? He was Mermaid Man!

shawhore This film is one of the greatest illusions I have ever witnessed - It managed to make my interest disappear right before my very eyes. Astounding! The acting made my hair stand on end (without any wires) and at one point I must have been hypnotised, because to this day I still haven't been able to recall anything redeeming about this film. There was some discreet mind-misdirecting going on during the act, I mean film, because my mind didn't just begin to wander, it took a bus halfway through the film and didn't turn up until the next morning. Conjuring Oliver Reed up in this film was a pretty clever gimmick as well. The penultimate showpiece was a "sleight of hand" trick: where I gave 36p of my money (via Amazon) for this DVD and never saw the cash again - simply amazing! All these of were mere parlour tricks though, compared to the final, and best trick of all... the one where I sawed the disc in half!

Comeuppance Reviews When his son Michael, who is an undercover CIA operative, is kidnapped and imprisoned by the Angolan army, his father Col. Bill Smith (Borgnine) snaps into action and assembles a team of inter-racial mercenaries to travel deep into Africa to free his son. This team includes, but is not limited to: Smith himself, Blade (Vosloo), Toshiro (Kwong), Sam (Mulford), Chuck (Kennedy) and Rick (Greene). All have their specialties in the fighting arts. On the side of the baddies we have Col. Schneider (Vaughn), supposedly an East German with some interests in the Angolan army vs. the rebels, and Capt. Simpson (Reed), yet another character who has his own interests. Add to this mix Elia (Lom) and you have a desert/jungle adventure best suited to Saturday afternoon viewing.Clearly, the only real reason to see this movie is its incredible cast. Our hometown hero Ernest Borgnine leads the pack with his engaging and always-upbeat performance. It really is a pleasure to see him shooting machine guns along with all the younger cast. We also always love to see Oliver Reed doing what he does best - yelling crazily - whether he technically has to be there or not. He plays a very similar character here as he does in Rage to Kill (1987). Robert Vaughn brings his distinct voice to the proceedings, and a fairly early performance by Arnold Vosloo completes the picture. Interestingly enough, he met and married co-star Nancy Mulford when they met on this film. See, Skeleton Coast really brings people together.While the many stars on show will draw viewers in, and there is plenty of beautiful scenery and such, the movie is kind of flat and feels like filler at times. It also has some wacky musical stings that seem inappropriate. Really, this is just a star-studded Exploding Hut movie, and it's also a bit overlong (probably to try to accommodate all the characters).On the technical front, if you watch this on Netflix streaming, the colors are soft and faded. On the Nelson VHS, that is not the case. The movie looks a lot more normal, with sharper colors. If you opt to buy this movie, look for the Nelson VHS.While the wonderfully jolly Ernest Borgnine is a personal hero, Skeleton Coast really is nothing overly good OR overly bad. It's kind of somewhere in the middle. If you're a fan of any of the stars involved, and you're okay with that, do proceed. If not, your time might be better spent elsewhere. If Skeleton Coast was The Expendables (2010) of its day, then Ernest Borgnine truly is the original Stallone.For more action insanity, please visit: comeuppancereviews.com

Brimac98 Despite the fact that the main premise of the film is a rip off of the 1983 movie "Uncommon Valor" (starring Ernie's 'Poseidon' sparring partner Gene Hackman), this film lacks it's portentous nature and concentrates on non stop action,some great battle scenes (despite what was obviously a limited budget) and a group of veteran actors, knowing full well that this isn't exactly "Shakespere In Love", having fun with their roles: most notably Ernest Borgnine, who gives it everything he's got. In fact, the ones who will enjoy this movie the most will be fans of the '60s TV sitcom "McHale's Navy" -- or 'mercenary army' in this case. Substituting for Joe Flynn (Capt.Binghampton) is Robert Vaughn playing a German colonel, forever frustrated by the rumors of the approaching army's invasion of the prison fortress and the political prisoners contained within: his constant berating of his assistant Schroeder reminds one of Bob Hastings' Lt.Carpenter in similar circumstances. Also the mercenaries themselves --(Leon Issac Kennedy plays 'Chuck'....at times one expects Tim Conway to stumble out of a doorway, followed by the inevitable explosion) a religious expert knife thrower, an elder statesman soldier, an explosives expert, a beautiful blonde who can handle herself in a fight and a ninja named Toshiro (no -- no sign of 'Fuji') Led by the Colonel, with the help of a local rebel army, they invade the fortress to rescue the Colonel's CIA operative son -- and pick up anything else that catches their fancy. A great performance by Ernest Borgnine as the Colonel, in typical 'McHale' wiseguy fashion; his scene of him disguised as a Cuban sergeant and his ordering around of Vaughan's men and later when confronted by an army of angry soldiers is hilarious, reminding one of his 'Cousin Guisippe' twin role on 'McHale'. His scenes with the Angolan rebel leader played by Simon Sabella are beautifully performed and are unlike scenes normally found in action pictures. Also on hand is Herbert Lom as a slightly shifty informer and Oliver Reed as the head of the country's diamond security (The scene when he launches a rocket attack on Borgnine and co. -"Fire! Fire! Kill the bastards!"- is a highlight -- obviously he was looking forward to heading off to the pub when this shot was completed!) All in all, a pleasant feel good action picture -- and most heartily recommended for all "McHale's Navy" and Ernest Borgnine fans.