RELEASED IN 1981 and directed/written by Stewart Raffill, "High Risk" is an action/adventure about four wannabe soldier-of-fortune Californians who fly down to Colombia to make a commando-like raid on the hacienda of an American-born drug lord (James Coburn) for an easy $5 million, but things don't go as easy as planned. The four-man team is played by James Brolin, Bruce Davison, Cleavon Little & Chick Vennera. Anthony Quinn is on hand as the leader of a motley crew of jungle bandits while Lindsay Wagner appears as a desperate woman who joins the protagonists. Ernest Borgnine has a glorified cameo as an arms dealer.
This is an obscure action flick that's solid for what it is with little fat. The plot is reminiscent of "Where Eagles Dare" (1968), but with a jungle locale and taking place in the modern era. There are also occasional flashes of amusement, unlike that thoroughly austere WWII movie. It's great to see Lindsay Wagner; I forgot how beautiful she was in her prime (not that she's my type, but she's undoubtedly striking). Quinn was 65 during filming and well plays the part of a desperate-but-likable post-revolutionary.
The characters played by Davison and Little are too nonchalant and naïve in life-or-death situations to be believable, but that's a minor cavil (and can be defended on the grounds of their greenhorn status); besides, the film moves so quickly that it hardly matters.
THE DVD I viewed was the "Digitally Remastered" version from Digiview Productions and it was fine for such an obscure flick.
THE FILM RUNS 94 minutes and was shot in Mexico.
GRADE: B
This is an obscure action flick that's solid for what it is with little fat. The plot is reminiscent of "Where Eagles Dare" (1968), but with a jungle locale and taking place in the modern era. There are also occasional flashes of amusement, unlike that thoroughly austere WWII movie. It's great to see Lindsay Wagner; I forgot how beautiful she was in her prime (not that she's my type, but she's undoubtedly striking). Quinn was 65 during filming and well plays the part of a desperate-but-likable post-revolutionary.
The characters played by Davison and Little are too nonchalant and naïve in life-or-death situations to be believable, but that's a minor cavil (and can be defended on the grounds of their greenhorn status); besides, the film moves so quickly that it hardly matters.
THE DVD I viewed was the "Digitally Remastered" version from Digiview Productions and it was fine for such an obscure flick.
THE FILM RUNS 94 minutes and was shot in Mexico.
GRADE: B