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The rise of the militant extreme right in the USA has lead to increased surveillance on suspected paramilitary groups. Jack Tannen (Frank Zagarino) is part of a team sent in to observe the United Patriot Movement, formed of ex-US military men, lead by self-appointed General Kraft (Joe Lara). Tannen's team is detected and gets into a firefight with the UPM soldiers allowing Kraft to get away, but they find evidence that he is targetting a nuclear missile silo - when one of the men with access to the launch codes goes missing, Tannen has to lead an operation against Kraft..
Written by Nu Image producer Danny Lerner (behind the Operation Delta Force series) Warhead has a brief but functional storyline with generally good pacing that effectively moves the film between its three main highlight action sequences without padding or unncessarily complexity. Charaterisation is minimal although it is enough to define the leads and there are a few recognisable faces created in the military team.
The terrorist group are interesting - obviously a product of the post-Oaklahoma bombing years in the late 90s, the villains are a far right group although the storyline makes it clear that a lot of the characters (and inevitably the audience) would agree with the espoused arguments of the group - it is their decision to kill people to effect a change that makes them the bad guys. A few things are left rather unexplained - the film seems unsure whether to make Dr Evans (who for some reason has access to the nuclear codes) a sympathiser or a terrified victim of Stockholm Syndrome and the location of the mysteriously poorly guarded silo is rather unclear.
South African director and Nu Image regular Mark Roper provides an assured hand on this film - he shoots in a good old fashioned style without the Instagram filters and rapid editing of most modern DTV action films and the pyrotechnic, stuntman punishing action scenes are welcomly CGI free. Hard working composer Robert O. Ragland provides a suitable soundtrack with a good mix of modern cues in the fight scenes and orchestral themes at other times.
Frank Zagarino is well cast as the all-American, buff, blond lead and plays really well opposite Joe Lara who makes for an excellent slimy villain (a complete contrast to his role as Tarzan in Tarzan: The Epic Adventures (1996) made in the same year).
Warhead is a solid bit of DTV action - a brief but effective storyline and some good acting keep things going between three big set-piece, explosion filled action scenes. Fans of low budget action will find plenty to enjoy here.
| Anyone famous in it? | Frank Zagarino - a frequent star of DTV action films including the Airboss (1997) series. |
| Directed by anyone interesting? | Mark Roper - a South African director who worked on a number of Nu Image titles including Operation Delta Force 3: Clear Target (1998) and Orion's Key (1996) as well as Queen's Messenger (2001) |
| Any gore or violence ? | A lot of killings with some blood but no gore |
| Any sex or nudity? | None |
| Who is it for? | Fans of DTV action films with more explosions than detailed storyline should enjoy this. |
| Visuals | Original aspect ratio - 1.33:1 academy. Colour Some grain but a generally clear print, good VHS quality. Shot for video premiere so the academy ratio is correct. |
| Audio | English stereo - sounds fine. |
| Subtitles | None |
| Extras | The disc includes:
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| Region | Region 0 (ALL) - PAL |
| Other regions? | Available in the US from Allumination. |
| Cuts? | Believed to be fully uncut. Titles and credits are in English. |