Product Description

Mel Gibson commands an elite military team dispatched during W.W.II to locate and rescue the survivors of a shot-down plane, stranded on a South Pacific island occupied by Japanese. One of the castaways, a defecting Japanese official, holds the secret to ending the war, and must be saved at all costs! Boasting a top notch cast, Attack Force Z is a fast-moving, action-packed World War II adventure story in the tradition of The Guns of Navarone and The Dirty Dozen. All-star cast includes Mel Gibson (Braveheart, Lethal Weapon). John Phillip Law (Danger: Diabolik, Golden Voyage of Sinbad), Sam Neill (Jurassic Park, The Triangle), Chris Haywood (The Man from Snowy River, Muriel's Wedding) and John Waters (Breaker Morant, Summerfield) .

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #19468 in DVD
• Brand: IMAGE ENTERTAINMENT
• Released on: 2007-04-17
• Rating: Unrated
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Formats: Color, Dolby, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English, Japanese
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: 1.00 pounds
• Running time: 84 minutes

Amazon.com
Volunteers from all branches of the Allied forces made up the Australian 2 Special Force Unit, which carried out a total of 284 missions during World War II. Tight, suspenseful Attack Force Z effectively dramatizes one such sortie. Five tough commandos attempt to rescue the survivors of a downed American plane on a Japanese-held island in the southwest Pacific. Their leader is Captain P.G. Kelly, played by a youthful Mel Gibson. It's Kelly's first time in charge, and his fellow commandos, especially renegade Lieutenant J.A. Veitch (John Phillip Law, the cute Soviet sailor in The Russians Are Coming! The Russians Are Coming!), won't let him forget it. Kelly and Veitch's conflict raises both the mission's and the movie's tension quotient. Sam Neill (Jurassic Park, The Piano) gives a thoughtful performance as Sergeant D.J. Costello, the oldest and wisest of the troop. But the film's most compelling characters are the inhabitants of the island, Chinese villagers forced to become resistance fighters to defend their way of life against the Japanese invaders. Without them, Attack Force Z wouldn't have a chance. Handsome, unflappable Lin Chan-Lang (Koo Chuan Hsiung), a martial-arts expert, is their natural leader. Even Lin's children get into the act, including his brave and beautiful eldest daughter, Chien Hua (Sylvia Chang), whose presence lends the film a welcome element of romance. --Laura Mirsky

Customer Reviews

Early Mel Gibson and Sam Neill movie.
It's interesting to watch the very young looking Mel Gibson and Sam Neill play second fiddle to fading actor John Phillip Law in this low budget war film. I loved this movie as a kid when it was shown repeatedly on HBO. Afterall, it's essentially a boy's war movie: elite Allied commandoes on a suicide mission behind enemy lines. Think "Guns of Navarone" with Australians vs. the Japanese and minus Germans, big guns, and a big budget. "Attack Force Z" is pretty much a GRADE B movie; but boys and action fans will probably still love it.

OVERALL SCORE: (A-)
This is an extremely enjoyable move, great action, good acting, and pretty realistic Special Operation in scope and detail. This is not a film with great hidden meaning, no surrealistic essay or religious allegory, no stunning and profound cinematic portraits, just a fun action movie!

OVERALL SCORE: (A-)
PLOT: (B-), CHARATERS: (B+), DIALOGUE: (B-), SETTING: (A-), ACTION/COMBAT: (A-), ANTAGONISTS: (B), ROMANCE: (B-),AGE LEVEL: (PG13)

WW2 Commando Raid on Japanese held territory.
This is a pretty good WW2 action flick with very young actors Mel Gibson, Sam Neill, and John Phillip Law. A group of commandos must infiltrate Japanese territory and find a downed airplane with a Japanese Peace Deligation aboard and get the men to safety. They are helped by the local populace. Lots of action and overall a pretty good story. Based on the real exploits of the WW2 commandos who raided behind enemy lines in the Pacific and whose full story is yet to be told.