Kill Zone (1993)

Purely Joyful Movie!

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

In the thick of the Vietnam war, Col. Horace Wiggins (Carradine) is bent on the total annihilation of the enemy. He gets into disagreements with other military personnel about how to proceed executing the war. Wiggins is a hard man to deal with. When Wiggins disagrees with the soldiers on the ground, he goes into the firefight himself. Not only are there conflicts between the good guys and the enemy, but also the military brass and the soldiers. With all this conflict going on, will anyone ever escape the KILL ZONE? Another day, another exploding hut. Amazingly, this is yet another jungle slog that brings nothing new to the table. It all feels very familiar, because the footage we're watching actually IS familiar, as it's edited from other Cirio jungle classics. Actually it's a bit unfair to say there's nothing new. The name "Horace Wiggins" is pretty awesome. And Carradine brings a new level of incomprehensibility to the role because he says most of his lines while trying to keep a cigar in his mouth. It's hilarious to watch him try to multi-task like that. Despite his inspired name, his unintelligible mush-mouthiness detracts from what could have been a razor-sharp performance.We kid the Carradine-ster, but this movie would be unthinkable without him. Take him out of the equation, and you would have, as I believe the saying goes, "bupkus". He actually really comes alive towards the climax of the movie. He sports a (not the most flattering) tanktop, dons a doo-rag with a skull and crossbones on it (because now he means business, you see) and starts growling like an animal. It's this type of energy that should have been going on the whole time in this movie. It seems they saved it all for the very end. Shame, really, as that would have lifted this particular guard-tower-fall/hut/jungle movie above the rest.But the Corman/Cirio jungle slogs are the blandest. The best ones are the Italian ones. Yes, we've seen so many of them, we can actually define the subtle shades of the multifaceted jungle slog movie. It's like a fine wine or cheese. The Corman/Cirio outings are all consistent but mediocre. The Italian ones are more vibrant and have more ideas. The problem here is, as an audience, you don't CARE like you should. There's absolute zero on the character development front. If we maybe knew who these people were or there was an iota of backstory, we might care, but no. Apparently that crucial element that would turn the tide in their favor was too much to ask from these filmmakers.If you want a nice sense of "jungle slog deja vu", check out Kill Zone (not to be confused with AIP's movie of the same name).

David Carradine stars as a bad ass military commander who not only disobeys orders but also kills villagers that help our good guy marines out! Despite this cold blooded display of politics, Carradine organizes his troops' ambush and kills those pesky Viet Cong who are hiding everywhere. Kill Zone as expected holds little credibility outside of just settling down and watching a one man army flick but the action sequences are shoddily choreographed and the look of the film incredibly cheap-jack, making this for Carradine enthusiasts only. Still you have to love Carradine's macho braggadocio which consists of unleashing the F-bomb and chewing his cigar.*1/2 out of 4-(Poor)

Pretty corny movie. I love Dorsette, though. He is all buff and running around the jungle with no shirt, one arming an M60, ammo criss crossed over his chest, awesome! The acting is so deliberate it is funny. But what I really love about movies like this one is the close attention to detail. Any Marine, if they could stomach the movie, must be reeling over the horrible uniforms. I have not come up with a date the M203 Grenade Launcher was introduced into service but I was surprised to see it in the movie, the M79 was it's predecessor used in Vietnam. The 203 may have appeared toward the end of the war, the time this movie may have been set. You also have to appreciate all those well aimed shots as guys are running, turning and firing from the hip are beautiful! Whoever was the "Military Adviser" on this one should go spend some time with Dale Dye! Well, that's not fair, but wouldn't hurt. I'm sure whoever it was they did not set out to do a bad job. It may have been deliberate, who knows. If it weren't for movies like this one there wouldn't be anything to compare good ones to.

Haven't found a Carradine Vietnam film that isn't a gem yet. Love the two attempts to break the pencil. No No.3 pencils thank you!! This film is another filled with great querks that only Carradine himself could pull of so good! Still trying to figure out if he tells the guy to "Act like I got a pair" or "Act like ya got a pair"..either way...way to go Carradine. Another great ending also!!!! They get better each time!