Review: Battleground

Six stranded bank robbers (Bob Cymbalski, Mark Munro, Bryan Larkin, and Robert Nolan among them) are hiding out in the middle of nowhere after a successful job, biding their time until they board a plane out of the country. Unfortunately, they’ve stepped into the domain of a crazy Vietnam veteran (Hugh Lambe) who doesn’t take kindly to trespassers, and uses his military training to bump the well-armed bandits off one by one.

I don’t like ripping on low-budget films unless they truly deserve it, but right from the word go, this 2012 offering from director Neil Mackay (whose only previous film was a short film in 2004) and his co-writer Sean McAulay (a debutant) rubbed me the wrong way. It’s about a disgruntled Vietnam veteran picking off a bunch of bad-arse bank robbers who trespass on his land. Or something. But think about that. A film presumably set in the modern era, with a bunch of seemingly tough guys who are handy with firearms, being picked off by a guy who fought in a war in the late 1960s. He’d have to be in his late 60s at the very least, right? I don’t care how much of a crack shot this guy is, nor do I care about his home field advantage, there’s no way a retiree is bumping all these guys off. And even if it were plausible (say, if Rutger Hauer had the role), why make him a Vietnam veteran? Why not an Iraq War (either one) veteran? The same notion of being messed up psychologically could factor into things, and he’d be of a much more reasonable age. I just couldn’t get into this film due to that fact alone. Do we really need another lunatic Vietnam vet movie? It’s a terrible, terrible idea from two guys who have clearly seen “Rolling Thunder” and “The Prowler” way too many times.

The acting, surprisingly isn’t bad, and in fact, Hugh Lambe is good and creepy even if his character is implausible (He’s so old he might literally be Rube Goldberg). He sounds awfully Canadian, though. Actually, everyone does, because the film is Canadian. No one really has much charisma or presence, though burly Bob Cymbalski (as ‘Texas’) comes closest. The token chick is a major sticking point. She serves absolutely no purpose whatsoever, and doesn’t do a damn thing. What’s up with that?

The film shows off a nice use of locations, and it’s better lit and more colourful than a lot of low-budget films. Some interesting shot composition, and nice, if cheap splatter FX and makeup (the film is as much an action film as a horror film, though, if not moreso). I could definitely see a future directing genre movies for Mr. Mackay.

The film is better and livelier than the somewhat similar “Paintball”, but that central premise is just too tough to get around. It’s got 1984 written all over it, and it certainly shouldn’t have been made now. It’s not a bad film, but not a good one, either.

Rating: C