Bullet Points: Mach 2
When Brian Bosworth first stepped off the football field and into Hollywood in 1991, I doubt anyone would have predicted that The Boz’s acting career would have lasted more than a quarter of a century.
Sure his movies may not be box office blockbusters. Sure all of his movies go direct to video. Sure most people probably have never heard of 99% of the movies he has been in. But you have to give him credit for still landing acting gigs after all these years.
One of Brian Bosworth’s direct to video, non-box office blockbusters you probably never heard of is the subject of this edition of Bullet Points, 2000’s Mach 2…
- IRONic MAN: Mach 2 gives us quite the introduction to our hero Jack Tyree (Brian Bosworth). As the movie begins a nuclear bomb has been stolen by some terrorist types and put in the cargo car on a passenger train headed straight for Los Angeles. Jack Tyree, a member of a special anti-terrorist division of the United States Air Force is called in to diffuse the situation and the bomb. A few key pieces or information are shared here… first off Jack Tyree is the guy they call in to do jobs nobody else wants to do. If Tyree can’t handle the stolen bomb situation, Plan B is to park a Camaro filled with C4 on the tracks and derail the train before it reaches Los Angeles. Second, despite being in the United States Air Force, Tyree does not like to fly and he does not know how to fly. This earned him the nickname “Washout” by his Air Force peers. But to his credit, Tyree still hops in a helicopter and has the pilot get as close to the moving train as possible, allowing Tyree to jump down and start dispatching terrorists and saving the day.
- The Concorde: With Jack Tyree’s hero credentials established, we can now move on to the crux of the movie. Jack Tyree is assigned to accompany Presidential candidate, Senator Stuart Davis (David Hedison of Live and Let Die fame) as he takes The Concorde on a mission to stop the war in the Balkans. Davis has discovered that Pike, his opponent in the election and current Vice President of the United States, has been supplying both sides with arms, perpetuating the war in the Balkans as a way to stimulate the economy in the United States. Senator Davis has a computer disk that he plans on sharing with both sides in the Balkans to show them how Vice President Pike (Cliff Robertson of Malone fame) is using them and playing them for fools. Pike knows that Davis has the disk so he arranges for some Secret Service agents to get on The Concorde under the guise of “additional security” but Agent Barry Rogers (Michael Dorn of Star Trek: The Next Generation fame) is in the pocket of Pike. Rogers is there to make it appear that terrorists have hijacked The Concorde and eliminate Pike’s Davis problem in a permanent fashion.
- Complaint Department: Many would mock Mach 2 for its predictability… Our hero who does not know how to fly finds himself forced to fly and land a plane in order to save the day… Our hero who butts heads with Senator Davis’ campaign manager Shannon Carpenter (Shannon Whirry of Out for Justice fame) when they first meet ends up laying one on her before the movie is all said and done as the romantic sparks fly… But my one gripe is the lack of comeuppance delivered by our hero. Justice does prevail and the rouge Secret Service agent and the dirty Vice President do get their comeuppance, but Jack Tyree is removed from it. We never get that satisfaction of seeing Jack Tyree knock Agent Rogers out or embarrass Vice President Pike at a campaign stop with the damning evidence destroying Pike’s political career. Everything kind of sorts itself out, almost like it had to because Brian Bosworth and Cliff Robertson were never on the set at the same time. Hmmm…
I have seen some quality Brian Bosworth movies in my day with his acting debut in Stone Cold and The Boz’s strong effort in Midnight Heat immediately coming to mind.
I have seen some horrible Brian Bosworth movies in my day with The Operative (which I could not even bring myself to write a review on) and Spill aka Virus (which was actually worse than The Operative) at the top of my Brian Bosworth Shit List.
Mach 2 landed smack dab in the middle of my previous Brian Bosworth movie experiences. I don’t see adding Mach 2 to my personal movie collection to keep Stone Cold company, but it also was not some sort of virus contaminating my love for movies like Spill. Mach 2 is simply a one watch and done action movie on a budget.
So watch it… Don’t watch it… It really doesn’t matter to me, but what does matter is that you read these Bonus Bullet Points…
- Familiar Faces: Charles Cyphers plays Harry Olson a retired CIA guy that tips off the movie’s intrepid reporters by giving them a key piece of information on Vice President Pike. Cyphers is known for his work with director John Carpenter, but he’ll always be Mr. Kay from Death Wish 2 to me… The captain of the Concorde is played by Robert Pine. Pine is most known for his television work as Sgt. Joseph Getraer on CHiPs… Another television veteran, Bruce Weitz of Hill Street Blues fame, plays a reporter looking into Vice President Pike’s involvement in the Balkans… Need more familiar faces? How about Andrew Stevens (10 to Midnight) as the commanding officer on a United States Navy Aircraft Carrier and Lance Guest (The Last Starfighter) as a former speech writer for Senator Davis.
- Directed By: Mach 2 was directed by Fred Olen Ray although Ray was credited using the pseudonym Edward R. Raymond. The Edward Raymond name was used by Fred Olen Ray for other movies including Counter Measures starring Michael Dudikoff, Air Rage starring Ice-T and Critical Mass starring Treat Williams.
- Fun Fact: If you are travelling at Mach 2 you are travelling at twice the speed of sound or 1,534.54 miles per hour.
- If You Ever: …wanted to see The Boz punch a woman right in the kisser then this is the movie for you. Also, you may be a mysoginist.
