Bullet Points: Special Forces (2003)
By all accounts, Marshall R. Teague is a real man’s man. Let’s face it, you don’t get to become one of Chuck Norris’ best friends by accident. And Michael Worth loves to tell the story of how not even 1994’s Northridge Earthquake (which measured 6.7 on the Richter Scale) was enough to stop Teague from showing up to work on the set of Fists of Iron. That level of commitment and sense of duty is no doubt thanks to Teague’s military and law enforcement background.
Like most action fanatics, my earliest memory of Marshall R. Teague is as the vile Jimmy Reno in 1989’s Road House, where Teague got to display his legitimate martial arts skills. Just being the guy who got his throat ripped out by Patrick Swayze would have been enough to make Teague an action legend, but he didn’t stop there. Teague had memorable supporting roles in Armageddon, U.S. Seals II, The Bad Pack, numerous episodes of Walker, Texas Ranger, A Dangerous Place and the aforementioned Fists of Iron to name a few.
But there was one movie where Teague got to be front and center in the starring role… that movie was 2003’s Special Forces…
- Rescue Me: Special Forces opens on a Hezbollah Terrorist camp in Lebanon. It is here where a corporal with the United States Army is being violently interrogated by one the terrorists. Fortunately for the captive corporal, Major Don Harding (Marshall R. Teague) and his Special Forces team of Jess (Tim Abell, The Base), Bear (Dan Clark, American Gladiators) , Wyatt and Reyes are on the scene taking out guards, planting explosives and ultimately saving the day! The open of the film was an effective way to introduce us to the team and their skill sets.
- Now Leaving Muldonia: The former Soviet Republic of Muldonia will become the central location for the remainder of the movie… when we first venture to Muldonia, soldiers under the command of former Bosnian warlord, General Hasib Rafendek (Eli Danker, Air Marshal), are rounding up the native citizens and escorting them out of Muldonia… well, at least that’s what they are supposed to be doing. Instead Rafendek gives the order to exterminate all of them and it quickly turns into straight up genocide! If that’s not enough killing, Rafendek also has his right hand man, Zaman, to kill a member of the SAS that they captured after he refused to give up the location of his partner. Witnessing all the bloodshed is American reporter, Wendy Teller (Daniella Deutscher, Drifting School) and her colleague from Moscow. The reporters are spotted, Wendy’s friend is shot almost instantly, she makes a run for it, but is quickly captured. Rafendek has Wendy record a video message that he sends to the United States government, Rafendek wants 15 freedom fighters being held at Guantánamo Bay released in exchange for the safe return of Wendy Teller. A move that the President of Muldonia does not approve of.
- Strictly Business: All of this sounds like a job for the Special Forces. And sure enough Major Harding is given his orders and he briefs the team on their mission to Muldonia. The team will meet a friendly contact that will get them to a safe house in Muldonia, he also mentions two missing SAS soldiers and Rafendek! And it is General Rafendek that cause Jess to have a major concern with the Major. Jess knows that Harding and Rafendek have history together and it isn’t good. Major Harding assures Jess that the “mission is king” and he’s not looking to use this objective to settle any personal vendettas, he just wants to rescue the reporter… we then get a flashback to 8 years prior and get to see where the bad blood started between Harding and Rafendek.
- Business Picks Up: When Harding team arrives in Muldonia, the first order of business is to meet their contact, Saira. Saira takes the team to the safe house, which also doubles as a secret school for the orphans of those massacred by General Rafendek… once they get set up there, it is time to get a lay of the land, which includes driving by the Presidential Palace, as they drive around town, it is obvious they are being followed by a dude on a motorcycle, Harding proves to be one hell of a wheelman as he quickly loses the motorcyclist… however he can’t avoid a checkpoint and what starts off as a routine stop, quickly becomes much more and fortunately for Harding, Jess and Saira… the mysterious motorcyclist is there to save the day… turns out is SAS’s own Talbot (Scott Adkins, Ninja: Shadow of a Tear)! Harding suggests that Talbot joins forces with them… however, Talbot prefers to work solo. During all of this, a young spy working for Rafendek witnesses everything and is soon tipping off Rafendek that his enemies have arrived.
- Shit Goes Sideways: Not realizing that Rafendek knows they are there, the Special Forces proceed with their initial plan and that nearly gets them killed. Once again Talbot proves to be Harding’s guardian angel and the Special Forces live to fight another day and come up with another plan of attack… Plan B does start off better, Wendy Teller is rescued, but when the helicopter that is supposed to pick them up and get them all the hell out of Muldonia is blown out of the sky and before you know it Wendy and her rescuers are in more danger than ever before. Surely this can’t be the end of our heroes… we still need a proper Scott Adkins fight scene and he gets one as Talbot squares off with Zaman, the man that killed Talbot’s partner. There’s also no way General Rafendek and Major Harding don’t get a final showdown and they get one with one of the most satisfying and inventive finishes I have ever seen.
Director Isaac Florentine really made magic with Nu Image time and time again and after finally watching Special Forces, I fully understood how it made the cut on our Ultimate Nu Image Countdown. Marshall R. Teague proved to be strong leading man and he easily could have done it more throughout his career. Tim Abell is a strong supporting player in the role of Jess, Harding’s right hand man. I can not discount Scott Adkins being the secret ingredient in the whole movie. Without the Talbot character our heroes would have never made it and without Scott Adkins, Special Forces would have lost out on some fantastic action sequences with Adkins putting the action world on notice and laying the groundwork for future Florentine/Adkins collaborations.
Now let’s have these Bonus Bullet Points collaborate with the rest of the review…
- PSA Quote: The first words out of Major Don Harding’s mouth in Special Forces were FDA approved, “Smoking Will Kill You”.
- Bastard Count: I counted one “bastard” being dropped in Special Forces.
- AKA: Special Forces was released as Special Forces USA in several European markets.
