FORTUNES OF WAR is an unremarkable, wishy-washy thriller detailing the oppression of the Khmer Rouge regime and the lives of the oppressed Cambodians under it. All of this is packaged into a Hollywood-style thriller involving smuggling, double crosses, and betrayal, but the problem is that the film is so cheap and disjointed that none of it rings true.
That this film was shot on the cheap in the Philippines is obvious from the outset. The locations are limited and attempts at some Rambo-style action with rocket launchers and the like are even more embarrassing, completely inept, and even more poorly staged than a routine B-movie. The central plot and characters simply aren't enough to sustain the interest, and there are long stretches where nothing much happens apart from cheesy and unbelievable romance scenes.
That leaves us with the cast. Martin Sheen is top-billed but gets only a small cameo role so if you're tuning in for him then you're going to be sorely disappointed. Matt Salinger makes for a dull, non-charismatic hero and Sam Sorbo is all cheese as the love interest. Best of the bunch is the reliable Michael Ironside who has a fantastic supporting role - all bullish desperation - but who gets way too little screen time. The same can be said of Filipino film regular Vic Diaz, excellent as a nasty general but all-too-briefly seen. B-movie veteran Michael Nouri has the tiny part of a missionary priest. That leaves us with real-life Khmer escapee Haing S. Ngor in one of his final appearances; he's fine here but simply feels shoehorned in from THE KILLING FIELDS.
That this film was shot on the cheap in the Philippines is obvious from the outset. The locations are limited and attempts at some Rambo-style action with rocket launchers and the like are even more embarrassing, completely inept, and even more poorly staged than a routine B-movie. The central plot and characters simply aren't enough to sustain the interest, and there are long stretches where nothing much happens apart from cheesy and unbelievable romance scenes.
That leaves us with the cast. Martin Sheen is top-billed but gets only a small cameo role so if you're tuning in for him then you're going to be sorely disappointed. Matt Salinger makes for a dull, non-charismatic hero and Sam Sorbo is all cheese as the love interest. Best of the bunch is the reliable Michael Ironside who has a fantastic supporting role - all bullish desperation - but who gets way too little screen time. The same can be said of Filipino film regular Vic Diaz, excellent as a nasty general but all-too-briefly seen. B-movie veteran Michael Nouri has the tiny part of a missionary priest. That leaves us with real-life Khmer escapee Haing S. Ngor in one of his final appearances; he's fine here but simply feels shoehorned in from THE KILLING FIELDS.