What are his best movies?

[ashleyheart]

So me being a new fan I always like to find out which movies I should see first. I've seen only two of his movies now, The Punisher and Rocky IV and I was wondering if you guys could help me out with the rest.

[Moltisanti]

Aside from those two the best to seek out would be:

UNIVERSAL SOLDIER
I COME IN PEACE
SHOWDOWN IN LITTLE TOKYO
ARMY OF ONE
THE RUSSIAN SPECIALIST
MEN OF WAR
SILENT TRIGGER

And of course THE EXPENDABLES on August 13th!

[ashleyheart]

Thanks!

[dolphage]

Aside from those two the best to seek out would be:

UNIVERSAL SOLDIER
I COME IN PEACE
SHOWDOWN IN LITTLE TOKYO
ARMY OF ONE
THE RUSSIAN SPECIALIST
MEN OF WAR
SILENT TRIGGER

And of course THE EXPENDABLES on August 13th!

Really good list! However, I would take out Silent Trigger and throw in... say, Master Of The Universe, instead. It's a cult classic, PLUS the ladies like the "loin cloth factor" of it.

[Jox]

I guess everybody could give his two cents and a different list, I wouldn't put SHOWDOWN there for instance, I know it's a cult classic that fans love but I couldn't objectively review it as one of his best. I heard many times on this board the ladies (no I wasn't looking at you Mosquito ) also love RED SCORPION, for the skin factor.

[dolphage]

Oh yeah, Red Scorpion needs to be on that list too!

[MFS]

Universal Soldier: Regeneration should also be added to the list!

[ashleyheart]

Thanks for all your suggestions! Haha loin cloth factor. I like that wording.

[Soomka]

Great list, but personally I'd replace The Russian Specialist with Icarus/The Killing Machine.
I'm sure you're gonna enjoy discovering his movies.

[Jox]

Pasting below my response to Vern who asked which ones do I find Dolph's best:

Yeah RETROGRADE is on my bottom list as well (along with the likes of AGENT RED, THE MINION etc).

BLACKJACK was indeed the best thing Dolph in the late nineties and even though I feel there’s quite a few things against it (manly being made as a pilot for a TV series), it is still a great effort almost a departure from his usual roles, thanks to John Woo who wanted to bring out another side of the giant Swede.

UNISOL REGENERATION is indeed one of the best movies he’s been in and has him give a brilliant performance. So is the original.

Now in terms of performances I’d also give “Dolph Awards” to JOHNNY MNEMONIC (thought butchered and better in the longer and darker Japanese version) and two smaller and unknown films that are JILL RIPS (retitled “Jill The Ripper” in the US) and THE INQUIRY (retitled “The Final Inquiry” in the US). THE INQUIRY might be a failure as a film overall despite a decent budget, ambitions and cast (F. Murray Abraham, Ornella Mutti, Max von Sydow among others), but Dolph’s role as a barbarian bodyguard actually gives the chance to show a good range of emotions and a funny side while being almost silent, focusing his performance on his eyes primarily. Now JILL RIPS is one that is really underrated and that I personally consider among Dolph’s best, not just for his acting but for being pretty much an art-house thriller, that I’d shamelessly recommend to people who don’t get into the action genre much. The fact that it’s so poorly regarded is probably due to the facts that it’s not a Dolph action fest and moreover that it tackles the kinky territories of S&M, making the whole piece an odd experience. (and for those interested out there, the Anthony Hickox audio commentary is one of the best I’ve ever heard).

It’s hard for me to classify and rate films, so I’ll throw in a few other titles that for me are the most enjoyables and makes you think “wow this one is way above all the other Lundgren flicks”:
SILENT TRIGGER (Russell Mulcahy) another slick and unusual almost art-house action piece
THE DEFENDER not deep but Dolph’s directorial debut filled with an energy we’ve rarely seen and a DTV that looks 3 times more expensive that it was (could throw COMMAND PERFORMANCE and ICARUS (to be released in the US as The Killing Machine) with it, even MISSIONARY MAN despite it’s cheapness and flaws)

But the two winners, from a critical standpoint, must be MEN OF WAR and THE MECHANIK (The Russian Specialist), if someone demanding had to only see two DL movies in his life that would have to be those two.

(Disclaimer: I already hear some of you shoot out for RED SCORPION, THE PUNISHER, DARK ANGEL (I Come In Peace), SHOWDOWN IN LITTLE TOKYO or even JOSHUA TREE (Army Of One), while I grew up with those cult classics which are still in my heart, I can’t “objectively” and from a serious critical standpoint go to anyone and defend those as being Dolph’s best overall, while MEN OF WAR for instance stands a notch or two higher)

[Travis]

Showdown in Little Tokyo is by far his best work in my opinion. It is full of action with a great cast and is also a great comedy. Also, this is by far the best Dolph has ever looked.

Men of War is a bit overrated in my opinion.

Silent Trigger, Hidden Assassin, and Army of One are surely worth a look.

Of his most recent films, check out Diamond Dogs.

Just about every movie he made in the late 90's is terrible.

I am glad to hear you are a new fan. I say just start from the beginning and watch every movie.

[ashleyheart]

Awesome! You guys have been a BIG help! I'm already making a list of which of his movies I wanna search out first, looking at the movie trailers has helped a lot too. Can't wait!

[Mosquito]

Since Jox was so kind not to look in my direction I'll also write down my list which is almost identical to moltisanti's.

I can never decide if I like Showdown in Little Tokyo of Red Scorpion the best. Because both are displays of his dramatic acting skills of course. So today I'll put it in this order with very short justification for each:

1. Showdown in Little Tokyo - great team with Brandon Lee, good story, Dolph looks fantastic
2. Red Scorpion - Dolph looks fucking fantastic and kicks ass, hardly wears anything.
3. Universal Soldier - just a great movie, IMHO. Best one liner: "I'm all ears". Best scene of all of his movies: Supermarket Scene. Dolph - do more villains. Looking forward to Gunnar Jensen! (BTW: Dolph looks fantastic)
4. Joshua Tree - Dolph looks fucking fantastic and kicks ass, love the red shirt, best shootout of all his movies.
5. Men of War - Dolph looks fucking fantastic and...you know the drill. Also good story, great fight in the cave against Trevor Goddard. Love Catherine Bell's role. Great landscape, great team.
6. Johnny Mnenonic - I love Cyberpunk novels and movies. Can't understand until today why this wasn't a huge success. Love the movie. If you like literature by William Gibson et al., you'll like this movie.
7. I come in Peace / Dark Angel - just great fun. Love Matthias Hues as the alien and Brian Benben as the smart-ass sidekick.
8. Silent Trigger - Dolph looks fucking fantastic, great outfit, and the whole movie has wonderful pictures. Great atmosphere. Dolph also displays the inner demons in a subtle and touching way - what's his assignment and what's the right thing to do.
9. Command Performance - loved it. First time Dolph was convincing as a washed up guy. Cool fights.
10. Rocky IV - barely made the list. Dolph's role is really good, but I think they had a thin story which they filled with a lot of music and useless scenes and I detest the undue patriotism of the Reagan era. Rather watch the training montage on youtube because that is epic.

And here's a warning. This is the list of Dolph movies for true fans. Because they kinda suck. Worst first:

1. Last Warrior / Last Patrol - wish he had never done this. Seriously, it's a pain to watch.
2. The Minion / Knight of the Apocalypse - booooooooring
3. Agent Red - argh.. that was cheap.
4. Diamond Dogs - ok at first sight but in retrospective extremely cheap and Dolph's accidental directorial debut. He learned a lot since then.
5. Detention - cheap and kinda embarrassing.

So you'll notice that his best movies are the oldest and the worst are from a time in between. But fortunately in recent years he has begun to make better movies again (beginning with The Mechanik) and now hopefully he's hit a new high point with The Expendables. In Dolph we trust!

[Jox]

6. Johnny Mnenonic - I love Cyberpunk novels and movies. Can't understand until today why this wasn't a huge success. Love the movie. If you like literature by William Gibson et al., you'll like this movie.

Didn't know you liked JM so much, did get a chance to see the Japanese version? It's 200% better and much more in the cyberpunk spirit, the international cut feels very cheesy next to it...

And here's a warning. This is the list of Dolph movies for true fans. Because they kinda suck. Worst first:

1. Last Warrior / Last Patrol - wish he had never done this. Seriously, it's a pain to watch.
2. The Minion / Knight of the Apocalypse - booooooooring
3. Agent Red - argh.. that was cheap.
4. Diamond Dogs - ok at first sight but in retrospective extremely cheap and Dolph's accidental directorial debut. He learned a lot since then.
5. Detention - cheap and kinda embarrassing.

Forgot RETROGRADE and PENTATHLON? And for me DIRECT CONTACT in some ways...

4. Diamond Dogs - ok at first sight but in retrospective extremely cheap and Dolph's accidental directorial debut. He learned a lot since then.

Can't say he really directed this one, he just stepped up after two days of shooting, just to make sure they got something on camera, no rehearsals, no acting adjustments, it was like a gorilla shoot, blocking and filming! (had previously done THE DEFENDER and THE MECHANIK btw )

[Mosquito]

Didn't know you liked JM so much, did get a chance to see the Japanese version? It's 200% better and much more in the cyberpunk spirit, the international cut feels very cheesy next to it...

No, unfortunately I haven't. Is it dubbed?

And here's a warning. This is the list of Dolph movies for true fans. Because they kinda suck.

Forgot RETROGRADE and PENTATHLON? And for me DIRECT CONTACT in some ways...

Yeah, Direct Contact was bad but didn't make it to this list. Dishonorable mention definitely. It was such a long time ago that I watched Retrograde and Pentathlon, I'd have to watch them again to tell. Didn't induce as much cringe or boredom as the others though, otherwise I wouldn't have forgotten about it.

4. Diamond Dogs - ok at first sight but in retrospective extremely cheap and Dolph's accidental directorial debut. He learned a lot since then.

Can't say he really directed this one, he just stepped up after two days of shooting, just to make sure they got something on camera, no rehearsals, no acting adjustments, it was like a gorilla shoot, blocking and filming! (had previously done THE DEFENDER and THE MECHANIK btw )[/quote]

Oh bummer *megablush* - I should get my facts straight. Inexcusable...