Condor’s Nest stars Michael Ironside (Top Gun, Total Recall), Jackson Rathbone (Twilight), Arnold Vosloo (The Mummy, Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan), Jorge Garcia (Lost), and Bruce Davison (X-Men, Ozark) as well as Jacob Keohane, Al Pagano, Corinne Britti & James Urbaniak. Directed by Phil Blattenberger, the film will be available on Digital Download from 20th March and DVD from 3rd April.
Synopsis
A decade after the fall of Nazi Germany, vengeful American aviator Will Spalding travels across South America in pursuit of Colonel Bach, the sadistic officer who executed his bomber crew during World War II. Joining forces with an Israeli agent and an atomic scientist, the team encounters more than they bargained for as they pursue Bach across jungles and deserts, waylaid by betrayal, amphetamine-crazed Nazis, and their own dark secrets.
Review
Normally any war film or action film based around the World War 2 era tends to peak my interest, from watching the trailer Condor’s Nest definitely peaked my interest and my expectations going into the film were reasonably high anticipating a full on action war film, but what we actually get is a little different to the film I was expecting.
The film starts well as we are taken straight to the battlefield as an American bomber crew is grounded by the opposing German Nazi force headed by a certain Colonel Bach ( Arnold Vosloo ), all but one of the bomber crew are cruelly assassinated the one survivors Will Spalding ( Jacob Keohane ). Will’s job was to keep a close eye on the surrounding area keeping an eye out for when the Nazi hit squad appear at the crash zone all Spalding can do is helplessly look on as his body freezes as he watches his squad be assassinated one by one in a cold blooded attack.
Years pass and Spalding is now living his life but the memories of what happened that day still haunts him and the thought of vengeance begins to eat away at him and takes over his very existence. All Spalding can think about is Colonel Bach and how he can make him suffer for what he did. As the film unfolds we follow Spalding on his journey to Bach and the Condor’s Nest forming new alliances with some to be trusted and some not. An emotional story of one man’s determination to honor the memories of his fallen comrades by exacting vengeance on the man responsible, but getting to a high ranked Nazi officer isn’t going to be an easy mission it most definitely won’t be a warm welcome, revenge is a dish best served cold with a side of lots of bullets.
The film itself wasn’t what I expected as from the first impressions of the trailer it looked to be a bit more fun heavy with not much else to pad it out, what we do get is a story with far more depth following a one man suicide mission to the heart of the beast to honor his friends but also a man riddled with guilt that sees this as an opportunity for redemption. This is the first time I have come across the workings of Phil Blattenberger as a director and overall I was pleasantly surprised with what I saw on screen, I don’t think it will win any Oscars anytime soon but it certainly grabs the viewer and takes them on a journey into a man’s emotional journey. The film does have scenes of action to whet the whistle of action fans but it adds more depth overall with the deep story that flows throughout.
Jacob Keohane does a great job as the lead actor portraying the guilt ridden survivor, his on screen presence commands the screen and carries the story with some great acting. On the other side of the face Arnold Vosloo I would probably is the perfect actor to play the evil Colonel Bach, he portrays a callous and meticulous cold killer throughout the film elevating the story and adding more of a rawness to the energy of the story.
Verdict
At first I was a little put off at the story as I was expecting more of a guns blazing “hoo-rah” of a war film but what I got was a deep twisting story showing the effects guilt and revenge can have on a man.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
