All Rise...

Judge David Johnson cried "wah wah wah" all the way home.

The Charge

Victory is the only option.

The Case

Check out this line-up: Luke Goss (Death Race 2), Dolph Lundgren (Skin Trade), Chuck Liddell and Mickey Rourke (Iron Man 2). now there's an impressive collection of brawny, old tough guys drawing straight-to-dvd paychecks. this roster is dispatched in service of War Pigs, a standard-issue low-budget World War II movie. Only question for you: is this a deployment worth taking for you?

First things first: Goss stars as Jack Wosick an Army captain who's "disgraced," but not really, because he's an awesome hero. As such, he's recruited to lead a "ragtag unit of misfits" (their words) called the War Pigs. Their mission: go deep behind German lines to take out Hitler's super-weapon, a giant cannon that could turn the war around for the Germans.

Naturally, these is an extensive training montage as these rapscallions are whipped into shape, and before long the War pigs roll out into their mission—which, of course, gets waylaid when one of their own is captured, forcing the gang to go undercover and do a bunch of Nazi shooting.

There you have it: a World War II movie! Seems like there's been a steady stream of these in the direct-to-video pipeline. I suspect it's because the execution can't be super-expensive. Get yourself some unis, rent a tank and light off some squibs. By saving your money on CGI you can go hire guys like Mickey Rourke to show up for a few minutes and say some lines. It's a win-win!

As for the guts of the film, this is workmanlike war film tale-slinging. The action is straightforward, highlighted by a tank ambush with a hail of bullets in the middle and a noisy finale in the German camp at the end. Nothing really stands out. Then again, nothing falls terribly flat. Sure, the direction is uninspiring and the "underdog war band on a suicide mission" is well-tread terrain, but none of it ever pushes the film below "mediocre." Nor above.

Cinedigm's War Pigs (Blu-ray) treatment is as utilitarian as the film: a solid 1.78:1/1080p transfer, active DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track, and a standard def DVD copy of the film.

The Verdict

That'll do Pigs. That'll do.

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