Final Mission (1984 Film)

''Final Mission'' is a 1984 action adventure film directed by Cirio H. Santiago and written by Jose Mari Avellana and Joseph Zucchero. It stars Richard Young and Kaz Garas with John Ericson and Christine L. Tudor in supporting roles.

Plot

Vince Deacon ( Richard Young), a decorated Vietnam War veteran and LAPD SWAT team captain, faces suspension after killing a thug in self-defense during a home invasion. To escape the stress, he takes his wife and young son on a camping trip to a lake. Tragedy strikes when their boat explodes, killing both his wife and son. Devastated, Deacon discovers that both, the home invasion and the explosion, were orchestrated by Slater ( John Dresden), a former war comrade who betrayed him and his country back in Vietnam. Driven by vengeance, Deacon tracks Slater to Pinesville, a small California mountain town. There, he learns Slater is protected by his brother, the local sheriff (Kaz Garas), despite knowing about his criminal past. As Deacon pursues Slater, he faces relentless opposition from the sheriff and his group of deputies and loyal townspeople, who aim to stop his vigilante mission. He sinks into his warrior madness as his vendetta progresses and victims pile up. The conflict escalates when the National Guard and Deacon’s former commander, Col. Cain (John Ericson), are called in to intervene. Undeterred and convinced that he is back in Vietnam, Deacon uses his combat skills to navigate the hostile terrain, engaging in intense skirmishes. The story builds to a violent confrontation in the dense woods near Pinesville, where Deacon faces his enemies in a final showdown.

Production

Development

''Final Mission'' was the first in a trilogy of films made by producer Anthony Maharaj and director Cirio H. Santiago who first met in January 1982 at the Manila International Film Festival.

Maharaj was impressed with the footage of Santiago's Stryker (1983) that was screened at the festival and came up with the idea of a collaboration. He suggested a story inspired by Ted Kotcheff's First Blood. Santiago hired regular collaborators Jose Mari Avellana and American expatriate filmmaker Joseph Zucchero to write a screenplay based on Maharaj's outline.

Filming

Most of the picture was filmed on location in the Philippines, mainly in and around Baguio and Lake Caliraya. Some second unit scenes were shot in downtown Los Angeles, particularly in the Skid Row neighborhood.

Music

French composer Georges Garvarentz was commissioned to write an orchestral score and to contribute to the title song ''Always On My Mind'', a Soft rock melodic ballad performed by Steve Butler and produced by Alistair Gordon. The soundtrack was released as a Single in France by the Decca label.

Release

''Final Mission'' premiered theatrically in France on July 25, 1984
with 23 prints in the Paris region where it sold 46,923 tickets within two weeks followed by other European countries including Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Germany
and Switzerland as well as Australia, Mexico and Peru. The movie received only token theatrical runs in the United States in 1984.

It was released in the United States on VHS and Betamax videocassette by Thorn EMI / HBO Video.

Reception

Critical response

In its contemporary review, ''Variety'' called ''Final Mission'' "a routine action drama about a war vet out for revenge". It noted the heavy ''First Blood'' influence and mentioned that "as usual with a Santiago film, technical credits are good. Acting is okay, with a guest appearance by John Ericson as a military expert who helps Vince figure out who had the explosives expertise to help the punks blow up his boat."

''VideoHound's Golden Movie Retriever'' gave ''Final Mission'' a one-bone rating (on a scale from zero to four bones) and wrote: "Sounds like ''First Blood'' though obviously less grand and glorious."

Daniel R. Budnik wrote in his review in ''80s Action Movies on the Cheap'': "Solid storytelling and good action make the film worth a watch" and concluded "The film is good but that ending is fantastic". He critized Georges Garvarentz's score "The orchestra rises up high and makes all the action scenes rousing and brilliant, except when they're not. The they end up looking overdone, which happens on more than one occasion". He praised the theme song as being "straight from the Foreigner playbook and it's cool."

References

External links

*
*

{{Authority control

1984 films
1984 action films
1980s English-language films
1980s exploitation films
English-language action adventure films
Films directed by Cirio H. Santiago
Films set in 1972
Films set in 1984