Army of One: Blu-Ray Review
Arriving this week on Blu-ray, DVD, and On Demand is “Army of One”, the mostly true story of Gary Faulkner’s quest to capture Osama Bin Laden. Directed by Larry Charles (“Borat”) and starring Nicholas Cage, “Army of One” had quite a bit of potential. The story of Faulkner’s quest is one that could have made for a hilarious film. Unfortunately, despite the wildly unhinged performance from Cage, “Army of One” fails to deliver any laughs in what is supposed to be a comedy.
Unemployed Ex-con, Gary Faulkner (Cage) was prone to hallucinations due to his kidney trouble and being on dialysis. His health issues lead him to having visions from God (Russell Brand). In these visions, God told Gary that he must capture Osama Bin Laden. Armed with only a Samurai sword, Gary embarked on a quest to Pakistan so he could capture the terrorist.
Gary had to make several attempts. He bought a sail boat (even though he never sailed before). That didn’t work out too well. He also tried to hang-glide. That was another bust (literally). When the CIA learns of Gary being in Pakistan, they get understandably upset and want to send him back home.
“Army of One” rarely works, although admittedly I loved seeing Cage walk through Pakistan wielding a sword. Gary Faulkner’s story was truly a fascinating one and I feel that it might have been a whole lot more entertaining as a documentary, having seen clips of him during the film’s closing credits. Even though there is plenty of talent involved, “Army of One” just doesn’t do justice to one of the modern-day Don Quixote.
By: Marc Ferman