“I’m just the guy who makes things go boom.”
Remember McBain? No, not the Simpsons character. Here, Christopher Walken plays an ex-Vietnam vet named Robert McBain (natch) who’s roped into overthrowing a Colombian dictator to avenge his dead buddy. Think The A-Team in Commando camo, but with Walken sleep-walken through every line as if he’s deciding whether to shoot someone or break into a tap dance routine.
The supporting cast includes the legend that is Michael Ironside, Luis Guzmán and Maria Conchita Alonso. There’s lots of explosions, one-liners, and Walken wielding guns in a way that makes you wonder if he’s ever held one before. The filmmakers clearly threw most of the budget at the hardware and pyrotechnics, and whatever it took to convince Walken to do this. The result is a movie that’s equal parts action manchego and bottom shelf cult class.
“I’m just the guy who makes things go boom.” is a line I use almost daily. Context be damned.
It’s kind of bad, I guess, but it’s also kind of amazing. -Pop
McBain (1991) arrived on home video this week in 1992, after a September 20th, 1991 theatrical release.