No Fortune Found Here
Having gone off on one at his boss, American aid worker Peter Kernan (Matt Salinger) is without a job and with debts to pay. It is why he agrees to do a job for Canadian diplomat Carl Pimmler (Michael Ironside) which is to go across the border from Thailand in to Cambodia to deliver medicine whilst accompanied by Pimmler's wife Johanna (Sam Sorbo). But Pimmler's intention when it comes to the medicine are purely self serving as there is a transfer of gold involved and for Peter along with Johanna being in the Cambodian jungle is highly dangerous.
In the movie dictionary under the definition of tedium I reckon "Fortunes of War" should be listed as it is one of the most mind numbing experiences I have watched. The trouble is that the entire movie is text book and as such the storyline which sees Peter, Johanna and his friend Knoy face various dangers from kidnappings to gun battles is never that interesting and certainly not that enthralling. Part of the trouble with it is that it is clearly a movie made with limited funds and limited equipment and the end result is a movie which feels rushed and featuring a lot of first takes
Of course the movie also wants to do 3 things; one make a comment on the situation in Cambodia at the time, two be an exciting action movie. And then there has to be some sort of romantic chemistry between the movie's hero Peter and the attractive Johanna. But again the whole thing suffers from feeling like it is cheap and as such it never has much story depth, never has much character depth and all too often feels like it is going through the motions.
What this all boils down to is that "Fortunes of War" is simply a tedious and forgettable movie clearly made with limited funds and with a storyline which feels like it is had been passed over a few times. One other thing worth mentioning is that whilst "Fortunes of War" plays on Martin Sheen being in the movie he only has a small part.
