Was not slotting Matheson in the lower gut and letting him bleed out. Watching this again the other night, that guy is the most loathsome villain in any film I ever saw. He got off too lightly
shareHe was a pro, always going for the most efficient kill, besides Sean was waiting in the car, they had to get out as fast as they could.
shareYes, there were servants in the house and Faulkner's not interested in sadism, that's why he's very good at his profession. Legally, it's a robbery and murder but in the morals of the film it's a collection and execution. Both were prompt and quiet.
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Free your mind and the rest will follow
The only thing? First, no experienced mercenary fully trusts his employer, especially someone like Matheson. He did nothing to ensure that Matheson played by the rules. Second, he didn't include any contingency planning in the operation. He just assumes everything will go like clockwork (typical film reasoning). Third, he assumes that because he has the blessing of the Foreign Office that he won't have to worry about the CIA, or Belgian or French interests. Fourth, he's has a pretty mixed bag of weaponry, rather than keeping things simple, for ammunition purposes (the book handled that better). Fifth, he does a parachute insertion of his men, rather than just landing his men at the airport, seizing it, while rescuing Limbani, thereby keeping the plane under his control at all times. If the plane could enter the airspace to do a parachute jump, it probably could have come up with a ruse to make a landing.
"Fortunately, Ah keep mah feathers numbered for just such an emergency!"
Fourth, he's has a pretty mixed bag of weaponry, rather than keeping things simple, for ammunition purposes (the book handled that better).
If the plane could enter the airspace to do a parachute jump, it probably could have come up with a ruse to make a landing.
The Dogs of War novel had MP-40s for armament. The movie had a mixture of Uzis and Ingrams. The Wild Geese novel has the mercenaries use AK-47s, due to easy access to the weapons, ammo and similar support weaponry.
Looking at the film, you could have the plane request to make an emergency landing, due to engine trouble. After they touch down, the mercenaries seize control of the airport (probably after the plane rolls right by the terminal. Since they control communications at the airport, they aren't vulnerable. The also don't risk losing a portion of the assault force to injury or being scattered by high winds. The assault team is in better shape to head over to the military compound and snatch Limbani and hightail it back, where they and Limbani could be loaded onboard and gone before anyone even reacts, probably reaching friendly airspace before fighters could be scrambled.
The key to an assault like this is surprise and lightning speed and a fast exit. Waiting on the ground for the plane leaves the men pretty vulnerable, with nowhere to run. Now, if they had done a scene where that idea is presented and then shot down, due to either intel or logistics, it would make the actual operation more logical.
Fortunately, Ah keep mah feathers numbered for just such an emergency!
He could have had one merc in the airplane to make sure nothing like what happened happen.
...you could have the plane request to make an emergency landing, due to engine trouble. After they touch down, the mercenaries seize control of the airport...
...you could have the plane request to make an emergency landing, due to engine trouble. After they touch down, the mercenaries seize control of the airport...
Don't be stupid - are you a child ?
That aircraft was the escape route...flying in and landing would alert the whole airport (regardless of the time of day) and it doesn't take much to knock an aircraft out
Would you REALLY want to sole route of escape sitting on the tarmac for several hours ?
If you attacked the airport first, even if you got lucky and took it without significant casualties and without any damage to the C-130, the group at the camp are alerted and so are the Simbas
The airport doesn't even have to get a message out - a foreign aircraft lands and then there's no contact with the airport ???