Hounds of War ★★½

FRANK Grillo is one of those actors who just hasn’t been able to make it big.

Even amongst specialist action stars he’s probably outside the top 10.

A decade ago, the New York actor may have been thinking ‘here I go’ after appearing in two Captain America films and two instalments of The Purge franchise.

But his character was killed off in the former and the latter franchise seems to have petered out.

Grillo is a pretty good screen presence; he certainly has the fighting skills. But his filmography is littered with B-grade films with less than passable scores.

In 2024’s Hounds of War he plays a former mercenary who is lured into one last mission which turns out to be a disaster and his character, Ryder, seeks revenge on the US Government.

Unfortunately, while former stuntman Isaac Florentine’s direction is fine, the script by Jean-Pierre Magro doesn’t make enough of the premise.

The film was mainly shot in Malta, which looks beautiful, and the practical stunts and fight sequences are good.

It also stars Robert Patrick as the villain, as usual, and Rhona Mitra in a familiar tough woman role.

Watched on Prime.