The Evil That Men Do (1984) TriStar/Action RT: 90 minutes Rated R (graphic violence and torture, brief nudity, suggested sexual content, language, drug use) Director: J. Lee Thompson Screenplay: John M. Crowther and David Lee Henry Music: Ken Thorne Cinematography: Javier Ruvalcaba Cruz Release date: September 21, 1984 (US) Cast: Charles Bronson, Theresa Saldana, Joseph Maher, Jose Ferrer, Rene Enriquez, John Glover, Raymond St. Jacques, Antoinette Bower, Mischa Hausserman, Jorge Luke, Joe Seneca, Nicole Thomas, Enrique Lucero, Jorge Humberto Robles, Roger Cudney. Box Office: $13.1M (US)
Rating: ***
My most recent viewing of the Charles Bronson actioner The Evil That Men Do left me with a burning question. Is it a Charles Bronson movie or a movie with Charles Bronson? Let me explain. It’s based on a novel by R. Lance Hill. Is Bronson who the author had in mind to play the character of Holland or did the actor simply cast himself after he purchased the film rights? I’m guessing it’s the latter. I can’t say whether or not he stays faithful to the character as written by Hill. It appears to me he’s just being the Charles Bronson we’ve all come to expect. It’s fine with me either way.
The Evil That Men Do is the last movie Bronson made for a major studio. That is to say, it’s the last time he made a film for a studio other than Cannon in the 80s. Working with his usual collaborator, director J. Lee Thompson (10 to Midnight), it’s a gritty piece about an assassin coming out of retirement to avenge the death of a friend at the hands of a sadistic piece of slime known as “The Doctor” (Maher, Heaven Can Wait).
The film opens with the Doctor, an expert on the art of torture, demonstrating his skills on a journalist who wrote an unflattering story about him. He has the guy stripped naked and electrocuted in front of an audience of government officials. Word of his murder reaches ex-assassin Holland in the Cayman Islands where he’s enjoying a life of peace and quiet. He doesn’t want to get involved at first, but he changes his mind after seeing video testimony of the Doctor’s surviving victims. Their stories are unpleasant to say the least.
Holland goes to Guatemala where the Doctor (real name Clement Molloch) is based for the moment. He’s just been informed government leaders plan to arrest him. This means Holland has a limited time to find and kill the Doctor before he relocates to an unknown location. Trying to keep a low profile, Holland travels to Guatemala in the guise of a family man on vacation with his family, wife Rhiana (Saldana, Raging Bull) and young daughter Sarah (Thomas in her sole credit), actually the widow and child of his murdered friend. Rhiana wants to see her husband’s killer pay for what he did.
The Doctor isn’t an easy man to get to. He has bodyguards- Randolph (Jacques, They Live), Karl (Hausserman, Die Hard with a Vengeance) and chauffeur Cillero (Luke, Clear and Present Danger)- who never leave his side. He’s also unusually close to his sister Claire (Bower, Prom Night), a lesbian who enjoys watching her brother work. Man, that’s one f***ed up family. It’s a good thing Holland likes a challenge.
Originally, Charlie’s wife Jill Ireland was supposed to co-star, but she dropped out to give her role to Saldana who was looking to re-establish herself as an actress after a near-fatal knife attack by a stalker in ’82. It’s not the most auspicious of comebacks, but it’s nice to see her back in action after the incident that led to her co-founding the Victims for Victims organization. The late actress was also instrumental in getting the 1990 anti-stalking law passed as well as the Driver’s Privacy Protection Act in ’94.
The Evil That Men Do also co-stars Jose Ferrer (Dune) as the mutual friend who informs Holland of the murder, Rene Enriquez (Hill Street Blues) as the friend of the mutual friend who provides Holland with info and John Glover (52 Pick-Up) as a corrupt American politician involved with the Doctor. It’s a pretty cool line-up. They all do a serviceable job in their roles.
Charles Bronson movies, by definition, are super-violent. In his career, he racked up a body count that’s easily in the triple digits. The Evil That Men Do is easily his most brutal, bloodthirsty film. While he doesn’t mow down scores of punks, he does quite a number on a few deserving souls. While visiting a dive bar with Rhiana, he deals with a local tough by crushing his testicles with his bare hand. YE-OWCH! I think every guy in the theater felt that one. I even saw my dad wince a little.
I like The Evil That Men Do, but I’m not sure if we’re getting the whole story. At the beginning, a Mossad team has the Doctor under surveillance. They try to take him out with a car bomb. Their attempt fails and the agent rigging the bomb dies in the explosion. After that, we never see or hear from the Israelis again. What gives? Did they play a bigger role in the book? It seems like there’s more story to tell here.
It’s far from perfect, but The Evil That Men Do is a decent Bronson actioner that benefits from its dirty, dusty Mexican locations. One scene in particular looks like something out of a Clint Eastwood spaghetti western. It has a fair amount of action including a nifty car chase. Maher is suitably hateful as the villain, a real sicko who gets exactly what he deserves at the end. Honestly, I can think of worse ways to kill 90 minutes.
