"You and Ernesto are pimping out your revolution as some kind of tourist attraction for a bunch of millionaires and you expect me to be your guide." Iraq war vet Craig McCenzie (Slater) is living out his post war days in Montana playing poker and running a business out of his camper. He is recruited to become a "tour guide" to a group of millionaires who want to experience real warfare. What starts out as a "camp" soon takes a dangerous turn and a real battle takes place. I have to start by saying that even though the cast is very good and full of well known actors this is still a B movie. That said I actually enjoyed this. Normally not my kind of movie this one was entertaining enough to keep me watching and enjoying it. I didn't watch the trailer before viewing and when it got to the part where it revealed the plot point of being a reality-show type island I almost turned it off. The actors they picked to be the millionaires kept me watching and even though this is nothing but running around and shooting it is worth a watch. It also may have helped that I had no expectations about it going in. One of the better B movies that have come out it a while and Slater's best movie in a long time. Overall, an OK movie that is helped a lot by the casting. I surprisingly give it a B+.

The film opens with Craig McCenzie (Christian Slater) leading a secret reconnaissance mission in Afghanistan. With the life of a fellow soldier (Freddy Rodríguez) in danger, Craig ignores orders to save him from our own CIA man Carter Mason (Colm Meaney). Rather than get a medal, they are dishonorably discharged from the service. They have fallen on hard times.

Our heroes are then recruited by the lovely Cecelia (Oksana Korostyshevskaya) to lead a group of mercenaries to act as freedom fighter for a mineral wealthy island known as Snake Island (Black Sea?) against a ruthless colonel (Gennadi Vengerov) his equally ruthless daughter (Sarah Ann Schultz) and his arch enemy Carter Mason. However there is a catch to this whole thing. Not only must he free the island but do so while escorting 5 millionaires who want to "play soldier" for various reasons. They are funding the revolution. Thus a play on words of "Soldiers of Fortune."

The 5 guys are:

Dimidov (Sean Bean): He is originally from the island. He is in the mining business and already knows how to handle weapons.

Grimaud aka Grim Reaper (Ving Rhames): An African general who knows how to fight. He sold the colonel weapons and he is late on his payment.

Sin (Dominic Monaghan): Video game designer who makes violent video games. His psychologist recommended reality. For added measure he has a broken leg.

Haussman (James Cromwell): He has done everything in life. His goal is to die so his kids get his fortune and not his wife (Ekaterina Suslova) known only as #5.

Vanderbeer (Charlie Bewley): Runs a successful Wall Street hedge fund that made money when everyone lost. He just wants the bragging rights.

Of course things don't go as planned and Christian Slater must save the day against overwhelming odds uncovering all kinds of schemes and plot twists. Unfortunately the plot remained as simple as a Steven Seagal movie. The film had potential but quickly falls off the edge. Slater being the main character was a stroke of bad casting as I don't see him convincing in this role.

PARENTAL GUIDE; F-bomb, no sex, no nudity.

SOLDIERS OF FORTUNE is a decent enough action B-movie made as a collaboration between America and Russia. The ensemble cast is enough to keep you watching this one, even though the story isn't up to much. The tale sees a bunch of rich thrill-seekers going on a pretend mission in which they dress up as soldiers and engage in mock battles, only to discover that they're soon fighting for their lives.

This film suffers from the usual trappings of the B-movie genre. There's plentiful action here but it can feel a bit repetitive and not particularly well staged; the cheapness always comes through. This is where the cast comes in. Christian Slater seems to have been re-invented as an action hero lately and has a shirtless scene here in which he shows off his muscular chest. Sean Bean fits his role like a glove and is typically great. Dominic Monaghan is loud, brash, and has a heart (no stretch, then). James Cromwell is old timer bizarrely wheeled out one last time, and Ving Rhames is a delight as the African arms smuggler. Colm Meaney's villain is all ham but there you go; when watching this film, just remember it could be (and often is) a lot, lot worse.