Trident Force
{{Short description|1988 action film starring Anthony Alonzo}}
{{Use Philippine English|date=February 2023}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2023}}
{{Infobox film
| name = Trident Force
| image =
| alt =
| caption =
| director = Richard Smith
| producer =
| writer = {{Plainlist|
- Siegfried Sepulveda
- Rossano Abelardo}}
| starring = {{Plainlist|
- Anthony Alonzo
- Nanna Anderson
- Mark Gil
- Steve Rogers
- Eddie M. Gaerlan}}
| music = Gabby Castellano
| cinematography = Joe Tutanes
| editing = Edgardo Vinarao
| studio = ANNA Films International
| distributor = Solar Films
| released = {{Film date|1988|12|16}}
| runtime =
| country = Philippines
| language = Filipino
| budget =
| gross =
}}
Trident Force (also known as The Ultimate Solution) is a 1988 Filipino action film directed by Richard Smith and starring Anthony Alonzo, Nanna Anderson, Mark Gil, Steve Rogers, Eddie M. Gaerlan, Ronnie Patterson, Nick Nicholson, and Willy Schober. Produced by ANNA Films International, the film was released by Solar Films in the Philippines on December 16, 1988.
Critic Lav Diaz gave Trident Force a mixed review, deeming its competent filmmaking to be undermined by stereotypical villains and exaggerated characters.
Plot
The Trident Force, an international counter-terrorism organization, is called in to the Middle East to quell and defeat the Palestinian Revolutionary Legion by any means necessary.{{cite book|title=The Video Source Book|volume=10|date=1989|publisher=National Video Clearinghouse, Gale Research Inc.|page=87|isbn=9780810374324|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=krJYAAAAMAAJ|access-date=June 4, 2021}}
Cast
- Anthony Alonzo as Rashid
- Nanna Anderson as Lesley Prentias
- Mark Gil as Ahmed, Rashid's brother
- Steve Rogers as Hawthorn
- Eddie M. Gaerlan as Abu Hassad
- Ronnie Patterson as Casey
- Nick Nicholson as Ox
- Willy Schober as Ibrahim Habash
- Rafael Schulz as Trident Schulz
- Tony Ogumsaya as Trident Robinson
- Majid Jadali as Trident Majid
- Randy Hrobar as Trident Harel
- Jim Moss as Trident Parsons
- Tony Lao as Trident Kimura
- Gerald Tosco as Trident Dobouis
- Carlos Terry as Trident Gomez
- Mike Aguas as Trident Aguas
- Salah Mahfoudi as Sultan of Qumarnesia
- Paul Holmes as Israeli ambassador
- Moshen Hassani as imam
- Bahman Borzoo as ambassador to Jordan
Release
Trident Force was graded "C" by the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) in the Philippines, indicating a "Fair" quality.{{cite news|title=MTRCB Film Classification and Ratings Guide|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=hfoZAAAAIBAJ&sjid=TgsEAAAAIBAJ&pg=2085%2C821942|access-date=June 6, 2021|work=Manila Standard|publisher=Manila Standard News, Inc.|date=January 6, 1989|page=16}} The film was released by Solar Films in Philippine theaters on December 16, 1988.{{cite news|title=Movie Guide|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=8cBNEdFwSQkC&dat=19881215&printsec=frontpage&hl=en|access-date=June 4, 2021|work=Manila Standard|publisher=Manila Standard News, Inc.|date=December 16, 1988|page=15|quote=GOTESCO................Trident Force}}{{cite news|title=Movie Guide|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=8cBNEdFwSQkC&dat=19881215&printsec=frontpage&hl=en|access-date=June 4, 2021|work=Manila Standard|publisher=Manila Standard News, Inc.|date=December 15, 1988|page=15|quote=GOTESCO................One Two Bato}}{{cite news|last=Diaz|first=Lav|author-link=Lav Diaz|title=Huramentadong Rambo|trans-title=Rambo the Juramentado|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=8cBNEdFwSQkC&dat=19881221&printsec=frontpage&hl=en|access-date=June 4, 2021|work=Manila Standard|publisher=Manila Standard News, Inc.|date=December 22, 1988|page=15|language=Filipino, English|quote=A scene from Trident Force, an action-packed movie from Solar Films.}} In the United States, the film was released on VHS by Diamond Entertainment. In Japan, the film was released on VHS by Herald Videogram.{{cite web|title=【VHSです】砂漠の戦士 テロ・ファイター [字幕]｜中古ビデオ|url=https://store.shopping.yahoo.co.jp/disk-kazu-saito/g59475.html|website=Yahoo! Japan|publisher=Yahoo Japan Corporation|access-date=June 4, 2021|language=Japanese}} In Ghana, the film was theatrically released in 1994.{{cite book|last=Wolfe|first=Ernie III|title=Extreme Canvas: Hand-painted Movie Posters from Ghana|date=2000|publisher=Dilettante Press|isbn=096642722X|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ybsbAQAAIAAJ|access-date=June 4, 2021|quote=Trident Force, Joe Messah, 1994, oil on canvas, 74 x 39; ...}}
=Critical response=
Lav Diaz, writing for the Manila Standard, gave Trident Force a mixed review, considering its storytelling to be "direct and competent" while deeming the exaggerated characterizations and stereotypically dumb villains to be "childish" and trivializing.
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb title|0219363}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20210604053552/https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b8b2d401f Trident Force] at the British Film Institute{{better source needed|reason=Help request: a live link can be searched for at https://collections-search.bfi.org.uk/web/search/expert - if available, replace the archive URL with the live link. Or if none found, remove this 'better source needed' template. | date=October 2023}}
- {{Rotten Tomatoes|trident_force}}
Category:Films about terrorism in Asia
Category:Films set in the Middle East
Category:Philippine action films
Category:1980s English-language films
Category:English-language action films
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{{1980s-Philippines-film-stub}}