A test of military robots in the jungles of Cambodia turns into a bloodbath, when everything goes haywire. The mission was intended to take out a band of local drugdealers, but a group of random doctors and a former SEAL soldier find themselves caught in the crossfire. Meanwhile a trio of techs monitoring the mission remotely are horrified when the operation escalates way past the original brief. The whole thing turns into a colossal shitshow as they start to lose control of the high tech military hardware.
What a strange duck this is. There are some interesting ideas in Monsters of Man. At its best the movie is both intriguing and engaging. Often, though, it slips into a territory occupied by low budget direct-to-video films or fan films made in a garage. Also, at 132 minutes this is at least 40 minutes too long. So much so that they start to play the end credits over the final scenes of the film!
Speaking of the credits, take a closer look at those for a bonus laugh. Director Mark Toia manages to credit himself about 18 times, and apparently it took two people to cast the sole well known name in the cast, Neal McDonough.
Still, the movie looks professional, especially the robots, it's surprising brutal at times, and the acting is serviceable, if you forgive a handful of cringeworthy moments. All in all, not the worst direct-to-video film you could stumble across.
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