Filippino Post Nuke Pretender ...

W is War

(1983/Philippines)

‘‘With or without a badge I’ll find a way’’

Filippino Action fury with an anachronistic feel of a futuristic post apocalyptic movie, yet set in its contemporary time line of production in the early Eighties !?. A bizarre combination of Mad Max (1979) and The Warriors (1979).

Law enforcer Sergeant W2 heads up his team of fellow enforcers against the scourge of Asia. Their greatest concern is the ever burgeoning manufacturing and distribution of drugs. The continents largest cartel is The End Of The World Organisation, and they have a centre of operations right on Sergeant W2’s patch. Headed up by the garish, fanatical Jim Jones type guru, Nosfero, and his legion of loyal acolytes. A small army of shaven headed thugs, garbed in minimalist fetish leather, bonded together like a futuristic variant of the Hell’s Angel’s. Nosfero leads them with a iron grip and the steely facial intensity of Jack Palance, set apart from his bald followers by a side set pigtail and one mean manicured uni-brow !.

Sergeant W2 and two of his men get into a scrape with a rowdy bunch of Nosfero’s men outside of a club. When a knife is pulled W2 instinctively reacts by pulling out his gun. In the line of duty, and deemed in self defence, W2 shoots and kills his attacker, the brother of Nosfero !. Back at enforcer HQ W2’s superior officer informs him that he is suspended from duty, and told to take some time off. Whilst away W2 marries his sweetheart, but during their honeymoon period W2 is attacked by Nosfero’s men in an act of retribution. W2 is beaten and eternally branded by an act of castration upon his person !.

W2 is a broken man, and with no job, and a wife he can no longer satisfy, he fully channels his frustrations towards Nosfero and his illegal operations. As a renegade though he is outnumbered and outclassed. Falling into the hands of Nosfero once again W2 is tortured and made an example of. Coming to W2’s aid is a female member of the Nosfero cult, a reluctant submissive soldier seeking a way out, she frees W2, and together they formulate a way to strike at the heart of Nosfero and The End Of The World Organisation’s operations.

Even in castrated form W2 has the balls to bring down the rebel force, but not with a solo hand, as his loyal enforcers become his wing men once more, and aided by his new found princess this alliance is readied to bring Nosfero’s evil empire down !. W is war up against Nosfero’s camp clan of Frankie Goes To Hollywood look alike bandits, and what is it good for ?, absolutely nothing but big bang, all out explosive fun for the finale.

The closure is the meat and two veg of the piece that W2 longs for, and gets with the assistance of his trusted cohorts, and a customised assault vehicle that is most definitely straight out of a Euro Post Nuke movie from the Eighties. Armour plated and replete with weapons of mass destruction. W is war for sure at this juncture, and raises the films fun factor several notches. Three wheeled super charged motorbike riding villains against the Philippines version of Mad Max, in an off road warrior warpath of wanton death and destruction. Deliriously delivered ‘Pines on toast whole hearted ‘B’ movie goodness.

Movie Rating: 5/10

Review Paul Cooke / Source Japanese NTSC VHS

W is War (1983)
Directed by Willie Milan
With Anthony Alonzo, Paul Vance,
Joonee Gamboa, Alicia Alonzo & Ada Hubert