Disc Reviews

Army of One DVD Review

• 1st Feb 2017

Army of One is the true story of Gary Faulkner, an out of work Colorado construction worker who speaks to God. All his life God has told Gary that he is destined for great things when one day he tells him to travel to Pakistan to kill Al Qaeda terror leader Osama Bin Laden. Gary is an opportunist and a fantasist. He walks around schooling people on the best way to do things. On one such day as he is advising shoppers at a hardware store on the best paint to buy, the best wood to buy and lighting to choose he meets an old sweetheart (Wendi McLendon-Covey) who seems oblivious to his crazy personality. The pair develop a relationship but this does not deter Gary’s mission to get himself to Pakistan. He buys a hang-glider and the equipment he thinks he needs. He makes a variety of failed attempts to get over to Pakistan including in a boat until he eventually gets on a plane and finds himself in Islamabad. When he’s there he does everything but ask for Osama Bin Laden by name and instead asks for the “bearded one”. He takes lodgings in a cheap hotel and the days become weeks wandering around with a samurai sword looking for the “bearded one” without progress. He does however, attract the attention of the CIA and namely one particular agent (‘The Office’ star Rainn Wilson) who finds that this nut is hampering operations.

Appropriately this is a comedy and not a drama. Gary Faulkner is an American version of an eccentric – namely the voice of God is what told him to do it and guides his every step. As a drama Army of One would fail and barely succeeds as a comedy. Directed by Larry Charles, the genius behind the Sacha Baron Cohen comedies, Borat (2006) and the less successful Bruno (2009) and The Dictator (2012), not to mention the brilliant comedies ‘Seinfeld’ and ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’, Army of One was released on video on demand before its release on DVD. Well maybe genius is too strong a word. Star Nicolas Cage does mad-up the eccentric and goofball that borders on the irritating, but you have to admire his courage. Russell Brand appears and is perhaps over-billed as God (if God can be over-billed) and only appears a few times in the film. Rainn Wilson as the confused CIA agent is good and understates the role as the agent tasked to terminate Gary Faulkner who is seen as a trouble maker. Of course as history tells us Gary Faulkner never did capture Bin Laden but that does not stop Charles from putting in a few fantasy scenes in which Faulkner faces off Bin Laden in his cave. Of course were the film released a few years ago it would have been viewed as bad taste and the jury is still out as to whether it still is or not.

There are no extras on the disc. Interviews on such popular TV shows as ‘The Early Show’, ‘Fox and Friends’ or ‘The David Letterman Show’ with the real Gary Faulkner would have been interesting but there are many clips from these interviews included at the end as the credits role.

Chris Hick