Major Murphy, a US Army Investigator, has received a new assignment. Sgt. Gammon is suspected of dealing cocaine from his base, and Murphy must gather enough evidence to shut down Gammon and his entire operation. Along with his partner, Lt. Andrews, the Major goes undercover to infiltrate the gang and find out just how far up the chain of command these activities are going.
A modern-day army base is a great setting for a movie. And Marl L. Lester’s The Base (1999) isn’t the first to use this milieu. But as a straight-to-video product from the late 1990s, it’s a pretty solid little action thriller. Star Mark Dacascos, best known for his debut in Only the Strong and the manga adaptation Crying Freeman, is a perfect choice to portray the military intelligence officer hero of the story.
The Base utilizes the Point Break storyline of an undercover officer becoming part of a criminal ring who begins to become sympathetic to the alpha of the tight-knit group. A magnetic performance from Tim Abell in the Patrick Swayze role is matched by the charismatic presence and equally commendable work from the film’s star, Mark Dacascos. In fact, the chemistry between Abell and Dacascos is a large reason why the movie works. It’s certainly not the low-key action scenes, a major step back from the suped-up kinetics of Dacascos earlier film Drive, and the military base doesn’t have anything to do with the bad guys’ plans. But as a second-tier programmer, The Base is a notch above similarly themed offerings of the era.
Directed by: Mark L. Lester
Written by: Jeff Albert (screenplay), Craig J. Nevius (story), Hesh Rephun (screenplay)
Starring: Mark Dacascos, Tim Abell, Paula Trickey, Noah Blake
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