It was 1985 when Doug Matthews (Dudikoff) first crossed paths with the diabolical Dallal (Inwood) while he was in the military working for the U.S. embassy. Matthews was stationed in northern Iraq, and the two men had a life-changing altercation. Fast-forward five years later, and Matthews is safe back home in America...but Dallal's goons have kidnapped his brother Ben (Hinkley). Receiving no support from his own government, it's not long before Matthews goes rogue and travels back to Baghdad to rescue his beloved brother. He gets his Kurdish friend Tanzil (Gavriel) to help him, as well as an old acquaintance, a doctor named Lila (Azoulay-Hasfari), but it's going to be difficult to face the ruthless Dallal and his supporters. With the clock running out on the life of the diabetic Ben, Doug Matthews is going to have to shield himself from the onslaught of bullets...HUMAN shield himself! Yeah, that's the ticket...The Human Shield was perfect for video stores in 1991 - it starts with Dudikoff riding an open-topped jeep in the desert with his awesome hair blowing freely in the breeze. Jeeps seem to be Dudikoff's vehicle of choice in this movie; he really uses them to maneuver around the machine gun fire and even rocket launchers aimed at him this time around. It's also perfect for video stores because before the movie starts, there are no trailers for other Cannon films, or any other movies, but there is an anti-drug PSA. You gotta love the 90's. It truly was a time when anti-drug PSA's were inescapable: you couldn't even watch Parker Lewis Can't Lose or any of your other favorite shows without crazed maniacs smashing fried eggs or children screaming "I learned it from watching youuuuuuuu!!!!!". You go pop in a VHS tape looking for some respite, and they're there too. No wonder no one does drugs anymore.But back to the topic at hand, the movie is filled with innumerable mustachioed extras. At any given point while watching The Human Shield, there are an average of five men in the background, whether they be soldiers, baddies, or just plain townspeople, with thick black mustaches. It was either the height of fashion in the middle east, or maybe it was a "no mustache, no paycheck" financial matter. Regardless, it truly is a catalogue of distinctive facial hair on your screen.If you enjoyed films such as Death Before Dishonor (1987) and Dudikoff's Chain of Command (1994), you'll surely also like The Human Shield, even if it does have some slow moments, as well as some awkward camera zooms. Those things shouldn't be enough to put you off. Dudikoff has to pretty much carry the movie on his shoulders, and while he is capable of doing that, another major name would have helped out the proceedings. Someone like Lee Majors the Second, Jay Roberts Jr. or Evan Lurie, to name but a few shining stars in the DTV firmament, could have helped Dudikoff bear his load. But the movie does include many of our favorite items: plenty of blow-ups and shooting, not one, but two screams of "Nooooooooo!!!!", and of course a baddie admonishing his underlings that there better be "No More Mistakes".It was also somewhat refreshing that Dudikoff's brother was kidnapped. It's not usually an adult male that is the target of the hero's rescue mission. It's usually a woman, a young girl, or a young boy. So that was an interesting difference. Also we got to be privy to the Pentagon gym. There's even a title card on-screen that tells us we're in the Pentagon gym. Never before have our eyes gotten to witness where Dick Cheney does his squat thrusts and where Congressman Henry Waxman (D-CA) blasts his lats. Thank you Human Shield for this inside information.The Human Shield is classic early-90's Dudikoff fare.

This is one of those rare movies I can watch over and over again without getting bored. It was a well written story and the acting was surprisingly good for a "low budget" film. Steve Inwood as general Dalal was amazing and anyone who has seen this movie can attest to that...he steals the show (Pardon the pun). I'm not of middle eastern descent, but the directors did a fine job of portraying the culture. From the music, settings, food, lifestyle and nature of the people---and anyone who thinks culture isn't important in a film, it is said that Godfather was so successful because it portrayed the Italian culture to a tee.Nonetheless, it was a good plot with decent sup-plots such as the romance between dudikoff and laila, his brother being kidnapped and the whole revenge factor.The movie also has some memorable lines such as: "Insults here can only be washed away in blood" "I like your scar because it reminds me of the man who gave it to you" "Things done in a hurry are done in the ways of Satan. While things done with patience are done in the way of god" "A son should always be by his father's side during his proudest moments" Dalal talking about his 4 year old kid as he's about to go kill dudikoff "Should I wait?" "Not unless your wife has a sense of humour" Dudikoff to cab driver after being dropped off at the Iraqi border "American...what is it you want? Hash? Coca Cola? A woman? And anyone who has seen this movie or is thinking of seeing it should pay particular attention towards the end of the movie when Dalal is being driven to the chemical plant. The car phone rings and he picks up this HUGE MUTHER****IN phone that must have been state of the art at the time but DAMN! The thing easily could have been 5 pounds.Also Hana Azoulay Hasfari was good as Laila. I say there should be a rule where if you're doing a film that revolves around a certain culture you should get actors from THAT culture to portray characters. It makes things more believable and credible. Even if they aren't known you'll be surprised at how good some "unknown actors" can be. The biggest flaw I can think of was Hollywood using Penelope Cruz to play a Greek girl in Captain Corelli's Mandolin. I love Penelope but that was a joke.

Michael Dudikoff stars as Doug Matthews a soldier who returns to Iraq to save his brother Ben (Tommy Hinkley) from a sadistic Saddam Hussein look alike who is using him as bait to get revenge on Doug in this mildly diverting Dudikoff actioner which starts off slow but provides a few good twists and is less racist then most. Steve Inwood is especially good here.

I have to admit that i was pleasantly surprised upon renting this movie. It seemed like just another crappy b-action that Dudikoff usually stars in. Exept from some small mistakes such as the title The Human Shield, which was totally wrong for the movie it was a good action movie. Dudikoff goes to Iraq to rescue his brother who has been taken hostage by a crazy general as payback against Dudikoff for an earlier altercation. See this if you are able to find it.