In September 1942, the world was at war once again. As the U.S. Army stationed in the Solomon Islands, Malay, desperately petitioned for additional reinforcements, a small group of brave soldiers attempted to stave off numerous attacks by the Japanese Navy.
John “T-Bone” Caputo (Louis Mandylor, My Big Fat Greek Wedding) is a former champion boxer from West New York who left the ring after a tragic incident. Afterwards, he joined the Marines, before being discharged. Now, once again feeling the need to serve his country, John has enlisted again, this time in the Army. As John arrives at the base in Malay, he joins D Company, where old family friend James Robinson (Donald Cerrone) is also stationed. John quickly assimilates into the group, and befriends the other soldiers, several of whom recognize him from his boxing career. Meanwhile, James is a bit distracted. He recently lost a fellow solider in battle, and feels guilty that he didn’t have his partner’s back as he had promised. While James acts like he’s happy to see John, he seems to be harboring a grudge over something that happened between them in the past, and it’s only a matter of time before things come to a boil.
Ed Foley (Peter Dobson), who’s in charge of the base’s strategic planning, has been desperately trying to get reinforcements deployed to the base, because he knows an attack from the Japanese is imminent. However, his requests are constantly ignored or deprioritized. There’s been a lull in the fighting, and the soldiers are joking around, spending lots of time in the base gym, and dealing with their own personal drama. However, they are unaware of the danger that lurks in the woods nearby. As Foley feared, The Japanese forces have been slowly approaching, making stealthy, targeted attacks on the soldiers to test the base’s security, and are now ready to launch a full-blown attack. And the soldiers soon find themselves in the midst of a deadly 3-day battle with the enemy forces.
While 3 Days in Malay does have some battle/fight scenes, the film focuses more on the personal drama between these two soldiers. The movie can be a bit overly-dramatic and over-acted at times as it follows James and John, who are both dealing with pent up guilt and haunting visions of people whose deaths they feel responsible for. For John, it’s over his past and what happened in the ring that caused him to end his boxing career, and to check out from his family and friends. He has tried to make things right and prove himself by serving his country, but the guilt still hasn’t gone away. Meanwhile, James failed to protect his fellow soldier, even though there wasn’t really anything he could have done in the situation. He had also harbored ill feelings toward John for years, blaming him for not being there when he needed him when they were younger.
The story also introduces viewers to some of the other soldiers, and there are some humorous moments in the way these men talk, interact and razz one another. However, the story feels a bit slow, and some of the dialogue a bit forced. It takes a long time before we finally get to the Japanese attack on the base. There are a few fight scenes leading up to this, but they tend to feel a bit too choreographed and something out of a martial arts movie, and not a war movie—such as when a single knife-wielding Japanese soldier takes out soldiers one-by-one. The lower budget aspect of the film can also be felt in these moments, such as when the Japanese do attack the base, but they seem to have all split up for individual one-on-one fights. Some of the larger battle scenes also feel a bit cliché, such as using slow motion as soldiers wriggle and arch their backs as they are riddled with bullets. And there is one “surprise” explosion sequence that looks incredibly fake.
I had hoped that 3 Days in Malay was going to be more of an exciting war movie, but it felt like it just didn’t have the budget to pull off the action. It tries to make up for this by focusing more on the character drama, but I just didn’t find John’s story that compelling or that there was enough there to really fill out the movie. The limited cast also feels quite evident at times, with the mess hall often appearing quite empty, or the operations center of the base not being as busy or bustling as it should be in a time of war. Overall, the film was a decent effort, and had its moments, but there are far better war movies I’d suggest checking out over this one—such as Casualties of War, which I reviewed a while back.
Well Go’s Blu-ray release offers pretty solid picture and sound. The film opens with a battle sequence that is a bit dark, with some black crush and artifacting, but after that scene, the picture quality is quite solid for the rest of the film. The audio track is very well done, with clear dialogue throughout, and making nice use of the surround sound to give the movie a more immersive feel. This is noticeable as the soldiers are talking on the base and the sound of gunfire and fighting can be heard in the distance. Once the full attack starts, the sound of the commotion really fills the room.
Well Go’s Blu-ray release is barebones, only including the film’s trailer and some previews for three other Well Go releases as bonus material. The disc comes packed in a locking HD keepcase, and doesn’t include a digital copy. Our review copy included a nice embossed slipcover.
What’s Included:
Film: (1:38:40)
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Blu-ray:
- 1080p / Widescreen 2.39:1
- Audio: English DTS-HDMA 5.1, English Stereo
- Subtitles: English SDH
Extras:
- Trailer (1:39)
- Previews
- Warhorse One (2:21)
- Forgotten Experiment (2:28)
- Kill Shot (1:13)
Final Thoughts:
3 Days in Malay was a slightly underwhelming war movie that focuses most of its time on the drama experienced by two soldiers who are trying to come to terms with guilt over deaths from events that occurred prior to the 3 days in the title. The film has some entertaining fight and action sequences, but sometimes these feel limited by budget. Besides some brief artifacting in the film’s opening sequence, the technical presentation looks and sounds quite good. However, the disc doesn’t include any bonus material. The film be worth checking out if you’re fan of the cast, which also includes MMA fighter Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson. Otherwise, perhaps a rental, but there are other bigger-budget war movies that have done this kind of story better.
3 Days in Malay
$24.06 $16.99 (as of December 25, 2024 05:59 GMT -05:00 – More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)
3 Days in Malay
$11.70 (as of December 25, 2024 05:59 GMT -05:00 – More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)
3 Days in Malay
$3.99 (as of December 25, 2024 05:59 GMT -05:00 – More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)
