Product Details

• Actors: Dolph Lundgren, Yu Nan, William Shriver
• Directors: Shimon Dotan, Samuel Dolhasca
• Format: AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: English
• Subtitles: English
• Region: Region 1 encoding (US and Canada only)
  PLEASE NOTE: Some Region 1 DVDs may contain Regional Coding Enhancement (RCE). Some, but not all, of our international customers have had problems playing these enhanced discs on what are called "region-free" DVD players. For more information on RCE, click here.
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
• DVD Release Date: April 29, 2008
• Run Time: 94 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0013D8LM2
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #100,378 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Genre: Feature Film-Action/Adventure
Rating: R
Release Date: 29-APR-2008
Media Type: DVD

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A DIAMOND IN THE ROUGH, June 5, 2008

By 

K. Jump (Corbin, KY United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Diamond Dogs (DVD)

Dolph Lundgren stars as Xander Ronson, an ex-soldier now living on the fringe in China while waiting for that one big job to come along that will change his life forever. When an American in search of a legendary Buddhist artifact comes knocking on his door, Ronson thinks his destiny is finally at hand. But as Ronson leads the party of treasure-hunters deeper into the moutainous badlands in search of their prize, he discovers they are stalked not only by Russian soldiers, but perhaps by an ancient curse as well.

A bit more low-key than many of Lundgren's action vehicles, DIAMOND DOGS is a rather more character-driven story than many of his fans may be accustomed to. The pace is relatively slow and there's a bit more of an emphasis on drama than shoot-em-up pyrotechnics--though there is still plenty of that too, especially as the climax draws closer and closer to its inevitable conclusion. Though not lavishly budgeted, DIAMOND DOGS actually benefits in some ways from the spartan FX, as this contributes a gritty, desperate realism that works well for this particular story. Acting is generally good, with Lundgren playing a somewhat less invincible warrior than he usually does, with more than adequate help from his supporting cast. The ending is unconventional but rings true within the context of the story. Though perhaps not one of Lundgren's very best pictures, DIAMOND DOGS is a different and interesting movie that action/adventure fans should find worthy of at least a rental.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars (2.5 STARS) Nice Location, Needs More and Better Action, Though, March 15, 2010

By 

Tsuyoshi (Kyoto, Japan) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Diamond Dogs (DVD)

If you are looking for some solid B-action film, you should look elsewhere. I like Dolph Lundgren and I have seen most of his films, and though "Diamond Dogs" is far better than abysmal "Jill Rips" and terrible "Agent Red," it still needs professional touch of action/stunt choreographers and production designers. In short it needs better action and more money.

Dolph Lundgren is Xander Ronson, a mercenary hired by an expedition team trying to retrieve a lost Buddhist artifact in Inner Mongolia. As a security guard and guide Ronson travels with the team led by one Chambers (William Shriver) and his step daughter Anika (Yu Nan). But another group of treasure seekers, armed Russians, are also after the artifact, which local people say is protected by the curse.

The "Indiana Jones"-like story of "Diamond Dogs" is generic, but serviceable. The film opens promisingly with Ronson's prize fighting sequence and the location of Inner Mongolia is authentic, but action stunts are not compelling enough and the religious relic itself (and the "curse" surrounding it) is soon forgotten. Lundgren is convincing as the hero, or anti-hero, but some of the other actors look terribly bored, or just overact.

According to IMDb, Dolph Lundgren did uncredited work as director, replacing Shimon Dotan. Those who have seen "The Mechanik" know that Dolph Lundgren can really direct action scenes within the limited budget, but even he couldn't save the production that is obviously underfinanced.

Interestingly "Diamond Dogs" is a Canadian-Chinese co-production that was actually shot in China. The location of Inner Mongolia provides an exotic look - the railroad, the rocky mountains and the old temple, etc. are all nice to look at, and some scenes are beautifully shot - but what the action film doesn't have is action itself.

4.0 out of 5 stars Pretty good for a B movie, lots of action and decent acting, September 21, 2010

By 

Gadgester "No Time, No Money" (Mother Earth) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Diamond Dogs (DVD)

Just watched this off Netflix streaming and was surprised by how entertaining the film was. Shot in Inner Mongolia (a province in China), the story is about an ex-Green Beret named Ronson who tries to make a petty living while running up a sizeable debt and then gets hired by an "English" guy with an American accent and a Chinese stepdaughter who wants to seduce the Ronson from the moment they met. The group sets out to find some Mongolian treasure called Tongka and along the way has to get in serious firefights and fistfights with some Russians and their Chinese mercenaries. There is a lot of tough action sequences in the film which makes the fighting look real. A lot of shoot-'em-ups, too, which makes the film fun to watch. As long as you don't take the script seriously and don't expect a big-budget production like the laughable Indiana Jones series, you'll be able to enjoy this film.