Taglines: They fly again…
Wild Geese 2 is a 1985 British action-thriller film directed by Peter Hunt, based on the 1982 novel The Square Circle by Daniel Carney, in which a group of mercenaries are hired to spring Rudolf Hess from Spandau Prison in Berlin. The film is a sequel to the 1978 film The Wild Geese, which was also produced by Euan Lloyd and adapted from a novel by Carney.
Actor Richard Burton, who starred in the first film as Colonel Allen Faulkner, was planning to reprise his role for the sequel, but he died days before filming began. The sequel has Faulkner’s brother (played by Edward Fox) as one of the mercenaries. No characters from the original are featured in the sequel.
About the Story
Africa, 1977
Veteran mercenary Allen Faulkner trains and then leads a group of fifty hired soldiers in an attempt to rescue deposed President Julius Limbani. After initially being successful the mission begins to fall apart, double-crossed and caught in the open, an enemy plane strafes Faulkner’s men. With what few men remain Faulkner looks to escape the country in an old Dakota aeroplane. With only his best friend Rafer Janders is left to board the plane, Janders is shot in the leg and can’t catch the taxiing plane. As the hordes of ferocious Simbas are virtually upon him, Janders calls for Faulkner to kill him, which he regretfully does.
London, 1982
As the only surviving Nazi leader in captivity, Rudolf Hess (Laurence Olivier) has secrets that could destroy the careers of prominent political figures, secrets an international news network will pay any price to get.
As Alex Faulkner (Edward Fox) arrives for a meeting, Robert McCann (Robert Webber) is arguing with Michael Lukas about the delay of a planned rescue of Rudolf Hess. Faulkner is escorted into the office where he meets Michael and Kathy Lukas (John Terry and Barbara Carrera) where they show him a brief video tape and offer to let him name his price to rescue Hess.
At first Faulkner thinks they are joking, but when he finds out they are serious, he tells them about the possible consequences of Hess’s rescue. Faulkner refuses the offer but recommends John Haddad (Scott Glenn) to them as a substitute. As former Lebanese American soldier turned mercenary Haddad avoids Palestinian hitmen in London. Later network executives Kathy and Michael Lukas hire Haddad to free Hess and get him safely out of West Berlin.
When Haddad arrives in West Berlin he stakes out the outside of Spandau Prison as a jogger while being spied on. He drafts plans of the outside of the prison including guard towers and entrances. The next day Haddad joins a construction team and sneaks away to get into the prison guard entrance. Carefully eluding the guards by studying their timed patrols he drafts floor plans of the hallways and cell blocks.
When he leaves the prison with the construction crew, Haddad is abducted by East German spy Karl Stroebling. Stroebling and his thugs smother Haddad with a plastic bag over his head to torture him into disclosing details about his mission. Haddad escapes and survives by overpowering the thugs and rolls across the street being barely missed run over from an oncoming truck as the police arrive as witnesses to the incident.
While recovering in hospital, Haddad is visited by British Colonel Reed-Henry (Kenneth Haigh). Reed-Henry questions Haddad but to no avail; he leaves Haddad but suspects he is there to rescue Hess. Haddad leaves the hospital and along with Kathy goes to Bavaria to plan the mission without interference from Stroebling.
Haddad enlists his old mercenary comrade Colonel Alex Faulkner to watch his back. Faulkner, a former British Army officer, is working as an assassin and is an expert marksman. As romance between Haddad and Kathy blossoms, the trio return to West Berlin to find that Reed-Henry will help Haddad release Hess. Once again Stroebling’s thug’s attempt to kill Haddad, but this time Faulkner helps him kill all but one of them.
Meeting with Reed-Henry to discuss his plan, Haddad agrees to hand over Hess to the Colonel in exchange for help from Regimental Sergeant Major James Murphy (Paul Antrim). Murphy, an ex-warden at Spandau prison, informs Haddad of the prison routine and helps make the mercenaries look like British Royal Military Police. Stroebling offers to remove a contract on Haddad’s life in exchange for Hess and the death of Faulkner. Haddad refuses and Stroebling leaves, frustrated.
Wild Geese 2 (1985)
Directed by: Peter R. Hunt
Starring: Scott Glenn, Barbara Carrera, Edward Fox, Laurence Olivier, Robert Webber, Robert Freitag, Derek Thompson, Ingrid Pitt
Screenplay by: Reginald Rose
Production Design by: Syd Cain
Cinematography by: Michael Reed
Film Editing by: Keith Palmer
Costume Design by: Diane Holmes
Art Direction by: Peter Williams
Music by: Roy Budd
Distributed by: Thorn EMI
Release Date: October +8. 1985
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