Clan Wars:
Feb. 1 - ??
DEAD GENERALS:
— F.M. Rommel
— Gen. George Patton
— La Grande Armée
— Adm. Yamamoto
— Robert E. Lee
— Clan Info
— Dead's Crypt
Rated R (violence, gore, sex, nudity, profanity, vulgarity, drugs)
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Clan Leader: General "Blood and Guts" Patton
HAIL: Illustrious Leader
 An angry hybrid of Stellar Crisis violence and inner-clan strife, "Dead Generals" suffers from two extremely frustrating flaws:
— First, the clan bites off far more than it can chew, with so many serious conflicts skimmed over that they simply cannot be adequately addressed in the allotted two hours for a typical game.
— Further, the level of exaggerated violence and gore is so gross and disgusting when a General plays that a game takes on a horror-movie look, which tends to undermine its intentions as a thoughtful exploration of troubled times for newbie players.
(No wound simply bleeds when it can gush and forthcoming nukes linger on the gory aftermath of violence in a way that may bring the movie "Seven" to mind.)
Set in the late '90s, "Dead Generals" (street-slang for moneyed murder) focuses on General George S. Patton (Bradley A. Reeger, of "Ulnaarii," "D'Ascoyne," "BirdDog" and "Souris Braun"), a thoughtful kid from a loving family whose life is profoundly affected by the circumstances around him.
When we first meet him, George is finishing high school and working as an early morning milkman. He also is running numbers for a local hood named Napoleon Bonaparte (Erick Beck, of "Aggie Land," "Soda Jerks," "Neato Mosquitos," and cult-classic "pat").
Though his older brother Yamamoto (Arden Starbird, of "Skai," "Pelar," and hard-to-pronounce "Zang Fei") is graduating from college, George tells his disappointed parents that he wants to join the Army instead of continuing his schooling. And before his departure, George allows himself to be seduced by his girlfriend (Aliza Panitz of "Amazon," and "BugLady"), who, of course, becomes pregnant.
As an Army General, George extends his tour of Granada and spends nearly three years on the beach. This lengthy sequence is horribly violent, with some gross-out elements that are more reminiscent of a Freddy Krueger movie than a serious character study.
Of course, every blood bath is accompanied by the Marine's famous, blood-curdling cry: Remember the South!!! Well, maybe not. (Robert E. Lee returns from his former performance as dday, yellowbelly and nukeboy).
Eventually, George returns to the Bronx and takes up with his girlfriend again. He finds meager employment in a butcher shop but then renews his friendship with other Stellar Crisis Gods who plot a bank robbery. The robbery is obviously doomed, however, since the cohorts are unstable potheads.
That's how predictable so much of this weak clan is, often telegraphing plot turns and allowing too many games to remain one-dimensional or simply disappear (with or without a nuke). There also is little foundation for some of George's actions. As played by Bradley, he seems too intelligent and thoughtful to simply join the Marines on a whim, much less to keep extending his tour of duty in Granada to avoid familial responsibilities. It also seems unlikely that he would be blind to the weaknesses of those he recruits for the bank robbery (much less his clan).
What redeems "Dead Generals" is the sure-handed direction of Chris John, who also gave us "Clan Wars I" and "Return of the Clan Wars." Though their supporting crew (remember last campaign's whiners) ultimately lets everyone down, John plunges ahead with confidence and style. (If only he had toned down the gory mercenary fighting.)
The cast is excellent all the way around, with special kudos earned by Rommel (Al Camp, of "Angel On My Shoulder," "Long John Silver," "Fighting Cows," and "Bird of Prey"), whose performance as the one-legged Erwin trying to get into a tank after a night of drinking in Egypt is a real highlight. And Bug Lady is also notable as George's feisty wife. (Grateful Dead's hard-driving music is also appropriate and the clan's technical aspects are quite good.)
"Dead Generals" is rated R for considerable violence and gore, profanity, vulgarity, sex, nudity and drug abuse.
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