MacPherson is a war hero who survived Desert Storm with post-traumatic stress syndrome and a missing leg. After a while out of the service, he finally heeds the call of his old army buddy, Miguel Silva (Greg Serano), and decides to go to Miguel's home near the Texas/Mexican border.
But when MacPherson arrives, he finds this small town isn't quite how Miguel remembers it, and he also finds that no one seems to know his friend. Thus starts our hero's suspicions that there is something far more sinister going on in this town than some simple urban development.
It becomes clear that Rhodes (Gary Cole, Office Space), the man behind the new construction in the town, has his fingers in every pot of the border town, and seems to own it all. MacPherson quickly assesses Rhodes as the type of millionaire who believes the world is his and he is above all consequences. It seems that Rhodes is also involved in running an unofficial border patrol crew that aims to "keep America pure," except when he needs cheap labor, of course.
Well, when MacPherson finally finds out what happed to his army friend, and the life of the only woman in town that seems to be willing to stand up to Rhodes is threatened, the ex-Marine breaks through his traumatic barriers and brings vengeance down upon Rhodes and his lackeys.
As I said in the beginning, Conspiracy feels very generic. This could easily have been the plot to any number of Steven Seagal or Jean-Claude Van Damme films, and you wouldn't have noticed any difference. Although, I have to say, it is rare to see Val Kilmer play the expert-fighter who is hiding his past instead of one of those two, and Jennifer Esposito (Crash) does a good job as the female interest in the film.
Conspiracy is a good movie to pop in if you are in the mood for some mindless action, or something like the aforementioned actors' films. There are a ton of explosions, hand-to-hand combat, and yes, Val Kilmer does kill someone with his hollow leg. If you are looking for something with a deep and meaningful storyline though, look somewhere else.
