Attack Force Z, also known as The Z Men, is an Australian/Taiwanese WW2 film directed by Tim Burstall (Stork, Alvin Purple) and starring John Phillip Law, Mel Gibson, Sam Neill, Chris Haywood, John Waters, Koo Chuan-Hsiung, and Sylvia Chang. The film is a fictionalised depiction of the exploits of the elite multi-national Z Special Unit, and focuses primarily on Capt. P.G. Kelly (Gibson) as he leads the unit against Imperial Japan in the later months of WW2.
This film provides examples of the following tropes:
- Artistic License – Ships: The Z Men are deployed from an RAN Oberon-class submarine. You don't have to be a naval buff to notice this either, given the straight sail and lack of a deck gun on the Cold War-era sub. The Taiwanese navy actually had (and still has) a number of WWII-era submarines in service at the time of filming. Unfortunately, they were heavily-modified GUPPY boats, and it's likely the filmmakers simply couldn't get permission from the Taiwanese government.
- Multinational Team: The titular squad is comprised of British, Australian, and New Zealand army personnel.
- One Last Smoke: One of the Z Men is wounded while landing on the island. After exchanging overly casual banter and a cigarette the commander shoots him, so he won't be captured and give away the mission under torture.
- Very Loosely Based on a True Story: The script is loosely based on Operation Opossum
, where members of the titular squad were brought in to rescue the local sultan on the Japanese-occupied island of Ternate in Indonesia.
