Film review: Milius (15)

Zak Knutson, 101mins

There is a fascinating paradox in the story of John Milius, the bombastic Hollywood screenwriter and director. He was punished for success – something which rarely happens in Hollywood.

His 1984 hit Red Dawn was considered so offensively jingoistic that his career all but stalled in its wake. But this documentary makes a case for Milius' key role in the Easy Riders, Raging Bulls generation.

He wrote Apocalypse Now and Dirty Harry's famous "Make my day" line, and, bizarrely, helped originate UFC cage fighting. The film goes easy on his nutty political views and machismo.

There is also a nagging feeling that Milius (who suffered a debilitating stroke just before work on the doc began) has achieved only a fraction of what he should have.