The Evil That Men Do is a 1984 action thriller film directed by J. Lee Thompson, and starring Charles Bronson, Theresa Saldana, and Joseph Maher. The film was adapted by David Lee Henry and John Crowther from the novel of the same name by R. Lance Hill. Bronson plays a former assassin who comes out of retirement to avenge the death of his journalist friend at the hands of a torturer called "The Doctor", who works for various dictatorships worldwide, particularly those of Operation Condor. The film marks the fifth collaboration between Bronson and director J. Lee Thompson, following St. Ives (1976), The White Buffalo (1977), Caboblanco (1980), and 10 to Midnight (1983).
Plot
In Suriname, Clement Molloch, referred to as "The Doctor", is shown torturing a journalist, Jorge Hidalgo, to death with electricity in front of government officials. Outside of the building, an Israeli Mossad team attempts to rig a bomb under the Doctor's car. The operation fails and one team member is killed.
In the Cayman Islands, Holland (Charles Bronson), a retired assassin, lives in relative peace. An old friend asks him to assassinate the Doctor. Though he initially refuses to intervene, after learning his friend Jorge was killed by him and watching video testimonies of Molloch's other torture victims around the world, including Chile and Asia, Holland decides to avenge his friend. He agrees to search for Molloch but wants to appear as a family man/tourist and therefore accompanies Jorge's widow Rhiana and her daughter Sarah into Guatemala, where the Doctor is based.
The three meet up with Max Ortiz, a friend, who takes them to a cockfighting ring frequented by Molloch. They are followed by an apparently crippled man, but Holland alerts him to his presence before he can get to him and he escapes. Later, Max takes them to Molloch's compound. Holland returns at night and sees the "crippled" man walking normally. He scopes out the lights and cameras for later.
Holland and Rhiana go into town for information. While he is off at the bar, a local harasses Rhiana. Holland crushes his groin and neck to a cheering crowd and catches the attention of another of Molloch's henchmen. Holland and Rhiana trick him into returning to their hotel for a "threesome", and Holland kills him by throwing a knife into his throat. Rhiana is horrified and Holland demands she return home, as his mission is becoming dangerous. However, Rhiana refuses, wanting to see the Doctor killed in person.
Holland decides to draw the Doctor out by kidnapping his sister Claire. He breaks into her hotel room and awaits her return. She returns, but with her female lover, and Holland is forced to wait for her to leave, hiding under the bed during their romantic encounter. After she leaves, a male henchman comes in and begins rolling a joint. Holland apprehends him while Claire showers. He kidnaps Claire and throws the man off the balcony with a fire hose tied around his neck, hanging him publicly to cause a distraction for him and Claire to escape. They go to a ranch owned by Max and Holland advises Max to go into hiding.
Unbeknownst to Holland, Molloch has the local militia arrest Max, whom he tortures to reveal Holland's hideout. When Molloch calls to negotiate, he inadvertently reveals that he knows their location. Holland puts Claire in the trunk of a car, and he and Rhiana drive off. Assassins sent by the US ambassador (whom Molloch has paid off) follow, and after a shootout and chase, crash their car and die; Claire dies in Holland's trunk. Holland and Rhiana buy a local farmer's truck and head to the village of Magdalena. They are followed by the US ambassador and other thugs.
When Holland and Rhiana arrive, they meet a man who owns a cafe and phone. They go to his place to use the phone and are confronted by the ambassador and a gunman. Holland kills both men and calls Molloch, demanding he come alone to retrieve Claire from a nearby abandoned mine. At the mine, they find several disfigured men looking for any remaining opal. They advise the men to leave because danger approaches, but they refuse, going into hiding only when they see Molloch's car approaching.
