Ed Artis, Jim Laws and Walt Ratterman are humanitarian aid workers — but not like any you’ll have come across before.

The three well-off, middle-aged Americans work for nobody but themselves, delivering food, medical supplies and other necessities into war-torn and ravaged areas of the world — simply because they want to and because they can.

Former paratrooper Ed — who started the perilous operation — delivers great lines about what inspires him to risk his life on a regular basis in places such as Afghanistan, the Thai/Burma border and the Southern Philippines for no reward.

“I still don’t know what I want to be when I grow up but I know what I don’t want to be,” he says. “I’m not going to be a complacent, apathetic, sit-on-my ass kind of guy.”

No one could accuse Ed of that — he’s clearly a man who gets things done, as are his fellow “Knights of Malta”, as the trio term themselves.

But strangely, I warm to him least in this beautifully-filmed documentary from director Adrian Belic about their adventures.

On a couple of occasions, it feels almost like he’s playing to an audience. “You know I hate to fail,” he rages to best pal Jim, when it looks like a mission might have to be aborted. Although I can’t be sure, I could swear he had one eye on the camera.

Later, he tells a truly terrible tale of an experience he had when a soldier in the Dominican Republic. The story is a show-stopping moment — and does help to give some insight into his motivation to help others. But I still didn’t shed a tear when he was taken ill towards the end of the film.

Walt, on the other hand, seems an utterly genuine man, wholly without affectation. His explanation of why he joined up with Ed and Jim gave me a lump in my throat.

There were other scenes too that were incredibly affecting — all in different ways. Watching a mother’s face as she held her tiny baby who had water on the brain was heartbreakingly sad, while footage of one-legged teens enjoying a soccer game was shocking yet joyful.

Some images needed no narration and were all the more powerful without it — children laughing as they used empty cardboard aid boxes as toys; a hand searching for grain among sand.

The three men’s courage and dedication in visiting places where no other aid agencies will go is both awesome and awe-inspiring.

But it’s a story, ultimately, with few surprises. Although I found it interesting I had seen enough by the time the one hour and 22 minute film ended

There is absolutely no doubt that what these men are doing is a wonderful, wonderful thing. But whether their story is quite right for the silver screen is a rather different matter.