Leofwine_draca Predictable but fun war thriller which benefits from a pleasingly dark, gritty feel and realism from the location shooting in Vietnam. Back in the mid '80s, if you had a country as an enemy, you wouldn't need to send an army in - instead just pick from the ranks of Norris, Stallone, or Schwarzenegger and you could be sure they would single-handedly wipe out the bad guys for you. Norris plays his role as typically morose and straight-faced, rarely cracking a smile and instead dedicated to his mission, which is rescuing P.O.Ws. Scenes of Norris climbing walls unaided and battling various assassins and opponents help to show off the great man's skills and he proves himself here as a capable action hero, although I would have liked to have seen more of his martial arts abilities which are pushed back in favour of firearms.After the initial set-up, MISSING IN ACTION benefits from plenty of local colour and puts across an image of a really sleazy Saigon, filled with brothels, pimps, murderers, and other street slime. Into this setting comes Norris, assailed by men in cupboards and rocket-launching scum who care not for human life. Later, Norris ventures into the deep dark jungle and the shooting begins, packing scenes with explosions, bad guys getting shot and blown up and plenty of macho heroism - including an uplifting shot of Norris rising from a lake in slow-motion and blasting down the laughing bad guys. The stuntmen (including one J. Claude Van Damme in their ranks, no less) perform their duties well and the action is glossy, explosive and entertaining.Support comes from the capable M. Emmet Walsh who succeeds in the rather clichéd role of 'Tuck', Norris's old army buddy, a boozing, middle-aged, overweight smuggler who goes along for the ride. Lenore Kasdorf is suitably charming as the brief love interest whilst James Hong and Ernie Ortega excel as the slimy Vietnamese villains. The rest of the cast are made up of genuine Vietnamese folk which again adds to the realism of the production. Although this movie caused controversy at the time due to what many people felt were racist representations of the Vietnamese, this doesn't stop it from being a good old-fashioned patriotic blood-and-thunder production, not one of the star's best but a solid entry nonetheless. Two sequels followed which I look forward to watching.

videorama-759-859391 At first view, I must say I was disappointed at this one. It wasn't because of the quality. I was expecting much more action. Competing with the Rambo First Blood 2 film at the same time, this one comes up of course, much more realistic. Norris plays legendary Colonel Braddock who works with government officials, as being informed, MIA's are still out there. He enlists his old friends help, a likable aging codger, Tuck (M Emmet Walsh- Blood Simple) and the two go back to the jungle to free the MIA'S. Of course sounding Ramboish, this film, surprisingly takes itself really seriously, while not always being exciting, but what formulates is not a bad quality pick drama, with some naked titties, an asset at least. Too the film really works the government side of it, Norris remembering one now Asian official, as an old torture which is the standout moment of this film. Although I must say I'm not in love with this film, it is worth a watch, not just for Norris fans. Also it's good to see where the series started, although that trashy second one was a prequel, which makes this MIA quality stuff, but just happened to disappoint in the action quota, mostly until the trip back to those diseased charlie filled jungles.

SnoopyStyle Colonel James Braddock (Chuck Norris) is an American special forces who escaped from a Vietnamese POW camp. Now he goes back to Vietnam to investigate other American MIA with Senator Porter. He confronts Gen. Trau (James Hong) and gets the coordinates of a prison camp. From Thailand, Braddock gets the help of Tuck (M. Emmet Walsh) to go back into Vietnam and rescue the POWs singlehandedly.There are so many things wrong with this movie. The most glaring is everything in Saigon. Basically he dressed in black and becomes invisible. He's the only white guy who's able to sneak around in Saigon and take on all opponents. And they deliberately make killing as the last resort which makes no sense. Once Trau tells him the location, Braddock had to kill Trau, but the movie only allows him to kill Trau after Trau shoots first.If there is any salvation, it is the mind numbing action. It starts with some good mind numbing Vietnam war action. After that, they're few and far between. And when the action happens, it's not filmed in an exciting way. Even as an 80's action movie, this is poorly filmed. This isn't even Rambo.

Adam Sentiff Colonel James Braddock is an American officer who was a POW for 7 years in Vietnam. Braddock has returned to Vietnam with a purpose and a mission, to find and rescue interned American POW's which the Vietnamese government denies exists. Braddock will find the truth even if it costs him his freedom and his life.A simply action film that has charm to it. Not the best acted or the best story I've ever seen, simplistic and perhaps clichéd in many aspects but its an enjoyable film. If your nostalgic about 80's films and action films with an simplistic story but a film that holds charm. The acting is sub par, the story clichéd, the direction semi mediocre, but where this film gets its charm is in Chuck Norris and the action itself. A good portion of this film attempts to imitate, Rambo: First Blood Part II, and even its producers have admitted this, but as i said their is a certain charm to this film that will grow on the viewer with repeated viewings. Though first time viewers may find this film cheesy, older generation film goers may watch with a glint of nostalgia and fin themselves enjoying the film.