You must be a registered user to use the IMDb rating plugin. It is set in the context of the Vietnam War POW/MIA issue. Use the HTML below. The Globe and Mail3 Sep 1985: S.7. Consequently, Cannon just switched titles and release dates so that the planned sequel was released first, and the planned first film was released as a prequel. "Responsibility Missing in 'Missing in Action 2'". Danny's about to be dad, when Terror escapes prison and is back killing. Norris was enthusiastic because he wanted to pay tribute to his brother Wieland. During his team's time in captivity, they are relentlessly subjected to various forms of humiliating torture, and Braddock being told that his wife has left him and remarried. What's "Missing in Action 2: The Beginning" about". And ever since he has been in office there has been a more positive, patriotic feeling in this country. "[20] Richard Christiansen of the Chicago Tribune gave the film 2 stars out of 4 and wrote that "Norris stolidly delivers as the strong, silent loner who cuts through government red tape to nail the villains and rescue the oppressed, and the fact that any American soldier beats the Vietnamese (shown to be slimy, sadistic brutes) may bring cheer to many people. WORK STARTS ON WAR FILM IN ST. KITTS Was this review helpful to you? If you can't crack open a Budwieser and wear a t-shirt with an American flag on the front you shouldn't watch this movie. [12] He did say "Vietnam was a tragic mistake. For many years I have enjoyed Chuck Norris. [1], Janet Maslin of The New York Times wrote, "The new film, like its predecessor, is primitive but shrewd. "[13], Hool and Norris took the project to Cannon Films, who liked the project. Norris later dedicated these films to his younger brother Wieland. Missing in Action 2: The Beginning was filmed back to back with the original Missing in Action and was originally intended to be the first film of the two. "[22], Scott Weinberg of eFilmCritic.com gave the film 2 stars out of 5, writing that "Norris does Stallone... badly" in his review. this could be because the first half hour or so of this film is totally brilliant and features Norris at his sunglasses wearing, blue jeans kicking, beer drinking, tv smashing best. It was non-stop action and violence as Norris, as Colonel James Braddock, tears up Vietnam to free POWs who were kept after the war's end. It's xenophobic, amateurish and extraordinarily dull". CHUCK NORRIS SIGNS A 6-MOVIE CONTRACT Philadelphia Inquirer; Philadelphia, Pa. [Philadelphia, Pa]17 Mar 1985: D.3. Representatives from Cannon Group said Cameron's script served as inspiration to the film and subsequently produced and released the first two Missing in Action films two months before the release of Rambo: First Blood Part II,[9][10] in order to avoid copyright violation lawsuits. That's when my character brings some POWs he's just rescued to a conference in Saigon, where the politicians are saying there aren't any more prisoners of war." [23] In a 2003 BBC article entitled "Rambo: Pretenders to the Throne", Almar Haflidason wrote "the runaway success of the Rambo trilogy inspired dozens of rip-offs", citing that the Missing in Action series was the most famous of the Rambo clones. The second, Missing in Action 2, would be a prequel about Braddock's years as a POW. Colonel James Braddock is a US military officer who spent seven years in a North Vietnamese POW camp, which he escaped 10 years ago. Which Is Your Favorite 1980s Action Movie Guilty Pleasure? Colonel Braddock launches a mission deep into the jungles of Vietnam to find the POW camp that he escaped from and free the Americans still held captive there. They already had a script in development about the rescue of American POWS in Vietnam, and signed Norris to make both movies. "Norris to the Rescue in 'Missing'". After the war, Braddock accompanies a government investigation team that travels to Ho Chi Minh City to investigate reports of US soldiers still held prisoner. Keep track of everything you watch; tell your friends. Braddock obtains the evidence then travels to Thailand, where he meets Tuck, an old Army friend turned black market kingpin. Looking for some great streaming picks? [1], Norris said "One of the biggest thrills of my life came when I went to a theatre to see Missing in Action, and all the people stood up and applauded at the end. [24], Derek Adams of Time Out wrote that the film was "so bad that it defies belief. Colonel James Braddock (Chuck Norris) survives a brutal stint in a Vietnamese POW camp, but he believes that even after the war ends enemy forces … Missing in Action is a 1984 American action film directed by Joseph Zito and starring Chuck Norris. Vietnam films were not popular at the time, and Norris and Hool received numerous rejections. Prequel to the first Missing In Action, set in the early 1980s it shows the capture of Colonel Braddock during the Vietnam war in the 1970s, and his captivity with other American POWs in a brutal prison camp, and his plans to escape. This is a total psychological flick, exposing to the viewers the horrors of Asian prison camps. It was followed by another sequel, Braddock: Missing in Action III, featuring the same character, but with a stand-alone screenplay. It made $6 million in its first weekend and earned over $10 million in rentals in the US.