Missing in Action 2: The Beginning
Missing in Action 2: The Beginning
R | 01 March 1985 (USA)
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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.

Reviews
Mjeteconer

Just perfect...

Doomtomylo

a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

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Mathilde the Guild

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

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Zlatica

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

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FlashCallahan

Because the makers of the films thought that the second one was better than the first, the first films becomes a prequel to the second film, which became the first.But the reality is that the above statement is more interesting than the rest of the film.Braddock has been in a concentration camp for heaven knows how long because he refuses to sign a confession stating that he has committed war crimes, and is in desperate need of a shave.because of his refusal, he and his soldiers are subjected to many dressing downs from the head bad guys, and in one scene, Norris is forced to eat a rat, which he probably enjoyed.it's a cannon film, so it's not all that bad, Norris has some great screen presence, but his acting skills are still nothing more than him looking perplexed into the distance.But whilst watching this, I couldn't help but think if that the soldiers went just that little farther over the horizon, they would wander onto the events of Rambo: First Blood Part 2, now that would have been something, Norris and Stallone team up for the ultimate dressing down.It's understandable that the film wasn't released first, as it does become a little slow in the second act, but then thankfully, the film goes over the top in the final third, and we have the obligatory Norris walking away from a big explosion shot.It's not Cannon's greatest hour by a long shot, because it takes it's self too seriously, but if your a Norris fan, it's pretty much a given you'll want to see it.

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Maziun

This is actually a first movie in the series. Hence "The beginning" in the title. . It was made along with part 1. The producers when they saw two movies decided to make the original part one a sequel . It was a wise move . "Missing in action" was a box office success. It had some action in it and was definitely better than this flick. I'm pretty sure that if "Missing in action 2" was released first it wouldn't be a hit. Not that any of the movies in this series is good.American soldiers here are 100% good and noble , while the Vietnamese are shown as devils children , all 100% evil. There is no touch of gray here , everything is simplistic black and white morality. The movie is full of brutal scenes and the whole atmosphere is depressing. The director Lance Hool doesn't know what a decent action scene is and the pacing is dreadful. There is very little action here and I think it's fair to call this movie a prison drama. I like prison dramas when they good . Sadly this one wasn't.Norris has got one stony expression through the entire movie , even when he should be at least TRYING to act. The rest of the cast is also wooden beyond belief.Plot ? Message ? This is a moronic POW Vietnam tale , where Chuck Norris eats a rat. Even by the standards of B-class action movie this is incredibly bad . Avoid it. I give it 1/10.

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happyendingrocks

This middle chapter of the James Braddock trilogy is a prequel to the original Missing In Action that traces the origin of Chuck Norris's not-quite-iconic franchise player. The film is centered around Braddock's detention at a Vietnamese prison camp with several other American POWs, who are held at the mercy of a malevolent colonel who subjects them to a variety of cruelties. Of course, Norris is never one to sit idly by while injustice is being done, and he soon navigates a daring escape, blowing tons of stuff up and gunning down dozens of bad guys in the process.Though The Beginning boasts all of the hallmarks of an enjoyable B-action flick (slow motion explosions, liberal use of machine guns, a hero seemingly impervious to damage, etc.), Missing In Action 2 spends a lot more time developing the characters and the scenario than fans of the genre may be used to. While this relegates most of the action to the third act and slows the pace a bit, the film benefits from the more immersive approach, and delving deeply into the horrors of the POW experience brings home the real-world resonance of the piece while simultaneously bolstering the pay-off when the guns n' grenades portion of the plot gets underway.The dramatic emphasis also allows the usually stone-faced Norris to showcase his acting chops a bit, and even when he's called upon to express actual emotions, he does a capable job of humanizing Braddock beyond the scope of an interchangeable action hero. I'm keenly aware that most people curious about the Missing In Action series aren't all that interested in seeing Norris cry, so I should post-script that endorsement by adding that even though this outing is a bit more serious-minded than some others you'll encounter from the era, Chuck still doles out plenty of vengeance upon his captors with flame-throwers, Uzis, explosives, and good old-fashioned karate leaps out of trees.Your basic good-vs-evil movie is only as strong as its villain, and we get a suitably malicious match for Norris in Soon-Teck Oh's Colonel Yin, who notches up serious baddie points by burning people alive, tormenting Norris with news from the home-front, and humiliating one prisoner by having the least attractive prostitutes you'll ever see strip him naked and mock his genitals. In adherence to the sort of muddled logic you only find in '80s action films, Colonel Yin is a rare breed of Vietnamese overlord who speaks perfect English and is proficient in advanced martial arts.The presence of veteran henchman Professor Toru Tanaka is a welcome addition, and always entertaining character actor Steven Williams lends his services as a conniving turncoat, who, in true Williams fashion, fights valiantly to steal the movie by taking big meaty bites out of every scene he's in.Most of the shoot 'em up aspects of the film are fairly standard, but MIA2 does boast a few truly memorable scenes during the extended prison camp segments, the most effective of which is the "rat in a bag" sequence. Though the majority of Colonel Yin's tortures aren't all that creative, when he orders his men to stuff Chuck's head and an agitated rodent into the same burlap sack, it becomes impossible not to recognize his ingenuity.Though The Beginning dramatizes the true fates of some American soldiers left behind in Vietnam, any parallels to reality are readily negated by Chuck's propensity for invincibility. He does get kicked around a bit as a prisoner, but once he assumes the mantle of heavily-armed liberator, his (we assume) highly-trained captors suddenly forget how to aim their weapons, and Norris is able to elude even the most voluminous volleys of gunfire by simply rolling out of the way. The absurd apex of Chuck's super hero capabilities arrives when he opens a hatch to free some of the prisoners, only to discover that he has been lured into a trap. Instead of POWs, the compartment is filled with a dozen enemy soldiers, who immediately open fire with their machine guns inches from our sturdy protagonist's face... and somehow miss him entirely.Of course, such silliness is to be expected from a film like Missing In Action 2, and when the result is a fun and entertaining 90 minutes, it seems beside the point to complain about the improbabilities. Judged against the other work being churned out by Norris and his contemporaries during the era, The Beginning is a surprisingly thoughtful offering that balances its heart and its gonads rather adeptly. Above average is definitely good enough in this case.

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Lee Un Chek

This movie is an great example of history distortion. The movie describes Vietcong (Vietnamese communists) like devils. I totally disagree with the movie's content as well as the violence in the movie. In general, this movie contains nothing objective but want to say: "American is the best and others are trash.". Now, you can go to Wikipedia to learn something useful about Vietnam War and about the bloody crime of American troops& allies."In 1995, the Vietnamese government reported that its military forces, including the NLF, suffered 1.1 million dead and 600,000 wounded during Hanoi's conflict with the United States. Civilian deaths were put at two million in the North and South, and economic reparations were expected. Hanoi concealed the figures during the war to avoid demoralizing the population"Don't waste your valuable time to watch this deceptive movie. I think this movie want to shame the Vietnamese people.

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