Cobra
"As long as we play by these bullshit rules and the killer doesn't, we're gonna lose!" - Cobretti
release year: 1986
genre: action
viewing setting: home Bluray 10/29/23 and 12/5/22 and 10/21/18 and 6/22/15 and home DVD, 10/9/03 and previously 1/26/99
synopsis: By night, a gang hunts and kills people they deem to be weak; fortunately, tough cop Cobra is there to stop them.
impressions: This was somewhat cheesy but still entertaining action fare. There were lots of blades and guns and fists and explosions, a simple plot, and plenty of tough-guy acting. The idea of a group of "the strong" who destroy "the weak" is taken to extremes here. This is prototypical 1980s action fare: tough cops and evil villains and a pretty much total disregard for rules and regulations.
body count: appx. 50, broken across three acts (motel fight, vehicle chase, final fight in steel mill)
things to watch for: The big gunfight in the small town ("San Remos pop. 123") was entertaining.
something this movie has that no other movie has: A tough cop with a cobra insignia on his pistol.
acting: Stallone is his usual tough-guy self. Brian Thompson turns in a memorable role as the hulking, evil, propaganda-spewing leader of the killers. Brigitte Nielsen really can't act, and is boring as the helpless victim-turned-love-interest for Stallone. Reni Santoni is Cobra's junk-food-eating, wisecracking partner. Andrew Robinson is a jackass bureaucrat detective who doesn't like Cobra's approach to stopping crime.
final word: Entertaining but formulaic.
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