Missing in Action 2: The Beginning
"You really didn't think I'd leave without making sure you were dead?" - Braddock
release year: 1985
genre: action/adventure
viewing setting: home Bluray 9/9/26 and 4/1/17 and 5/22/13 and home DVD, 11/29/04
synopsis: This prequel to the first movie depicts the post-war POW time of Colonel Braddock and some of his men.
impressions: This movie is pretty much about the evil Viet Cong officer's attempts to break Braddock and his fellow four prisoners. His tactics include torture, murder, and mind games - all of which happen after the war is over and after these people were supposed to be released. But the evil colonel is having none of that; he has kept these men prisoner and horribly mistreated them, apparently just for kicks. But...since this is Chuck Norris, you can rest assured that when Braddock escapes, there will be hell to pay; the real action begins around the 53:00 mark, after Braddock gets tricked and finally snaps. He proceeds to sneak in and out of the camp multiple times (once taking two boxes of weapons) and begins demolishing the camp and eliminating its guards a piece at a time. His final fight with the head enemy officer is little more than four straight minutes of the guy getting his ass severely and deservedly kicked by Braddock.
asses kicked by Chuck Norris: 9
body count: 40 (17 by Chuck Norris, 23 by others)
acting: Chuck Norris plays it low-key as usual, remaining utterly calm until it's time to kick ass. Soon-Tek Oh does an outstanding job as a truly unlikeable villain - most viewers will absolutely want him to get what's coming to him. Steven Williams is the POW who turns to the enemy side, but deep down knows what's right and wrong. Cosie Costa plays the most visible of the other POWs, and gives Chuck someone to talk to. Professor Toru Tanaka (notable for evil-big-Asian-guy roles in various action movies of the 1980s) plays a big-bad-guy soldier.
final word: Pretty strong POW action movie, worth seeing.
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