BY ERNIE MAGNOTTA
In 1984, The Cannon Group released Missing in Action, a film that dealt
with Colonel James Braddock (Chuck Norris)’s attempt to rescue prisoners of war
from Vietnam. Directed by Joe Zito (The
Prowler, Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter), the entertaining
actioner, which was made for only $1.5 million, went on to gross almost $23
million. A sequel, which was actually a prequel and titled Missing in Action 2: The Beginning, was released the following year
(These two movies were originally filmed back to back and were to hit theaters
in reverse order, but because Zito’s film was the better of the two, it was
released first). The film dealt with Colonel Braddock’s time as a POW in Vietnam
and his subsequent escape. Although not nearly as successful as the first film,
MIA2 was still well-done and
entertaining enough for action movie icon Chuck Norris to return to the role of
Colonel Braddock for the third and last time in 1988’s Braddock: Missing in Action III.
After not only discovering that his thought-to-be-dead
wife, Lin (Miki Kim, Primary Target),
is still alive, but also that he has a 12-year-old son named Van (Roland Harrah
III, TV’s Airwolf) who are both
prisoners in present day Vietnam, Colonel James Braddock (Norris) heads back to
to his old war zone, against orders, in hopes of finding them. Once he does,
the Braddock clan, along with a benevolent Reverend (Yehuda Efroni, The Delta Force) and several children
from a nearby mission, are captured by General Quoc (Aki Aleong, TV’s Babylon 5) who kills Lin and makes
prisoners of Braddock, Van, the Reverend and the children. Does Braddock have
what it takes to overpower Quoc and his massive army in order to escape safely
with his son, the Reverend and the rest of the innocent children?
Shot in the Philippines, directed by Chuck’s
brother, Aaron Norris (Delta Force 2),
and written by James Bruner (An Eye for
an Eye) and Chuck Norris (as an outcry against the thousands of Asian-American
children trapped in Vietnam), Braddock:
Missing in Action III, which continued Chuck’s association with now
legendary film studio The Cannon Group, is a very solid (final) sequel to the
original film, making the Missing in
Action trilogy a completely entertaining and worthwhile action series. It
may not be as good as the original (most sequels aren’t), but it’s a very
enjoyable actioner as well as a nice continuation of the James Braddock
character. It also stays true to the series’ roots by having Braddock return to
Vietnam to perform a dangerous one man rescue mission without it seeming like a
lazy retread of the first film. Just as in any action film from this time
period, there are a few over-the-top action sequences, but director Aaron
Norris, who does a very nice job here, doesn’t go overboard with this and keeps
things nicely balanced by making the situations (and characters) believable
enough so that we can get completely caught up in the action and suspense.
It’s no big shock that action movie superstar
Chuck Norris delivers exactly what we want to see from him. Although he’s his usual likeable, low-key and
convincingly deadly self, his humorous quality is mostly absent here perhaps
due to the character’s journey being a personal one (rescuing his wife he
thought dead and his son he never knew he had). To go along with this somber attitude
(as well as with keeping the story and characters a bit more balanced than in a
usual 80s action extravaganza), Chuck is only given one over-the-top, action
hero line. When ordered by his superior not to step on any toes, Chuck utters
the immortal line: “I don’t step on toes;
I step on necks.”
Although Chuck is the main reason we’re all
watching this movie, he is ably supported by a very talented cast. To begin
with, Aki Aleong is terrific as the evil and sadistic General Quoc. Roland
Harrah III gives a very convincing performance as Chuck’s angry and confused
son Van, and Miki Kim and Yehuda Efroni do well in their roles of Chuck’s
ill-fated wife and the good-hearted Reverend, respectively. The film also
features familiar faces such as Jack Rader (1988’s The Blob), Floyd Levine (The
Hangover) and a brief appearance by the always welcome Keith David (1982’s The Thing, There’s Something About Mary).
Braddock: Missing in
Action III is currently streaming free for Amazon Prime
members.