When U.S. military forces pulled out of Vietnam for good in 1975, over two and a half thousand servicemen remained listed as missing in action. As of this year,
only 1067 have had their remains positively identified. For those who have lost a loved one in such a traumatic manner, it is understandable how they could hold onto perhaps naive hopes that their husbands, sons, or brothers might still be out there, somewhere, even as the Vietnam War slips further into the past. In 1973, President Nixon announced that
all 591 American prisoners-of-war kept in Vietnam had been returned. Because the U.S. had performed
secret, illegal strikes in Cambodia and Laos, admitting unclaimed bodies existed in those areas would amount to admitting to war crimes. These inconsistencies led civilian organizations to pressure the government into releasing more information on those reports. All war is abominable, and Vietnam was one atrocity after another, but every person deserves to know what happened to the people they care about.
In 1981, while under investigation for defecting to the Viet-Cong, former Marine
Robert R. Garwood claimed that American prisoners-of-wars were still being held in Vietnam nearly a decade after the active fighting had ended. Whether Garwood was a turncoat or
the victim of a disinformation campaign depends on what side of the political paranoia spectrum you fall on. Either way, his statements would throw fuel on the fire of a growing conspiracy theory. That U.S. servicemen were still alive and still imprisoned overseas, that both the Vietnamese and American governments knew about it, and were willfully attempting to cover up their existence and discredit those who claimed to have seen them. I don't know what meaningful intel could be gleaned from soldiers that had been stuck in prison cells for upwards of six years but, well, it was the Cold War, I guess.
In other words, a reasonable movement to locate still missing remains of deceased soldiers was soon infiltrated with crack pots. And where there be crack pots, there be con men. Names like
Jack E. Bailey and Bo Gritz would attract attention for highly publicized private "rescue missions" to locate these P.O.W.s. Those two never found any imprisoned Americans but they did sell a lot of T-shirts, raise a lot of money through direct mail marketing, and make
increasingly outrageous claims about their war records. Despite the questionable credulity of the theory, the concept of servicemen still imprisoned in Southeast Asia had entered the public consciousness. 1982 would see the release of “
Uncommon Valor,” a film from the director of “First Blood” that depicted the rescue of live prisoners in Laos. Around that same time, Sylvester Stallone himself began to develop a “First Blood” sequel revolving around the same idea. The treatment for the film that would become “Rambo: First Blood Part II” circulated heavily in Hollywood. That's when another group of perhaps dubious ethics decided to exploit the M.I.A./P.O.W. idea to make a little money.
That party would be Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus of the Cannon Films Group. The Israeli cousins and their company had already made a name for themselves in the early eighties for their low budget hits about ninjas, breakdancing, and Charles Bronson shooting people. It has
long been rumored that Golan and Globus had seen the “Rambo II” treatment and fully expected the movie to become a massive hit. Seeking to cash-in on this incoming success, they decided to rush a knock-off into theaters before the real deal. Supposedly at the same time, Chuck Norris and writer Lance Hool were already developing an action script about the M.I.A./P.O.W. claim. They took their idea to Cannon, who combined it with their already cooking “Rambo” rip-off. The resulting film was “
Missing in Action,” the beginning of Chuck's prosperous relationship with Golan-Globus and the first of many would-be John Rambos to re-invade Vietnam in the eighties.
Colonel James Braddock spent two and a half years in a North Vietnamese prison camp, where him and his unit were subjected to endless torment. He managed to escape while the war still raged but knew other men were left behind. A decade later, he is still haunted by the memories. He is recruited by an investigation dispatched by the U.S. government to Ho Chi Minh City. The Vietnamese officials claim that all the P.OW.s have been returned but Braddock is not convinced. He digs up information about a supposed prison camp still active deep in the jungles of Thailand. He gains a boat from old friend Tucker as well as a motorized raft and lots of heavy artillery. With Vietnamese assassins on his trail, Braddock heads out to rescue the supposed U.S. prisoners and decimate anyone who stands in his way.
Films like “Missing in Action” and “Rambo: First Blood Part II” acted as psychic exorcisms over America's trauma from the Vietnam War. While “Rambo” began with the poignant enough promise of simply “bringing them home,” it turned into unhinged jingoism immediately. It wasn't only fantasizing about saving those that couldn't be saved but about
retconning the end of the war, restoring America's metaphorical big dick by making us an undefeated superpower once again. I'm not going to say that “Missing in Action” is any better than that cause it's definitely not. However, the film is less preoccupied with playing out Cold War talking points and humbling the Soviets than it is specifically focused on the Vietnamese. Braddock's rescue mission ends with him landing a helicopter in the front yard of the Vietnamese capital and dragging the missing P.O.W.s before the country's leaders and the world press. Earlier, he sneaks into a high ranking military member's bedroom and threatens to stab him personally. Obviously, this is still an extremely stupid racist revenge fantasy. The script pointedly ignores
all the terrible things the U.S. did to the Vietnamese, treats an ended war like it's still on-going, and depicts an entire country as populated solely by evil Asians. However, there's also a specificity to the anger on-display here that, if nothing else, feels like a release of very genuine emotions.
Considering Chuck's brother died in Vietnam, it's not difficult to assume he was personally invested in conveying that feeling. In fact, I think you can visibly tell that is the case. After having the starring role in eight feature films, Chuck Norris seems to be genuinely attempting to act in “Missing in Action.” When dramatically awakening from a nightmare in his sweaty hotel room and glaring angrily at the “
Spider-Man” cartoon playing on the TV, there actually seems to be a degree of still simmering rage behind Norris' eyes. Rather than vacillate between a more pissed-off action hero mode and a more affable persona, Chuck actually maintains this driving anger throughout most of the movie. When having a tense conversation with a former rival or angrily firing off his guns, that lingering rage is still under his stern face. There aren't even too many flat or awkward line-readings. This is not especially deep or nuanced acting. However, Norris has either gotten comfortable enough on-camera to no longer appear stiff or inconsistent or he actually put some thought into the thoughts and feelings of his character.
Unfortunately, while Chuck has clearly learned some lessons from his past movies, “Missing in Action” repeats a mistake that a lot of the star's earlier films did. It takes way too damn long to get to the good stuff. The first half is devoted largely to Chuck, dressed all in black and sneaking around the Vietnamese embassy. There are long scenes of him investigating leads, gathering supplies, and preparing for his return to Vietnam. There are some decent action beats during this first hour. A knife-wielding spy attacking Chuck in a seedy bar or him nearly avoiding a bomb going off in his hotel room aren't bad. However, over half of “Missing in Action's” runtime feels like an extended prologue to the stuff the audience is actually here to see. I suppose the idea is that Braddock is not a trained martial arts, lessening the amount of melee combat in the film... Which does not stop Chuck from utilizing a few high kicks.
After entirely too much build-up, “Missing in Action” finally begins to give the viewer what they are here for. By the time this film was released, the Cannon Film Group had already produced “
Exterminator 2” and Luigi Cozzi's “
Hercules.” The studio's reputation for explosive action on a budget was beginning to take shape. The required pyrotechnics are put on display here. Chuck blows up an entire encampment. A clever gag involves a grenade wedged into the back of a truck. There's no shortage of shoot-outs and vehicle chases. M. Emmet Walsh, essentially playing the film's comic relief, even gets in on the bloodshed. It's competently assembled and mildly diverting, as far as the lizard brain pleasures go. Ultimately, the only action beat that proves truly memorable is an extended sequence devoted to that bulletproof speed boat chasing around a Vietnamese gunship. It goes airborne at one point and you can visibly see either Chuck or his convincing stunt double flip out of it, so some real work was put into that one.
The film wouldn't just begin Chuck Norris' fruitful collaboration with Cannon. It would also completely shift the career of its director, Joseph Zito. Zito got his start making
sleazy exploitation films in New York before directing “
The Prowler,” one of the best stand-alone slasher films of the early eighties. That film got him the job of directing “
Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter,” easily one of the best entries in that particular franchise. I suppose his horror work proved Zito could bring a film with elaborate effects in on schedule and budget, which is probably why Cannon selected him for this gig. Zito brought along his regular director of photographer, João Fernandes. The team continues some of the atmospheric night shots that made their slasher films stand-out. A shot of Chuck sneaking around a staircase in the shadows is a good example of that. A sequence where Braddock is attacked by a knife-wielding assassin in his bedroom is probably the scene that most indicates that the same guy who made “The Prowler” also made this. Unfortunately, Fernandes and Zito's style fades into the background the more action focused the movie becomes.
Golan and Globus' plan to get “Missing in Action” in theaters six months before “First Blood Part II” paid off. The movie became a hit, the highest grossing of Chuck Norris' entire career. Clearly the producers and audiences were satisfied with this one. However, I found myself hoping for a little bit more from this one. The cultural context around it and Norris' clear personal connection to the idea makes “Missing in Action” fitfully interesting. However, better pacing and more chances for its leading man to show off his skills would've improved this.
[6/10] [THE CHUCK OF NORRIS: 3 outta 5]
[X] Facial Hair
[X] Jumps or Kicks Through a Window or Wall
[] Performs Spin Kick or Spin Punch to Enemy's Face
[X] Shows Off His Hairy Chest
[] Sports Some Cowboy Getup
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