Missing in Action (film)
Encyclopedia
Missing in Action is a 1984
action
B-movie
directed by Joseph Zito
and starring Chuck Norris
. It is set in the context of the Vietnam War POW/MIA issue
. Colonel Braddock, who escaped a Vietnamese prisoner of war
camp 10 years earlier, returns to Vietnam
to find American
soldiers listed as missing in action during the Vietnam War
. The film was followed by a prequel
, Missing in Action 2: The Beginning
(1985
) and a sequel
, Braddock: Missing in Action III
(1988
).
The concept for the film originated from a story treatment
, written by James Cameron
in 1983
, for the film Rambo: First Blood Part II
that was floating around Hollywood at the time. This explains the similar plotlines
between Rambo and MIA. Representatives from Cannon Group were "inspired
" by Cameron's script and subsequently produced and released the first two Missing in Action films two months before the release of Rambo, in order to ride that franchise's success
and to avoid the inevitable comparisons.
Missing in Action 2 was filmed back to back with Missing in Action, and was actually set to be released first before the producers changed their minds. This explains crediting writers who created an original character for a film in the supposed first entry.
is an American officer who spent seven years in a North Vietnamese POW camp, then escaped 10 years ago. After the bloodiest war, Braddock accompanies a government investigation team that goes to Ho Chi Minh City to check out reports of Americans still held prisoner. Braddock gets the evidence then travels to Thailand, where he meets Tuck, an old Army buddy turned black market kingpin. Together, they launch a mission deep into the jungle to free the American POWs from General Trau.
Colonel Braddock, who escaped from a POW camp after 10 years, returns to Vietnam. He attempts to track down the location of a POW camp and rescue the prisoners to prove that several MIAs are still alive and being held captive. He is prompted to attempt his mission because of Government denials about the possibilities of existing POWs.
Braddock, a man who was a POW in Vietnam, who just recently came back, is asked by an American delegation to go to Vietnam to see if there are any POW's there. When he arrives the General in charge makes some disparaging remarks to Braddock and they accuse him of crimes against them. Braddock later goes to the General and demands to know where the POW's are and after telling Braddock he tries to kill him but Braddock kills him. Later he is asked to leave, he then goes to Thailand to see a friend and to try and get those men out. But he is being pursued by a man who tortured him when he was a prisoner.
of the Rambo film series by critics and viewers alike, particularly Rambo: First Blood Part II
. Scott Weinberg of eFilmCritic.com gave the film 2 stars out of 5, writing that "Norris does Stallone
... badly" in his review. In a 2003 BBC
article entitled "Rambo: Pretenders to the Throne", Almar Haflidason wrote "the runaway success of the Rambo trilogy inspired dozens of rip-offs", citing that the Missing in Action series was the most famous of the Rambo clones. Many audience reviews on the film's IMDb
page cite the film as a "cheap Rambo knock-off
".
Derek Adams of Time Out wrote that the film was "so bad that it defies belief. It's xenophobic
, amateurish and extraordinarily dull". He also labeled it as "all-gook
s-are-baddies propaganda
". On the film's AllMovie profile, Jeremy Beday described the film as a "crass, dopey Rambo-esque film that ultimately fails to connect with anything interesting in the realm of fact or fiction" and that its "chop-socky
, shoot-em-up
, explosion-a-minute action quickly wears thin". Steve Crum of Video-Reviewmaster.com wrote that MIA was "Chuck Norris' best film, and that isn't saying much". The film currently holds a 23% "Rotten" rating on the review aggregate
website Rotten Tomatoes
.
1984 in film
-Events:* The Walt Disney Company founds Touchstone Pictures to release movies with subject matter deemed inappropriate for the Disney name.* Tri-Star Pictures, a joint venture of Columbia Pictures, HBO, and CBS, releases its first film....
action
Action film
Action film is a film genre where one or more heroes is thrust into a series of challenges that require physical feats, extended fights and frenetic chases...
B-movie
B movie
A B movie is a low-budget commercial motion picture that is not definitively an arthouse or pornographic film. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified a film intended for distribution as the less-publicized, bottom half of a double feature....
directed by Joseph Zito
Joseph Zito
Joseph Zito is an American film director. He is perhaps well known for directing many low budget action B-movies of the 1980s such as, Missing in Action, Invasion U.S.A., Red Scorpion, and many others. In the mid-1980s, Zito spent a year of pre-production on the Cannon version of Spider-Man...
and starring Chuck Norris
Chuck Norris
Carlos Ray "Chuck" Norris is an American martial artist and actor. After serving in the United States Air Force, he began his rise to fame as a martial artist and has since founded his own school, Chun Kuk Do...
. It is set in the context of the Vietnam War POW/MIA issue
Vietnam War POW/MIA issue
The Vietnam War POW/MIA issue concerns the fate of United States servicemen who were reported as missing in action during the Vietnam War and associated theaters of operation in Southeast Asia...
. Colonel Braddock, who escaped a Vietnamese prisoner of war
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
camp 10 years earlier, returns to Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
to find American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
soldiers listed as missing in action during the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
. The film was followed by a prequel
Prequel
A prequel is a work that supplements a previously completed one, and has an earlier time setting.The widely recognized term was a 20th-century neologism, and a portmanteau from pre- and sequel...
, Missing in Action 2: The Beginning
Missing in Action 2: The Beginning
Missing in Action 2: The Beginning is a 1985 action/adventure film, and a prequel to Missing in Action, both of which star Chuck Norris...
(1985
1985 in film
-Events:* 3 December - Roger Moore steps down from the role of James Bond after twelve years and seven films. He is replaced by Timothy Dalton.* The Academy Award for Best Picture was won by Out Of Africa, while the highest grossing film was Back to the Future.* Bliss wins AFI Award for best Movie...
) and a sequel
Sequel
A sequel is a narrative, documental, or other work of literature, film, theatre, or music that continues the story of or expands upon issues presented in some previous work...
, Braddock: Missing in Action III
Braddock: Missing in Action III
Braddock: Missing in Action III is a 1988 action/adventure film, and a sequel to Missing in Action, following the second film, Missing in Action 2: The Beginning, which was a prequel. It is the third and final film in the Missing in Action Trilogy. The film stars Chuck Norris, who co-wrote the...
(1988
1988 in film
-Top grossing films :- Awards :Academy Awards:* Act of Piracy* Action Jackson, starring Carl Weathers, Craig T. Nelson, Vanity, Sharon Stone* The Adventures of Baron Munchausen* Akira* Alice...
).
The concept for the film originated from a story treatment
Screenplay
A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...
, written by James Cameron
James Cameron
James Francis Cameron is a Canadian-American film director, film producer, screenwriter, editor, environmentalist and inventor...
in 1983
1983 in film
-Events:*February 11 - The Rolling Stones concert film Let's Spend the Night Together opens in New York*May 25 - Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, the final film in the original Star Wars trilogy, is released. Like the previous films, it goes on to become the top grossing picture of...
, for the film Rambo: First Blood Part II
Rambo: First Blood Part II
Rambo: First Blood Part II is a 1985 action film. A sequel to 1982's First Blood, it is the second installment in the Rambo series starring Sylvester Stallone, who reprises his role as Vietnam veteran John Rambo...
that was floating around Hollywood at the time. This explains the similar plotlines
Dramatic structure
Dramatic structure is the structure of a dramatic work such as a play or film. Many scholars have analyzed dramatic structure, beginning with Aristotle in his Poetics...
between Rambo and MIA. Representatives from Cannon Group were "inspired
Plagiarism
Plagiarism is defined in dictionaries as the "wrongful appropriation," "close imitation," or "purloining and publication" of another author's "language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions," and the representation of them as one's own original work, but the notion remains problematic with nebulous...
" by Cameron's script and subsequently produced and released the first two Missing in Action films two months before the release of Rambo, in order to ride that franchise's success
Profit maximization
In economics, profit maximization is the process by which a firm determines the price and output level that returns the greatest profit. There are several approaches to this problem...
and to avoid the inevitable comparisons.
Missing in Action 2 was filmed back to back with Missing in Action, and was actually set to be released first before the producers changed their minds. This explains crediting writers who created an original character for a film in the supposed first entry.
Plot
Colonel James BraddockColonel James Braddock
Colonel James Thomas Braddock is a fictional character and the protagonist in the Missing In Action series of films. He is portrayed by actor and six time world karate champion Chuck Norris...
is an American officer who spent seven years in a North Vietnamese POW camp, then escaped 10 years ago. After the bloodiest war, Braddock accompanies a government investigation team that goes to Ho Chi Minh City to check out reports of Americans still held prisoner. Braddock gets the evidence then travels to Thailand, where he meets Tuck, an old Army buddy turned black market kingpin. Together, they launch a mission deep into the jungle to free the American POWs from General Trau.
Colonel Braddock, who escaped from a POW camp after 10 years, returns to Vietnam. He attempts to track down the location of a POW camp and rescue the prisoners to prove that several MIAs are still alive and being held captive. He is prompted to attempt his mission because of Government denials about the possibilities of existing POWs.
Braddock, a man who was a POW in Vietnam, who just recently came back, is asked by an American delegation to go to Vietnam to see if there are any POW's there. When he arrives the General in charge makes some disparaging remarks to Braddock and they accuse him of crimes against them. Braddock later goes to the General and demands to know where the POW's are and after telling Braddock he tries to kill him but Braddock kills him. Later he is asked to leave, he then goes to Thailand to see a friend and to try and get those men out. But he is being pursued by a man who tortured him when he was a prisoner.
Cast
- Chuck NorrisChuck NorrisCarlos Ray "Chuck" Norris is an American martial artist and actor. After serving in the United States Air Force, he began his rise to fame as a martial artist and has since founded his own school, Chun Kuk Do...
- Colonel James BraddockColonel James BraddockColonel James Thomas Braddock is a fictional character and the protagonist in the Missing In Action series of films. He is portrayed by actor and six time world karate champion Chuck Norris... - M. Emmet WalshM. Emmet WalshMichael Emmet Walsh is an American actor who has appeared in over 100 film and television productions.-Life and career:Walsh was born in Ogdensburg, New York, the son of Agnes Kathrine and Harry Maurice Walsh, Sr., a customs agent...
- Tuck - David Tress - Sen. Porter
- Lenore KasdorfLenore KasdorfLenore Kasdorf is an American actress.-Biography:Kasdorf was born in New York City to an army colonel father. She is best known for her role as the alluring and promiscuous nurse Rita Stapleton Bauer, whom she played from 1975 to 1981 in the soap opera Guiding Light, and for her performance as Mrs...
- Ann - James HongJames HongJames Hong is an American actor and former president of the Association of Asian/Pacific American Artists . A prolific acting veteran, Hong's career spans over 50 years and includes more than 350 roles in film, television, and video games.-Early life:Hong was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota. His...
- Gen. Trau - Erich AndersonErich AndersonErich Anderson is an actor, sometimes credited as E. Erich Anderson, who has starred in film and on television. He is best known for his first film role in the 1984 horror film Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter as Rob Dyer...
- Masucci (as E. Erich Anderson) - Jean-Claude Van DammeJean-Claude Van DammeJean-Claude Camille François Van Varenberg , professionally known as Jean-Claude Van Damme, is a Belgian martial artist and actor, best known for his martial arts action films, the most successful of which include Bloodsport , Kickboxer , Double Impact , Universal Soldier , Hard Target , Timecop ,...
- Cab Driver (uncredited)
Reception
Missing in Action received overwhelmingly negative reviews. The film has been widely recognized as a rip-offRip-Off
Rip-Off is a top-down vector shoot 'em up arcade game released by Cinematronics in 1980. It is the first shoot 'em up arcade game to feature cooperative gameplay and to exhibit flocking behavior.-Gameplay:...
of the Rambo film series by critics and viewers alike, particularly Rambo: First Blood Part II
Rambo: First Blood Part II
Rambo: First Blood Part II is a 1985 action film. A sequel to 1982's First Blood, it is the second installment in the Rambo series starring Sylvester Stallone, who reprises his role as Vietnam veteran John Rambo...
. Scott Weinberg of eFilmCritic.com gave the film 2 stars out of 5, writing that "Norris does Stallone
Sylvester Stallone
Michael Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone , commonly known as Sylvester Stallone, and nicknamed Sly Stallone, is an American actor, filmmaker, screenwriter, film director and occasional painter. Stallone is known for his machismo and Hollywood action roles. Two of the notable characters he has portrayed...
... badly" in his review. In a 2003 BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
article entitled "Rambo: Pretenders to the Throne", Almar Haflidason wrote "the runaway success of the Rambo trilogy inspired dozens of rip-offs", citing that the Missing in Action series was the most famous of the Rambo clones. Many audience reviews on the film's IMDb
Internet Movie Database
Internet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...
page cite the film as a "cheap Rambo knock-off
Counterfeit consumer goods
Counterfeit consumer goods, commonly called knock-offs, are counterfeit or imitation products offered for sale. The spread of counterfeit goods has become global in recent years and the range of goods subject to infringement has increased significantly...
".
Derek Adams of Time Out wrote that the film was "so bad that it defies belief. It's xenophobic
Xenophobia
Xenophobia is defined as "an unreasonable fear of foreigners or strangers or of that which is foreign or strange". It comes from the Greek words ξένος , meaning "stranger," "foreigner" and φόβος , meaning "fear."...
, amateurish and extraordinarily dull". He also labeled it as "all-gook
Gook
Gook is a derogatory term for East Asians which came to prominence in reference to enemy soldiers. U.S. Marines serving in the Philippines in the early 20th century used the word to refer to Filipinos. The term continued to be used by American soldiers stationed around the world to refer to...
s-are-baddies propaganda
Propaganda
Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position so as to benefit oneself or one's group....
". On the film's AllMovie profile, Jeremy Beday described the film as a "crass, dopey Rambo-esque film that ultimately fails to connect with anything interesting in the realm of fact or fiction" and that its "chop-socky
Chopsocky
Chopsocky is a colloquial term applied to a diffuse group of martial arts movies made primarily in Hong Kong and Taiwan during the 1960s and 1970s. The term was coined by the American motion picture trade magazine Variety...
, shoot-em-up
Shoot 'em up
Shoot 'em up is a subgenre of shooter video games. In a shoot 'em up, the player controls a lone character, often in a spacecraft or aircraft, shooting large numbers of enemies while dodging their attacks. The genre in turn encompasses various types or subgenres and critics differ on exactly what...
, explosion-a-minute action quickly wears thin". Steve Crum of Video-Reviewmaster.com wrote that MIA was "Chuck Norris' best film, and that isn't saying much". The film currently holds a 23% "Rotten" rating on the review aggregate
Review aggregator
A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services . This system stores the reviews and then uses them for purposes such as: creating a website for users to view the reviews, selling information to third parties about consumer tendencies and creating databases for...
website Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
.