Missing in Action 2: The Beginning starts during the Vietnam war in 1972 & starts as Colonel James Braddock (Chuck Norris) of the US army hitches a ride in a helicopter to Cambodia, however the helicopter comes under enemy fire & the crew along with Braddock have to bail out in the Vietnamese jungle only to be captured by the Vietnamese & taken as POW's. Back home in the US although hope remains that prisoners of war still survive the men are classed as 'missing in action' & rescue efforts cease, ten years pass & Colonel Braddock & some of his men are still being held as POW's by Vietnam under the false pretence of war crimes. Imprisioned in a POW camp in the middle of the jungle run by the strict General Yin (Soon-Teck Oh) & left to rot there by the country they once served there seems little hope of escape, but Colonel Braddock is a strong man & when the time is right will make his move in a bid for freedom...
Directed by Lance Hool this supposed sequel to the original Missing In action (1984) was actually filmed first & chronologically is set before the original Missing in Action but the producers (probably the executives at Cannon) felt the original Missing in Action was the better film & decided to release that first & promote Missing in Action 2: The Beginning as a prequel. Released theatrically only four months after the original Missing in Action in the US I can see why the producers switched the films around, while I wouldn't say there's a huge difference the original is slightly better. There's a lot of predictable clichés going on here, from the evil Vietnamese General to the tough US soldier who stands up to everything thrown at him, the first hour is just General Yin torturing Braddock in order to try & get him to sign a war crimes confession (the details of the war crimes that Braddock was supposed to have committed are never revealed despite the whole plot revolving around it) while the last half an hour is the all American hero victory against the enemy as Braddock totally obliterates the camp & all the bad guy's which is a clear attempt at a political statement by saying how great & morally strong the US is as it stands up for good against the evils of the world. Unintentionally quite funny at times Missing in Action 2: The Beginning is quite fun on a mindless level, it moves along at a decent pace & there's just about enough going on to sustain ones interest. Take it for what it is & don't expect a masterpiece then Missing in Action 2: The Beginning is a reasonable time waster but little else.
The action is competent but nothing special, the explosions & shoot-outs are OK but I have seen better. There are one or two funny aspects to Missing in Action 2: The Beginning though, Braddock's US army issue uniform he is captured in seems to be holding up surprisingly well after ten years of imprisonment in a POW camp & why do the Vietnamese guard the only rope & wood bridge across the mountain with a huge flamethrower? Surely the Vietnamese need to cross it so it being set on fire & burnt with a flamethrower isn't going to help anyone? Why not just put a guy with a machine gun there? Then there's the classic scene with Chuck Norris hanging upside down from a tree, General Yin orders his men to put a big Rat inside a bag & stick it under Chuck's head which they do. After a struggle & lots of squeaking & thrashing about blood seeps through the bad & it is removed only to show Chuck Norris unhurt with the now dead Rat in his mouth! A scene that needs to be seen, it really is quite funny even though it's definitely not meant to be.
Filmed in Mexico the lush green jungle locations look nice, the action is alright but again like the original Missing in Action a little bit wimpy, why when Chuck Norris throw's a grenade into a wooden hut at the end & it goes off does the hut not even catch fire? With a supposed budget of about $2,500,000 like the original this has decent production values & one feels it was made to cash-in on Rambo. The acting is bad, Chuck Norris can't act & that's all that needs to be said.
Missing in Action 2: The Beginning was indeed meant to be the beginning & be released before the original but as it stands it's good for a few laughs & some nice jungle scenery but little else. Followed by Braddock: Missing in Action III (1988).
Directed by Lance Hool this supposed sequel to the original Missing In action (1984) was actually filmed first & chronologically is set before the original Missing in Action but the producers (probably the executives at Cannon) felt the original Missing in Action was the better film & decided to release that first & promote Missing in Action 2: The Beginning as a prequel. Released theatrically only four months after the original Missing in Action in the US I can see why the producers switched the films around, while I wouldn't say there's a huge difference the original is slightly better. There's a lot of predictable clichés going on here, from the evil Vietnamese General to the tough US soldier who stands up to everything thrown at him, the first hour is just General Yin torturing Braddock in order to try & get him to sign a war crimes confession (the details of the war crimes that Braddock was supposed to have committed are never revealed despite the whole plot revolving around it) while the last half an hour is the all American hero victory against the enemy as Braddock totally obliterates the camp & all the bad guy's which is a clear attempt at a political statement by saying how great & morally strong the US is as it stands up for good against the evils of the world. Unintentionally quite funny at times Missing in Action 2: The Beginning is quite fun on a mindless level, it moves along at a decent pace & there's just about enough going on to sustain ones interest. Take it for what it is & don't expect a masterpiece then Missing in Action 2: The Beginning is a reasonable time waster but little else.
The action is competent but nothing special, the explosions & shoot-outs are OK but I have seen better. There are one or two funny aspects to Missing in Action 2: The Beginning though, Braddock's US army issue uniform he is captured in seems to be holding up surprisingly well after ten years of imprisonment in a POW camp & why do the Vietnamese guard the only rope & wood bridge across the mountain with a huge flamethrower? Surely the Vietnamese need to cross it so it being set on fire & burnt with a flamethrower isn't going to help anyone? Why not just put a guy with a machine gun there? Then there's the classic scene with Chuck Norris hanging upside down from a tree, General Yin orders his men to put a big Rat inside a bag & stick it under Chuck's head which they do. After a struggle & lots of squeaking & thrashing about blood seeps through the bad & it is removed only to show Chuck Norris unhurt with the now dead Rat in his mouth! A scene that needs to be seen, it really is quite funny even though it's definitely not meant to be.
Filmed in Mexico the lush green jungle locations look nice, the action is alright but again like the original Missing in Action a little bit wimpy, why when Chuck Norris throw's a grenade into a wooden hut at the end & it goes off does the hut not even catch fire? With a supposed budget of about $2,500,000 like the original this has decent production values & one feels it was made to cash-in on Rambo. The acting is bad, Chuck Norris can't act & that's all that needs to be said.
Missing in Action 2: The Beginning was indeed meant to be the beginning & be released before the original but as it stands it's good for a few laughs & some nice jungle scenery but little else. Followed by Braddock: Missing in Action III (1988).