Delta Force 2: Le Réseau colombien

This movie has very little in common with the first movie, the only real connection between the two is Chuck Norris is in both of them. That and the movie does involve the Delta Force once again. It is also a very unmemorable movie as there are very few scenes in this one that I can recall. While I remember the older movie Delta Force almost entirely and I did not exactly watch that one a whole lot more. One of the few scenes that I even remember is the scene involving the Delta Force doing a sky jump with the drug lord and the fact this film had a bit of a similar plot to the James Bond film "License to Kill", however that film is superior to this one as I can remember a lot about that one too. I do not remember this one being particularly horrible or anything, I just remember it not being as good as the original and that I got a bit bored during this film, another thing that did not occur during the first film. In the end I think it is just one of those sequels that uses the success of the first film to try and market an almost unrelated film. Like this one was supposed to have Chuck in some sort of drug task force, but they thought they could get some more bucks by making it a sequel to the Delta Force movie.

Delta Force colonel Scott McCoy (Chuck Norris) and his super secret military unit The Delta Force are called back into action due to the activities of a ruthless cocaine kingpin named Ramon Cota (Billy Drago). Cota is well protected, and seemingly untouchable, making him a very arrogant adversary. His empire has just kidnapped a couple of Federal agents, including Scotts' associate Bobby Chavez (Paul Perri). Also along for the ride are a gung-ho general (John P. Ryan) and a young woman (Begonya Plaza) who wants revenge.

Chuck and his filmmaker brother Aaron serve up more of the same in this sequel. It's got plenty of gunfire and explosions and enough of a body count (but not very much gore) to satisfy undemanding action genre fans. Having the enemy be a drug kingpin certainly does make the story topical. A lot of the characters are disposable types, but the actors all fit nicely into their roles. It does help to have old pros like Ryan ("Runaway Train") and Richard Jaeckel ("Grizzly") among the supporting cast. Ryan makes the most of the situation. Cast in one of his rare good-guy roles, he delivers a jovial performance and chews on the scenery a bit. Drago (Frank Nitti in the "Untouchables" feature film) once again offers a master class in supremely oily villainy. This creep is just pure evil, and can't die soon enough. People will also notice character actor Mark Margolis ('Breaking Bad', 'Better Call Saul') as a crooked general in league with Cota.

What could have been a more interesting set piece, when Scott is required to scale a mountain in order to reach Cotas' lair, isn't as satisfying as it could have been, but at least it offers something fresh in an otherwise formula plot.

Adequate pacing and a truly excellent, rousing score by Frederic Talgorn help to make this an agreeable diversion for action fans.

Six out of 10.

Is this the best movie ever made? Probably. Certain people have described this and other films starring Billy Drago as "sleeper hits". Well let me tell you something - I was wide awake when I watched this one. While the action scenes are classic, the most memorable portion of this film is the dialog. Without saying a word, Billy Drago commands a presence so powerful that I almost hid behind my couch while watching him. General Taylor's blatant violation of military procedure reveals his hatred for the Columbian drug lords. This is evident in one of his greatest quotes from this film, "Why don't you....shut the f**k up!". Simply powerful dialog. To any who deny this film's greatness, I say you are a fool who deserves death as quickly as possible. I have watched this masterpiece over 180 times, and each time I find something new and beautiful hidden within its recesses.

An unfortunate, misjudged and misunderstood film that could have been something great but only clings to the bottom-rung of respectability. For a start, it has an unashamedly awful and truly despicable villain who oozes evil from every stinking orifice. When eccentric bad guys are not hammy, they are Ramon Cota (a sickening performance by villain's villain of choice and villain of the week Billy Drago).

Cota is a Columbian drug lord, who ships massive amounts of cocaine into America. He kills DEA agents with unnatural glee, murders pregnant women, tortures people to death in a gas chamber, rapes women, murders their husbands, murders sick babies and uses their bodies to smuggle cocaine - you get the picture, this guy is lower than minus infinity.

In a rare opportunity to catch him, Colonel Scott McCoy (the ever-bearded Chuck Norris) kidnaps Cota in mid-air and drags him into court only to watch him leave with virtually no charge. More DEA agents are kidnapped and it's up to Chuck to rescue them from death. So he heads off to the fictional South American country of San Carlos for some mighty kicking-of-ass. Killing Cota is not his mission, rescuing the DEA agents is, but you know that Cota is going to get what he deserves (with a little bit of slightly unsubtle philosophy from Norris).

The script is generic and by numbers. Never before has a movie been so strictly routine, but there are some real cool action scenes and so much melodrama that it could fuel EastEnders for a decade. The direction leaves a lot to be desired. If someone other than Chuck's brother had made this, we would have a hugely enjoyable film on our hands. Instead plot holes, illogical moments and a general feel of immaturity bog it down.

The action ranges from Norris flying through the sky, swinging through the jungle, falling off cliffs and dodging rockets. The main problem with the direction is that Aaron Norris uses the logic, "If it is in slow motion, then it is cool." He wants to drag out every bloody detail, every death dance and every penetration of every bullet. It's a shame Delta Force 2 isn't hyper-kinetic, because the slo-mo becomes very noticeable.

Chuck Norris' methods are also highly questionable. For a man who moves at 48 frames per second he sure does lay waste to thousands of Drago's henchman very well. And beating up the new Delta Force recruits to train them in the deadly arts is just bizarre.

General Taylor (John P. Ryan), a character so relentless gung-ho and over-the-top that he really should be in a pantomime, is McCoy's boss and he enjoys himself way too much when he tags along on the mission to blow away zillions of nameless henchman from a helicopter that is so indestructible and equipped with a never-ending supply of ammo you wonder why the REAL Delta Force doesn't use this thing over in Afghanistan. Ryan certainly did wrap himself in the American flag for this character. But hey, it worked for Stallone with John Rambo.

The single spot-on aspect of the whole movie has to be the strong and rousing musical score by Frederick Talgorn. If the rest of the movie was as good as this, then everything would be different. Instead Delta Force 2 is a mixed bag. There is a good film here, desperate to get out, but you have to claw your way through to find it.

Aside from its propagandistic aspects (it seems to argue that America has the right to invade any foreign country in the name of "law and justice"), this is a standard, brainless actioner, with lots of explosions and large-scale stunts, but not much excitement. Billy Drago, as the slimy villain, is the film's only redeeming factor. (*1/2)