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Cocaine Wars

  • 1985
  • R
  • 1h 22m
IMDb RATING
4.3/10
444
YOUR RATING
John Schneider and Kathryn Witt in Cocaine Wars (1985)
ActionDrama

A DEA undercover agent who works for the biggest cocaine exporter of the region refuses to perform a hit for the drug lord. The assignment becomes personal and decides to strike back before ... Read allA DEA undercover agent who works for the biggest cocaine exporter of the region refuses to perform a hit for the drug lord. The assignment becomes personal and decides to strike back before it's too late.A DEA undercover agent who works for the biggest cocaine exporter of the region refuses to perform a hit for the drug lord. The assignment becomes personal and decides to strike back before it's too late.

  • Director
    • Héctor Olivera
  • Writers
    • Steven M. Krauzer
    • Héctor Olivera
    • David Viñas
  • Stars
    • John Schneider
    • Kathryn Witt
    • Royal Dano
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    4.3/10
    444
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Héctor Olivera
    • Writers
      • Steven M. Krauzer
      • Héctor Olivera
      • David Viñas
    • Stars
      • John Schneider
      • Kathryn Witt
      • Royal Dano
    • 11User reviews
    • 12Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Photos90

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    Top cast42

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    John Schneider
    John Schneider
    • DEA Agent Cliff Adams
    Kathryn Witt
    • Janet Meade
    Royal Dano
    Royal Dano
    • Bailey
    Federico Luppi
    Federico Luppi
    • Gonzalo Reyes
    Rodolfo Ranni
    Rodolfo Ranni
    • Gen. Lujan
    Ivan Grey
    • Klausmann
    Ricardo Hamlin
    • Wilhelm
    • (as Richard Hamlin)
    Edgardo Moreira
    Edgardo Moreira
    • Rikki
    • (as Edgar Moore)
    Armando Capo
    Armando Capo
    • Oswaldo
    • (as Armand Capo)
    Martín Coria
    • Gomez
    • (as Martin Korey)
    Tom Cundom
    • Bailey's Driver
    Ken Edgar
    • Kenny
    Joe Capanga
    • Miguel
    Marcos Woinsky
    Marcos Woinsky
    • Pugg
    • (as Mark Woinski)
    Jacques Arndt
    Jacques Arndt
    • Franco
    Guillermo Marcos
    • Hernandos
    • (as Willy Marcos)
    Juan Vitali
    • Marcelo Villalba
    • (as John Vitaly)
    Patricia De Biaggi
    • Rosita
    • (as Patricia Davis)
    • Director
      • Héctor Olivera
    • Writers
      • Steven M. Krauzer
      • Héctor Olivera
      • David Viñas
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews11

    4.3444
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    Featured reviews

    6markovd111

    Confidently walks on "so bad it's good" ground!

    "Cocaine Wars" is almost exactly what you want from a movie with that name from that year. It has over the top macho main character, hilarious performances and dialogue and schizophrenic editing. Is it bad? Absolutely! Is it entertaining? Yes, especially with a group of friends who understand what they're in for. Add to the mix some gorgeous nature and a bit of nice female nudity and you have yourself a treat if you like this sort of stuff. My only complaint is that the poster of the movie would make you think you will watch nonstop action with firearms, while in reality, our main character starts shooting only at the end of the movie.

    All in all, if you know what to expect, "Cocaine Wars" can offer a nice entertaining afternoon before it fades from your memory and frankly, that's all it needed and wanted to accomplish in the first place. 6/10!
    5tarbosh22000

    It's Nose Candy for your eyes!

    "A Lone American Hero Challenges The Might Of A Vicious Drug Empire!" Cliff Adams (Schneider) is an American in South America. He works for drug super-kingpin Reyes (Luppi) and his partner General Lujan (Rodolfo Ranni) as their personal pilot and assistant. However, Cliff is a DEA agent working hard, undercover, to bust Reyes' organization. When Marcelo Villalba (John Vitali), a revolutionary, "power to the people"-type politician starts gaining some political momentum, Reyes gets worried, because Villalba is anti-drug. Reyes asks Cliff to kill Villalba. This unleashes a chain of events that sweeps up Cliff and his love interest/reporter Janet (Witt) in the violence. Will Cliff be able to protect Janet, Villalba, and their friend Bailey (Dano) from the thugs of Reyes? Will Reyes succeed in his nefarious drug-running plans? And who are those strange German characters? "Cocaine Wars" somehow manages to be pretty silly, yet unmemorable. Odds are, you will forget this movie very shortly after watching it. Maybe it's the unclear, disjointed way the plot rolls out, or some of the stilted dialogue and wacky dubbing (things that normally make these types of movies worth watching), but there it is. The unshaven John Schneider, who, here at least, is best described as "flatly charismatic", does a competent job as Cliff. His hirsute status gives him a doglike appearance, perhaps a golden retriever. I mean this in the best possible way, of course. Luckily, his mustache saves the movie.

    There are the standard car chases and shooting-based action scenes, and the movie would definitely have been remiss in denying Schneider the all-important torture scene. There are some parallels to the Peter Fonda movie Fatal Mission (1990), as well as The Dogs of War (1980) and The Expendables (2010). The main music cue is very similar to the opening notes of Beverly Hills 90210. You think Schneider, after running people off cliffs and such, will at any moment walk into the Peach Pit.

    Cocaine Wars is a very 80's subject, and this Roger Corman production, released on the great Media label, perhaps could have been executed better. But at 82 minutes, you can't really go wrong.

    For more insanity, please visit: comeuppancereviews.com
    6GOWBTW

    This good ol' boy is a blond Rambo!

    Fresh off "The Dukes of Hazzard", John Schneider is a bad ass agent in South America battling a cocaine lord. Back in the 80's, cocaine was big. Coming from South America, and a federal agent from Miami is out to stop the dope king. His partner is killed, and he wants to avenge him, and end the shipment from hitting the United States. This movie is low budget, but has plenty of action and intrigue. Some of the choreographs are cheesy, but it is not boring. If you like John Schneider as Bo Duke, then this is right up your alley. There's no sliding off the hoods of cars though. A rainy day type of thing here. 2 out of 5 stars.
    3Uriah43

    A Low-Budget Action Film

    This film begins with a pilot named "Cliff Adams" (John Schneider) landing his small airplane onto a makeshift runway near a plantation in South America which is owned by a drug lord by the name of "Gonzolo Reyes" (Ferderico Luppi). It's during this time that his colleague flying with him is killed in cold blood because he was suspected of skimming off some of the proceeds. Needless to say, this displeases Cliff quite a bit because he knew that his friend had been set up. From that point on, however, Cliff becomes a target by others within this criminal organization due in large part because of his attitude and the fact that he knows too much about those within the business. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that films like "First Blood" and "Missing in Action" were quite popular during this time period and this fact inevitably resulted in a plethora of copycats-with this particular picture being one of them. Unfortunately, it wasn't one of the better ones as it suffered from poor acting, a bad script and more than a few unrealistic action scenes. In short, I didn't find it that appealing and have rated it accordingly. Below average.
    8ttegoss

    80's flick that has it ALL

    Drugs, sex, violence , bad acting, couple guys clearly have their voices dubbed, nice little car chase with a hilarious outcome... just watched it, it's a great way to burn 90 mins

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    Related interests

    Bruce Willis in Die Hard (1988)
    Action
    Mahershala Ali and Alex R. Hibbert in Moonlight (2016)
    Drama

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The Wilhelm Scream was re-introduced to cinema by Ben Burtt with Star Wars (1977)
    • Quotes

      Gen. Lujan: [while applying the cattle prod to Cliff's teeth] "Tell me, Cliff... where are the papers?... You have no choice because I'm going to kill you...

    • Connections
      Referenced in Tony (2009)

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    FAQ14

    • How long is Cocaine Wars?Powered by Alexa

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • November 1985 (United States)
    • Countries of origin
      • Argentina
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • American Scorpion
    • Filming locations
      • Buenos Aires, Federal District, Argentina
    • Production companies
      • Aries Cinematográfica Argentina
      • New Horizons
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 1h 22m(82 min)
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Stereo
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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