Braddock: Missing in Action III

First of all, this movie is a fabulous example of its genre: an action movie. The action in this movie is so solid that at times it's hard to comprehend. For instance, at one point Chuck actually jumps through a window wielding a machine gun. While in midair, he holds his gun up and mows all four opponents (or victims, however you look at it) down with ease. He proceeds to run to the other side of the room, and instead of going out the front door, jumps out the opposite window. Wow Chuck..

This film also boasts some touching moments on top of the action. A gunship flies over Chuck after he has just destroyed a camp with his machine gun and sprays his area with bullets, severely wounding his shooting arm. He tries to lift the gun up to shoot the chopper, but alas, his injury is too severe. A child, freshly saved by Chuck, runs to his aid from a bush and helps him lift the gun up. In this gripping moment, both pull the trigger and take the helicopter down in slow motion.

All in all, a great shoot-em-up action movie with enough character to make your girlfriend shed a tear. Maybe.

Of the entire trilogy about Colonel James Braddock, then this third movie from 1988 was the weakest of them all and the least entertaining one. It was maybe because the story was a scrambled mess of incoherency and a story that just wanted too much but delivered too little.

The story is about the end of the Vietnam War and all of Saigon is in turmoil, and as Colonel James Braddock's Vietnamese wife makes a run for the American embassy, her purse and passport is stolen. And her apartment is bombed and a charred corpse of a servant is found inside, leaving Braddock to think that his wife is dead. 12 years later Braddock is sought out in America by a reverend who works in Vietnam, telling him that his wife and son in alive and living in poor conditions in Vietnam. Colonel Braddock returns to Vietnam to find his family.

There wasn't much originality to the story, and it was very anti-climatic to experience what happened to the wife. Although it was also very predictable, to be honest.

And seeing Chuck Norris lead a group of mixed American and Vietnamese children around the jungle, running from a mad Vietnamese officer hellbent on killing every last one of them, was just a bit too trivial and wore thin quite fast.

Part one of the "Missing in Action" movies was adequate, and part two was actually good, but part three is a losing battle that Braddock should never have been involved in. It is a less than mediocre movie on all accounts.

No one put a better action than Braddock on the 80', Cannon group in those glorious times dominated the home video marketplace here in Brazil, I used to went a rental shops on VHS's peak era, in those countless low budge action pictures, Menahen Golan & Yoran Globus were the producers, the Braddock's trilogy, this was the last one, he goes to Vietnam try to rescue his wife, which he supposedly thought already death and his unknown son.

As always happened he has face some Vietnamese colonel in charge of the red Army, the baddass hero struggles against all squadron of soldiers with some scratches and little wounds only, leaving behind endless bodies on the ground, emphatisizing the proposal of the picture is entertain only, forget the consistency and truthfulness, Braddock was the best amusement on Sunday night session on TV!!!

Resume:

First watch: 1992 / How many: 2 / Source: TV-DVD / Rating: 5.5.

In the wake of "Rambo 3" and a bunch of police action thrillers with Vietnam War veterans or references and homages to the war as well as the recent hits of Oliver Stone and Stanley Kubrick, "Braddock: Missing In Action 3" doesn't have a shot in accomplishing anything original since similar material has already been done way too many times before during the second half of the 1980's. However, Chuck Norris' starring role as the Vietnam War veteran who goes on another deadly mission to rescue more POW's prevents this film from being a complete downer but doesn't prevent it from becoming too routine.

This movie was an explosive mix of drama and action. Chuck is at his finest here, as he is in almost all his flicks, and he chews up some more anti-American slime in this seasoned classic. I just wish we could all be as heroic as Chuck is. Bravo!