Review of Missing in Action 2: The Beginning (1985) by Matt S — 27 Sep 2009

Before prequels became a trendy fad for greedy film executives to cash-in on a movie's notoriety by draining its value by any means necessary, they served as an art form and were scarcely used in the film world.

The original Missing in Action managed to capture a big enough fanbase to warrant a sequel. The POW hell that Col. James Braddock (Chuck Norris) endured before his escape was only minimally touched on, and people craved more, thus, Missing in Action 2: The Beginning was presented to audiences.

While the gung-ho 80's kick ass action that Chuck Norris usually delivers is quite prevalent throughout the film. there's also a deep dramatic touch within the story as well, as a gang of American POW's struggle to survive the rigorous tortures brought upon them from Vietnamese soldiers (led by the effectively villainous Soon-Tek Oh, whom I'll always remember as Sensei from Beverly Hills Ninja), not to mention maintain a strong bond between each other without losing their minds.

Norris is the star of course, but the rest of the actors deliver some powerful performances. The story isn't anything groundbreaking, but it's fleshed out very well and is effectively used to deliver a surprisingly great movie, far from the trend of over-the-top, corny 80's action flicks that bombarded that decade.

To my surprised, Norris even manages to deliver a bit of acting range outside of his normal stone cold face and mannerisms. I have to say that this prequel completely outdoes the original film and, in fact, stands as the best one of the bunch.

Then again, I can be completely off my rocker about this film being amazing, since I do have a sick love for 80's films and prequels. Oh well, what matters is this film hit a lot of good spots for me.