Le scorpion rouge

STAR RATING:*****Unmissable****Very Good***Okay**You Could Go Out For A Meal Instead*Avoid At All Costs Directed by Missing In Action's Josepth Zito,this has Lundgren as Russian killing machine Nikolai,sent to Africa to take out an anti-communist rebel leader,only to suffer a conscience attack and take sides with his innocent,poverty stricken targets.Sure,there may be a lot of action packed explosions and gunfights between the middle and the end,but frankly,with a plot this slumberous and tackily put together,even the most dedicated action fan is likely to not care.**

All true film fans must check out this classic example of the genre. Dolph Lundgren, never a poor man's Arnie by any standards, stars as Nikolai - a Russsian 'spech-nach' special forces, one man army type. There's a corny American journalist dude who likes rock n roll and democracy, a bushman who wanders around (yup you guessed it - Dolph switches sides and helps out the local tribespeople against his evil, commie ex-comrades) and there's the Russian Hind helicopter. Even if this sounds like pure hell you should check it out. Made in 89, it's a strange bit of forgotten film history - dozens of Rambo-style war movies came out at this time, preaching the sort of right wing Ronald Regan style pro-American politics. Most disappeared without trace but this sticks out. Dolph Lundgren in his prime, lots of AKs, a Raiders of the Lost Ark style Lorry chase - what more could you want?

Much like other 80s action movies, it's cheesy and dated but fun. Dolph Lundgren gives a good performance as do the rest of the cast and the plot is unique, about a Russian trying to assassinate a rebel leader but turning good in the process. The only bad things about this would be that it's occasionally slow and really dated with the communist threat. I would only recommend this movie for hardcore 80s action lovers.

1980ies saw various Cold War related films with titles beginning with Red: Red Dawn and Red Heat are most known, Red Scorpion has got somewhat less attention, but it is not bad at all. Many other action films contain much more clichés and Lundgren is less numb actor than e.g. Seagal, Dudikoff or Norris. The only thing that really annoys me is letting Americans or Slavic emigrants to communicate in Russian - the result (= accent) is horrible, providing films undue undertones. But still, both the script and Lundgren's performance have earned my 6 points; M. Emmet Walsh's part is even more catchy. Just forget the past black-and-white East-West collisions and enjoy it as a proper action film with constant (and at times complex) fight between good and evil, friendship and betrayal.