Tuesday, August 18, 2020

Invasion U.S.A.

Invasion U.S.A. (1985)

Runtime: 107 minutes

Directed by: Joseph Zito

Starring: Chuck Norris, Richard Lynch, Melissa Prophet, Alexander Zale, Alex Colon

From: Cannon

Murica, The Movie

OK, that may be a little harsh, even if I am sure a certain demographic loves the film (and think its outlandish scenario is actually plausible) and star Chuck Norris has controversial political opinions if you ever look into them. It's been years since I've seen this and as it was on MGMHD last night, why not? Note that I don't actually subscribe to the channel yet for some reason, earlier this month I started receiving it. It hearkens back to the time when I think back in 2009, I started receiving many of the premium movie channels (including MGMHD) without having paid for them and that lasted for YEARS until it was finally fixed one day. This time around, MGM is the only channel which has been gifted to me.

The movie has former agent Chuck Norris (now living in an Everglades shack) returning to “The Agency” but of course working on his own as he tries to stop an old enemy-played to slimy heights by Richard Lynch-from invading the United States of America and not only blowing s*** up, but also stirring s*** up to where everyone is in a panic and for example make a run on a grocery store. In 2020, I know that wasn't entirely believable as while meat did run out, there was no shortage of toilet paper noted...

What a mean-spirited movie this is; it opens with Cuban immigrants on a boat being gunned down by faux U.S. Coast Guard members and not only has Lynch shooting two people in the dick, a random woman snorting coke w/ a coke straw receives The Pencil Trick from The Dark Knight then is thrown out the window. In addition, innocent people are gunned down and random houses in a neighborhood are blown up with a rocket launcher... which proves to be a weapon seen often in the movie. That and how stump-dumb Invasion is might sink this for me; thankfully, the movie has some positives in its favor. Occasional badass dialogue, plenty of explosions, big & exciting action scenes (Joseph Zito as the director was for certain an asset), and a sleazy turn from Richard Lynch as the bad guy... something he did so well and not just because that was the backbone of his prolific career.

No surprise that such a product of its time (80's excess, fear of “foreigners” invading the country) has received all sorts of ratings on Letterboxd; me, the ugly tone is thankfully not a deal-killer due to how excessive it is, how bombastic the finale is and such wacky details as the Christmas setting-I know from experience it is not the same in the South as it was in the Midwest when I was a kid-do provide plenty of entertainment.

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