Braddock: Missing in Action III

Braddock: Missing in Action III (1988)

Runtime: 103 minutes

Directed by: Mike Norris

Starring: Chuck Norris, Aki Aleong, Yehuda Efroni, Roland Harrah, III, Miki Kim

From: Cannon

Ahhh, the 80's... when plenty of children can be placed in plenty of (simulated) danger.

In the past I've reviewed the original Missing in Action, which is fine. The prequel second movie hasn't been watched by me-by all accounts it is bad as it wasn't meant to be a prequel but they were filmed at the same time & released the better movie first. In some circles, III is the best of the trilogy, for whatever it is worth. Golan-Globus blatantly aped the Rambo franchise, for obvious monetary reasons. It did not do that well at the box office but at home, this is silly yet enjoyable jingoistic poppycock.

There's a nice Fall of Saigon (1975) opening where Norris is about to leave Vietnam but because of circumstances, falsely believes that his Vietnamese wife passed away in gruesome fashion. It was only now that he hears that not only is she still among the living, they have a son. Despite the CIA being complete D-bags as you'd suspect in an 80's action film, he goes to Vietnam and raises some hell. Note that an entire orphanage becomes involved so we have Chuck attempting to rescue them and a priest from a comically evil Vietnamese army. In fact, it was easy to root for a hero trying to rescue a few dozen children from vile people that wish to do them harm.

The film is silly nonsense where more than once I wondered if there were entire scenes missing. Be that as it may, if you enjoy goofy B-movies where Chuck Norris wrecks dudes, want to see him cosplay as Rambo, and witness MANY explosions, this may be one that the B-action movie fans will dig. You may be horrified by 2024 standards that Chuck's 12 year old son is punched in the face more than once, a gun is pointed at him & the heels literally attempt to blow up dozens of children—me, I am bemused at what seemed to be normal back then. There's even a sexual assault... then an astounding comeuppance for the SOB that committed the act.