One of the best ’80’s action films you have never seen or heard of! I stand by my statement having watched ‘Red Scorpion’ aged 9 and finding it even better than I remember when watching it again as an adult. If you want the quick explanation, it’s up there with ‘First Blood part 2.’ It’s also a thoughtful war film that leaves America out of the Cold War picture and instead ponders on just how much death and destruction a man must witness before he realizes he’s fighting a war that is inherently not only wrong but simply evil.
Dolph Lundgren is Nikolai Rachenko, one of the Spetsnaz’s finest soldiers. He is exactly how the Motherland has cut him out to be, an intelligent, resilient, unstoppable and obedient killer. Unable to march through Africa because of anti-communist revolutionary Sundata, the Russians send Nikolai in to gain the trust of whoever will lead him to his target where he will then assassinate his target.
The plan fails and Nikolai is first captured by the Africans and then sent back across the desert with one intended message; to tell the Russians that even their greatest soldier cannot kill Sundata. Barely surviving, Nikolai finds himself disgraced and left to the Cubans to be tortured and killed but escapes and then only survives the desert a third time thanks to the Bush Man, a lone member of a secretive African tribe, who takes Nikolai under his wing and teaches him the ways of the free African.
Nikolai learns how to survive the desert and then learns of the atrocities executed against the innocent people of Africa first hand. Accepting that he is no longer with the Russians after the way they treated him and left him for dead, when he is ready to move on, Nikolai takes it upon himself to go back to see Sundata and show that he now bears tribal honours only to find that the revolutionary has been mortally wounded by the encroaching Russian forces.
Feeling that he owes it to Sundata and his people after a heart to heart with the dying man, Nikolai goes on to lead an offensive against the invaders, his former leaders and fellow soldiers, to smash the Soviet and Cuban forces and send them out of Africa.
The film was directed by Joseph Zito who reached varying degrees of success in the ’80’s with three other titles; two Chuck Norris vehicles, ‘Missing in Action’ and ‘Invasion USA’ and intended franchise finale ‘Friday 13th part 4: The Final Chapter.’ Turning Chuck Norris into a legitimate action movie star, the same could almost be said for Lundgren, only it was Lundgren’s later features that failed him.
Zito makes a great film by taking the old-school action and war molds and applying a sensible amount of politics and intelligence into the African characters and their purpose. Lundgren plays not only an atypical brute of a soldier with little to say for himself, he plays a man reprogrammed by the military to obey who learns to listen to the voice of reason instead and as much as people might argue that Lundgren cannot act, watching his face turn from a constant menacing scowl to one of resolve and respect is effective enough. His change from villain to hero simply does what no other action film of its time dared to and this makes for a feelgood moral tale.
The film is literally exploding with stunt doubles doing their various acrobatic death rolls and grenade explosion somersaults etc. Special effects come courtesy of ‘Wizard of Gore’ Tom Savini (who worked with Zito previously on Friday 13th) and M. Emmet Walsh has a co-starring role as a terminally offensive American photographer, which helps you settle into the very ethnic feel of the movie. Add the Little Richard soundtrack and you have a classic action film with something a little different to offer.
‘Red Scorpion’ is like many other action films of the ’80’s that could have gone on to have successful and valid sequels, however it’s a perfect little gem all by itself and one of the reasons Dolph Lundgren was such a promising star back in the day.
I recommend ‘Red Scorpion’ for an action movie night if you’re planning on watching ‘Missing in Action’ or ‘Rambo’ or Schwarzenegger’s ‘Commando.’
