Missing in Action (1984)

Colonel James Braddock is an American officer who spent seven years in a North Vietnamese POW camp, then escaped 10 years ago. After the bloodiest war, Braddock accompanies a government ... See full summary »

Director:

Joseph Zito

Writers:

Arthur Silver (characters), Larry Levinson (characters),

Stars:

Chuck Norris, M. Emmet Walsh, David Tress

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Chuck Norris	...	Col. James Braddock
M. Emmet Walsh	...	Jack Tucker
David Tress	...	Sen. Maxwell Porter
Lenore Kasdorf	...	Ann Fitzgerald
James Hong	...	Gen. Trau
Ernie Ortega	...	Vinh
Pierrino Mascarino	...	Jacques
Erich Anderson	...	Masucci (as E. Erich Anderson)
Joseph Carberry	...	Carter
Avi Kleinberger	...	Dalton
Willie Williams	...	Randall
Ric Segreto	...	GI
Bella Flores	...	Madame Pearl
Gil Arceo	...	First Vietnamese Businessman
Roger Dantes	...	Second Vietnamese Businessman

Storyline

Colonel James Braddock is an American officer who spent seven years in a North Vietnamese POW camp, then escaped 10 years ago. After the bloodiest war, Braddock accompanies a government investigation team that goes to Ho Chi Minh City to check out reports of Americans still held prisoner. Braddock gets the evidence then travels to Thailand, where he meets Tuck, an old Army buddy turned black market kingpin. Together, they launch a mission deep into the jungle to free the American POWs from General Trau.

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Plot Keywords:

vietnam | colonel | mia | gun fu | bar brawl | 

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Taglines:

The war's not over until the last man comes home.

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Drama | Thriller | War

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 November 1984 (USA)

Also Known As:

Portés disparus

Filming Locations:

Philippines

Box Office

Budget:

$2,550,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$22,812,500 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cannon Group, The, Golan-Globus Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Aaron Norris (Chuck's Brother) was the stunt coordinator for the two sequels even though he was uncredited in the 2nd one, then he became the director of the last Missing in Action film.

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Goofs

The Bangkok, Thailand setting featured motor vehicles which are left-hand drive; motor vehicles sold in Thailand are majority right-hand drive.

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Quotes

Col. James Braddock: The misfortunes of war!

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Connections

Referenced in Mystery Science Theatre 3000: Warrior of the Lost World (1993)

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Soundtracks

"What I Like About You"
Written by Merinos, Palmar and Skill
Performed by The Romantics

User Reviews

Sorely missing in action!

This was filmed back-to-back with part 2, and was originally intended to be released as the second film in the series, but Cannon executives moved it to be the first entry after realizing it was much better than the other film. It is indeed a better movie, but it still can't be called a good movie. To be sure, the production values are decent, and director Joseph Zito occasionally creates an effective moment. But for the most part, the movie is extremely dull; it takes more than halfway through the movie before Norris starts his primary mission, and the action sequences (the few that there are) are mediocre at best. Zito also shows no sense of pacing; there are a number of scenes that serve no real purpose, or are let to run on for what seems like forever. As for Norris, he is his usual stony near-mute self, though he is to be admired for doing some of the risky stunt sequences himself.