Red Scorpion (1988)

A Soviet Special Forces soldier is sent on a mission to infiltrate an African rebel army and assassinate its leader, but the war machine they trained starts to think for himself.

Director:

Joseph Zito

Writers:

Robert Abramoff (story by), Jack Abramoff (story by)

Stars:

Dolph Lundgren, M. Emmet Walsh, Al White

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Dolph Lundgren	...	Lt. Nikolai Rachenko
M. Emmet Walsh	...	Dewey Ferguson
Al White	...	Kallunda Kintash
T.P. McKenna	...	General Vortek
Carmen Argenziano	...	Col. Zayas
Alex Colon	...	Mendez
Brion James	...	Sgt. Krasnov
Ruben Nthodi	...	Ango Sundata
Vuzi Dibukwana	...	Guerilla Officer
James Mthoba	...	Guerilla Officer
Dinky Motsemme	...	Guerilla Officer
Ernest Ndlovu	...	Guerilla Guard / Guerilla
Thapelo Mofokeng	...	Guerilla (as Thapeld Mofokeng)
Mxolisi Hulana	...	Guerilla
Nicky Rebelo	...	Occupation Officer

Storyline

Hesitating in the moment he is about to kill the rebel leader, Nikolai fails and is captured. Rather than being killed outright, he is forced to undergo a shamanic initiation ritual. The ingestion of the poison of a local scorpion, and his initiation ceremony, including scarification (a scorpion), give him a new identity and role in the world -- the Red Scorpion.

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Plot Keywords:

strongman | muscleman | bare chested male | torture | tough guy | 

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Taglines:

He's a human killing machine. Taught to stalk. Trained to kill. Programmed to destroy. He's played by their rules... Until now.

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Genres:

Action | Adventure

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

South Africa USA Namibia

Language:

English Russian

Release Date:

21 April 1989 (USA)

Also Known As:

Escorpião Vermelho

Filming Locations:

Namibia

Box Office

Budget:

$16,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$1,972,994, 23 April 1989, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$4,192,440

Company Credits

Production Co:

Abramoff Production,Scorpion Film Production

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min 98 min (cut) 93 min (cinema release)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Stereo (4 channels) Mono (France)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Allegedly financed by the South African Defence Force through the International Freedom Foundation, a right-wing political thinktank which it funded. _Red Scorpion (1989)_ co-writer/producer Jack Abramoff helped to run the foundation.

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Goofs

When Lt. Nikolai Rachenko is lifting the truck out of the ground in the final battle be props his gun up leaning on the truck. As he lifts, you can notice the gun sliding off; and in the next shot, its back standing up.

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Quotes

Dewey Ferguson: Man, what I'd give for a bacon-cheeseburger right now. Wash it down with an icecold glass of beer. Fuckin' A.
Kallunda: When we arrive at Porto Silva, there will be a celebration, and much feasting. Beer too.
Dewey Ferguson: Fuckin' A!
Lt. Nikolai: Do the americans all swear so much as you do?
Dewey Ferguson: As a matter of fact, in America, an american can swear whenever, wherever, however much he or she fuckin' well pleases! It's a little something we call freedom of speech, which I'm sure you russians aren't real familiar with!
Lt. Nikolai: We are free to ...
[...]

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Crazy Credits

Sound effects of various weapons firing and exploding are heard over the Little Richard song the plays during the closing credits.

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Alternate Versions

The Dutch, German, UK, and US Blu-ray editions feature the 105 minutes uncut version in widescreen.

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Connections

Referenced in Solo (1996)

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Soundtracks

Long Tall Sally
Performed by Little Richard
Written by Enotris Johnson (as Johnson), Robert 'Bumps' Blackwell (as Blackwell) and Little Richard (as Penniman)
Courtesy of Specialty Records

User Reviews

Wake me up when it's finished

What was this monstrosity of a film? I had hopes for this movie I really did. The amazing part is that this movie actually spawned a sequel. Yet the sequel does not contain Ludgren. He must not have been stupid enough to do a sequel but he was sure still stupid enough to do the first.

The movie itself is about a Russian special forces soldier sent to Africa to assassinate a couple of innocent African tribes men only to defect and join the rebel's cause.

The movie is painfully slow from the beginning and the majority of the action is packed in to the final ten minutes, a syndrome which many action movie flops suffer from.

It will take you at least half the movie to get used to Ludgren's ridiculous hair which looks like a cross between Mr. T and Einstien. Well maybe not Einstien but you get the idea. It is only after he defects from the Russians where it appears that the tribes people must have stepped in and gave him a few fashion tips. It seems silly but it is very difficult to take him seriously with the hair and it absolutely does not suit his character.

The acting is low grade and it is often difficult to understand what the actors are saying in addition to trying to identify whether they are speaking in English, Russian or Swahili.

All in all this movie is deadly boring. Some bits just do not make any sense at all. Its as if Ludgren is trying to...trying to ummmm, I don't know what the hell he was trying to do but he was terrible at whatever it was.

The only good thing about this movie is the end portion oh yeah and the final credits too. The action scene right at the end was actually pretty good. And just when it starts with the entertainment the movie ends. I don't know about you, but I like big guys shooting people with big guns.

I think Ludgren is capable of much more its a pity that he his acting portfolio is not very impressive, no thanks to this movie. Stay away from Red Scorpion, I m giving it two thumbs down and the title of "Stinker Movie of the Month".

2.5/10