Leofwine_draca Dark and downbeat war epic which is a far cry from Antonio Margheriti's frivolous earlier offerings along the line of CODENAME WILDGEESE and TIGER JOE. Here Fabrizio De Angelis is determined to make his film as gritty as he possibly can so there are no happy endings or surprise victories. It's like some unrelenting horror film and, be warned, is pretty grim to watch! Don't get me wrong, though, as the film still offers up lots of mindless action. We get exploding helicopters, shoot-outs, dozens of bad guys being mown down at a time by a single soldier, shacks exploding, violent torture flashbacks, boats and vehicles exploding, chases, grenades, guards being blown from their towers and prison breaks. The case with the action in these films is, if you've seen one you've seen 'em all. The most popular is Margheriti's THE LAST HUNTER, mainly because it was just about the first real Italian gung-ho jungle adventure movie made and many more followed in its wake.What COBRA MISSION does have is a great cast to recommend it. The four heroes are made up of the ageing Christopher Connelly (who died of cancer a few years later), European hearthrob Oliver Tobias, John Wayne's son Ethan (!) and genre stalwart John Steiner, here playing an American after many years as a Brit in Margheriti's movies. Support comes from the reliable Donald Pleasence in a small role as a priest who doubles as an arms supplier, Margheriti's regular Luciano Pigozzi in a tiny role as one of the parents of the P.O.W.s and former strongman Gordon Mitchell as the tough Colonel Mortimer, surprisingly not playing the bad guy this time around as is usual for him (well, he is bad, kind of, but he's just obeying orders and the script gives him a human character). Finally we have action director Enzo G. Castellari cameoing as a cohort who helps our heroes on their mission.The film opens with a prison escapee being mown down by enemy soldiers. This same kind of image recurrs throughout the movie giving it a hard edge, and it's a more thoughtful film than the rest. Most of the characters we see are tired, sweaty, drugged up or simply peed off. A shocking flashback shows one of the men being bloodily whipped while tied naked to a tree. Probably the film's most harrowing moment for me was when the Vietcong girl turns around and shoots one of the men in cold blood, at the same time displaying the scars on her chest which are a result of the American napalm. This comes as a real surprise and was totally unexpected on my part, although in retrospect with similar scenes in APOCALYPSE NOW and the like I really should have seen it coming.Despite offering up plenty of cheesy action for genre lovers, COBRA MISSION is a very downbeat movie so you won't come away with a smile at the end. It may make you think though, which is why I recommend it. A sequel followed shortly afterwards, which ISN'T a surprise to me!

Comeuppance Reviews A group of disgruntled Vietnam vets, led by Mike (Wayne), Roger (Connelly) and James (Steiner) decide to go back to 'Nam and find, then free, missing POW's. Once "in country", they get their guns and ammo from Father Lenoir (Pleasence) , a priest willing to help the "five men against all", to quote the Italian title of the film. Once loaded up with their supplies, it's like the war never ended, as Viet Cong soldiers battle them every step of the way to protect their camps, seemingly unaware that there had been a ten-year break in the action. Naturally, the discovery of the POW's leads to a government conspiracy that goes all the way to the top - and is the gruff Colonel Mortimer (Mitchell) involved? Will the men free the hostages and make it back home? And if they do, what then? Operation Nam (or Cobra Mission) is a standard jungle action/drama you've seen before, but it does have its moments, as well as a cast familiar to anyone who loves Italian exploitation films. Besides familiar faces Steiner, Connelly, and Luciano Pigozzi (AKA Alan Collins), we also have cameos by Enzo G. Castellari and Ennio Girolami, and the whole affair was directed by Fabrizio De Angelis (the infamous "Larry Ludman") without much panache. He's a better producer than director, most people would agree.While the idea of moody, misfit Vietnam vets adjusting to a changed society is a fascinating idea for a film, these ideas are only touched upon in the first half. The second half is the mindless shooting, guard tower-falling, hut-exploding, grenade-throwing , bar-fighting action expected of this type of film. It would have been nice if the psychology and emotion of the men was explored more, but perhaps I'm asking too much of a churn-'em-out genre film such as this.In the plus column we have the fact that the film was made pre-political correctness, a character plays Pole Position on his Atari 2600, and one character insults another by calling him, and I quote, a "Suckfish". Speaking of awesome dialogue, we also get an interesting glimpse into the future: right before one of the protagonists throws a grenade at a baddie, he says "You've got mail". This comment, which precedes AOL by many years, must have served as an inspiration to that company. Not to mention inspiring the Tom Hanks/Meg Ryan crapfest, as that was a "bomb" as well! Ha! In the minus column we have the silly, Southern yokel-y dubbing for John Steiner's character, and some overall malaise. But John Wayne's son is in it! Anybody? Anybody? If you liked American Commandos (1985), you'll also probably like this film, as it has a similar concept and execution, but this is not a prime example of Italian action.For more insanity, please visit: comeuppancereviews.com

dinky-4 This movie is cheap and ugly to look at and the cast is a hodgepodge of leftovers. There's little of the excitement or suspense one might expect in even a Grade-B "action-war" movie. What's more, the movie's cynical tone about the whole POW question leaves one with an unpleasant feeling after watching the proceedings. Perhaps the only scene of note here is a flashback showing Oliver Tobias being whipped in a POW camp. Unlike virtually every other whipping in the history of the movies, Tobias is shown (from the rear) to be completely naked in this scene, with blood from his back running down his buttocks and legs. This may have been included strictly for "shock" value but it does illustrate the fact that torture and forced nudity are often linked.

Sic Coyote This is one of the movies that I'm attatched some affection for, it is quite gritty and shows the fact that it is quite low budget but this doesn't harm it to much. It has a nice healthy amount of action and only a small amount of gore which is justified. The acting is acceptable and competent although some of the lines just stink "you've never seen an american before, this close". But if you can get through that it's a nice if quite bleak action adventure about (quoting from the EIV trailer) 'Vietnam, ten years after. The war is officially over, but the fight for freedom continues. The veil of secrecy that blinds the truth is about to be ripped apart. The soldiers that didn't return are soon to be avenged, while those remain alive at last taste freedom. Four men in a private army. Four men with one ideal. Four men who will change the meaning of bravery. They will bring their own kind of justice, they will bring their own kind of hate, they will bring freedom, they are Cobra Mission. The war is over but the fight will continue' At least that's the plan. I would certainly recommend that you see it, if you can find it. Also to any distributors out there, any chance of a double bill DVD of Cobra Mission 1 & 2 with audio commentaries and stuff?