A Vietnam war vet (Chuck Norris) and previous POW goes back to Vietnam ten years after . When Braddock arrives is accused of war crimes by a Vietnam general (James Hong) . He then schemes to free some American soldiers still held prisoners in a far prison camp into Vietnam . As long as he's there , Braddock decides to head Thailand where is pursued by a former enemy who tortured him in the concentration camp where he was prisoner . He's helped by a gunrunner friend (M. Emmet Walsh) . The two-fisted Colonel Braddock tries continuously to free the prisoners held captives suffering various tortures in charge of the camp wardens and the evil ruler.

This is a routine actioner with Karate star Chuck Norris as the Vietnam veteran resulting go be one of the best roles he'd made to date , as he's nice as tough , cold and stubborn Colonel Braddock . It's a predictable , shallow and brainless film , though it will appeal to Chuck Norris enthusiasts because of it contains some excellent action sequences (when Braddock shoots with his machine gun or scenes about bounds and leaps aboard a motorboat) . Chuck stated that he made this picture as a memorial honor of his younger brother who was a war casualty in the long Vietnam conflict . In the wake of ¨ Uncommon courage ¨(by Ted Kotcheff) and ¨ Rambo II ¨(George Pan Cosmatos) with Norris attempting to imitate Silver Stallone or Arnold Schwarnezzegger like an one army man .

The film is the original from a trilogy , concerning the second part (directed by Lance Hool , the first one 's producer) about tortures and Braddock suffering in a prisoner camp , and the third part (directed by Aaron Norris , Chuck's brother , who in 'Missing in action 1' was the stunt coordinator) upon looking for his wife after downfall Saigon . Shot right after Missing in action 2 (1985) , this movie was supposed to be the follow-up . Nevertheless, when ¨Cannon¨ realized this film was the better of the two , they re-titled them and made the other film a prequel . In the three movies there are some nasty , ominous villains well played by Asian players : James Hong , Soon Teck Oh , and Aki Aelong , who bear offensive racial stereotypes . Appropriate musical score by Jay Chattaway and adequate as well as atmospheric cinematography by cameraman Joao Fernandez , filmed in Philippines . The motion picture produced by Cannon films (Mennahem Golan and Yoram Globus) was professionally directed by Joseph Zito (USA invasion , again with Norris). The motion picture will appeal to Chuck Norris fans .

Rugged Vietnam veteran Colonel James Braddock (Chuck Norris in mighty macho two-fisted form) returns to Vietnam in order to rescue American soldiers who are still being held as prisoners of war by the Vietcong.

Director Joseph Zito relates the enjoyable and absorbing story at a constant pace, maintains a tough gritty tone throughout, stages the exciting action sequences with rip-roaring gusto, and tosses in some gratuitous female nudity for sleazy good measure as well as blows up a whole lotta stuff with wild abandon. The solid cast helps a lot: M. Emmet Walsh as Braddock's rowdy buddy Jack Tucker, David Tress as the weaselly Senator Maxwell Porter, Lenore Kasdorf as the feisty Ann Fitzgerald, Jame Hong as the slippery General Tran, and Ernie Ortega as the sadistic Vinh. Jay Chattaway's robust score hits the rousing spot. The slick cinematography by Joao Fernandes provides a pleasing glossy look. A total blast.

Predictable but fun war thriller which benefits from a pleasingly dark, gritty feel and realism from the location shooting in Vietnam. Back in the mid '80s, if you had a country as an enemy, you wouldn't need to send an army in - instead just pick from the ranks of Norris, Stallone, or Schwarzenegger and you could be sure they would single-handedly wipe out the bad guys for you. Norris plays his role as typically morose and straight-faced, rarely cracking a smile and instead dedicated to his mission, which is rescuing P.O.Ws. Scenes of Norris climbing walls unaided and battling various assassins and opponents help to show off the great man's skills and he proves himself here as a capable action hero, although I would have liked to have seen more of his martial arts abilities which are pushed back in favour of firearms.

After the initial set-up, MISSING IN ACTION benefits from plenty of local colour and puts across an image of a really sleazy Saigon, filled with brothels, pimps, murderers, and other street slime. Into this setting comes Norris, assailed by men in cupboards and rocket-launching scum who care not for human life. Later, Norris ventures into the deep dark jungle and the shooting begins, packing scenes with explosions, bad guys getting shot and blown up and plenty of macho heroism - including an uplifting shot of Norris rising from a lake in slow-motion and blasting down the laughing bad guys. The stuntmen (including one J. Claude Van Damme in their ranks, no less) perform their duties well and the action is glossy, explosive and entertaining.

Support comes from the capable M. Emmet Walsh who succeeds in the rather clichéd role of 'Tuck', Norris's old army buddy, a boozing, middle-aged, overweight smuggler who goes along for the ride. Lenore Kasdorf is suitably charming as the brief love interest whilst James Hong and Ernie Ortega excel as the slimy Vietnamese villains. The rest of the cast are made up of genuine Vietnamese folk which again adds to the realism of the production. Although this movie caused controversy at the time due to what many people felt were racist representations of the Vietnamese, this doesn't stop it from being a good old-fashioned patriotic blood-and-thunder production, not one of the star's best but a solid entry nonetheless. Two sequels followed which I look forward to watching.