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Blu-Ray : Recommended
Ranking:
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Release Date: January 17th, 2023 Movie Release Year: 1985

Missing in Action 2: The Beginning [KLSC]

Overview -

What was to be the first of a franchise became the prequel with Chuck Norris’ Missing In Action 2: The Beginning. Directed by Lance Hool, the film plays as an action-heavy prison break film only without the subtlety of a Bridge on the River Kwai or the gravitas of The Great Escape. It’s a Cannon film. Now Kino Lorber Studio Classics gives this prequel a new restoration, solid audio, and a smattering of bonus features. Recommended.

Roundhouse-kick king Chuck Norris (The Octagon) returns as Colonel James Braddock in this intense, action-packed prequel to the original runaway hit. Captured during a daring mid-air rescue operation, Braddock and his men are imprisoned by the insane Colonel Yin (Soon-Tek Oh, Good Guys Wear Black), who stops at nothing to break their spirits. Held captive in a godforsaken jungle, death seems the only escape. But like a cunning tiger waiting for the right time to pounce on his prey, Braddock seizes the opportunity to spring into action…and becomes a one-man fighting machine dead-set on freeing his men at any cost. Directed by Lance Hool (Steel Dawn) and featuring Steven Williams (Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday) and Professor Toru Tanaka (Catch the Heat).

Special Features:
-Brand New HD Master – From a 4K Scan of the 35mm Original Camera Negative
-NEW Audio Commentary by Director Lance Hool, Moderated by Historian/Filmmaker Daniel Kremer
-Theatrical Trailer
-Optional English Subtitles

OVERALL:
Recommended
Rating Breakdown
STORY
VIDEO
AUDIO
SPECIAL FEATURES
Tech Specs & Release Details
Technical Specs:
Blu-ray Disc
Video Resolution/Codec:
1080p AVC/MPEG-4
Length:
101
Aspect Ratio(s):
1.85:1
Audio Formats:
English: DTS-HD MA 2.0
Subtitles/Captions:
English SDH
Release Date:
January 17th, 2023

Storyline: Our Reviewer's Take

Ranking:

Before he returned to Vietnam to rescue American POWs, Colonel James Braddock (Chuck Norris) first had to break out of ‘Nam! For the last ten years, Braddock and his crewmen have been held captive by the diabolical Colonel Yin (Soon-Tek Oh) and forced to work the opium fields. Physically and psychologically tortured, Braddock has held strong looking for any means to escape and rescue his men. When that opportunity finally comes, Braddock unleashes hell upon Yin’s men exacting his decade-long dream of revenge.

Producing partners and cousins Golan and Globus and their Cannon Group production company were the talk of Tinseltown in the 80s. Flush with cash and a few small hits under their belts, they were churning out low-budget big-profit films left right, and center. For a while anyway. With action star Chuck Norris in their corner, they aimed to create a full-fledged action franchise for the martial arts uber-god. As Stallone was working to get Rambo: First Blood Part II into production, Golan/Globus punched out Missing in Action into theaters as fast as possible. Only, Missing in Action wasn’t the first one filmed. 

Lance Hool directed the would-be first film in the Caribbean and Mexico while Joseph Zito churned out the sequel in the Philippines. When Zito’s film turned out to be the better offering, his “sequel” became the first film to hit theaters while Hool’s efforts coasted in as the prequel/sequel four months later to even worse critical reception and far lower box office returns. And to be honest, as daffy and fun as this movie is, it’s not actually really that good. It’s enjoyable but in that cheap quality that would be a signature of all Cannon films. The production values often feel thin and any dramatic ideas or notions are ill-served by a fairly one-dimensional screenplay. And then there are the continuity issues as a lot of pieces of this film don’t cohesively connect to its predecessor - and then made worse with Braddock: Missing in Action III. But who cares about continuity when Chuck Norris is there to kick ass, right?

Hool certainly tried to make something here, it’s not a completely wasted effort. As the controversy about American POWs in Vietnam was a hot-button passionate talking point in the 80s, the film was timely, and with Norris wanting to pay tribute to his deceased brother it was well-intentioned. It may feel a little predatory now as the film certainly preys on the hopes of American families that their lost sons could someday come home, it’s at the very least entertaining as much as it is exploitative. 

And yeah, it is entertaining. Stupid, yes, but entertaining. Chuck Norris didn’t exactly have the most charismatic screen presence, but he had a steely-eyed stair and could actually perform some impressive stunts and look like he could take on an army all on his own. And of the first two films in this weird little franchise, I’d say Norris was on much better dramatic footing here. He wasn’t simply going through the high-kicking motions and pulling triggers. The film itself may not have been well executed, but the effort was there. In truth, this is where the franchise should have ended, but just a couple of years later we’d see Norris return to Vietnam... again.

 

Vital Disc Stats: The Blu-ray
Missing in Action 2: The Beginning
breaks out for another run at Blu-ray freedom, this time from Kino Lorber Studio Classics. Pressed on a Region A BD-50 disc, the disc is housed in a standard case with slipcover. The disc loads to a static image main menu with standard navigation options.

Video Review

Ranking:

Like its first sibling, Missing In Action 2 was reportedly sourced from a new 4K scan of the original 35mm negative and it looks damn good here. The first 2012 Blu-ray was pretty good for its day but it doesn’t take long for this new disc to show its quality. Colors are bold and lush with healthy natural greens. Primaries are in excellent form with healthy skin tones. Black levels are nice and inky for key sequences although some scenes remain that punch them closer to brown. This release is cleaner without the speckling issues of the last disc. Film grain is healthy and appropriately cinematic, but again some darker scenes can appear quite a bit noisier than bright daylight sequences. This disc also doesn’t display the same edge enhancement issues and I didn’t notice any signs of DNR or smoothing. 

Audio Review

Ranking:

Once again, Missing in Action 2: The Beginning is held captive by a rather limited DTS-HD MA 2.0 track. Dollars to donuts my bet is this is the same track that dates back to the 2012 Blu-ray. It’s alright and gets the job done but it’s not all that sonically impressive either. Dialog is clearly rendered and action sequences do come to life, but it’s also not a wall-shaking track as the bass is fairly thin for those gunshots and explosions and the Brian May score is also a little shaky in places. It's not going to set your receiver and speakers on fire. 

Special Features

Ranking:

Bonus features are again pretty thin for this release but we do pick up a nice new Audio Commentary featuring director Lance Hool and moderated by Daniel Kremer. Hool offers up a lot of info about the production, his first time directing, working with Norris and the film’s belated release in favor of the sequel. The rest of the extras are made up of KLSC’s usual gallery of related theatrical trailers. 

  • Audio Commentary featuring Lance Hool and Daniel Kremer 
  • Trailer
  • KLSC Trailer Gallery 

Missing in Action 2: The Beginning was wisely replaced by its sequel as the first film to theaters. This pseudo-prequel is well-intentioned but trying to be an action-heavy prisonbreak film with a message it’s a bit too goofy for its own good - right down to the Japanese WWII uniforms standing in for Vietcong attire. Chuck Norris holds the film together as the driving force and he’s in good form and it’s a fun flick for sure but it’s where the franchise should have ended. Cannon just didn’t know when or where to quit. Now Kino Lorber Studio Classics gives Cannon fans another tour of duty with a new Blu-ray offering up an excellent new restoration, the same middling audio, and an excellent new audio commentary to prop up the bonus features. Recommended

Need more Chuck Norris action? Also available on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics:

Missing in Action 

Braddock: Missing in Action III

Missing in Action Trilogy