Invasion U.S.A. (1985)

Review #2523: Invasion U.S.A.

 

Cast: 

Chuck Norris (CIA Agent Matt Hunter), Richard Lynch (Mikhail Rostov), Melissa Prophet (Dahlia McGuire), Alexander Zale (Nikko Kador), Alex Colon (Tomas Montoya), Eddie Jones (FBI Agent-In-Charge Marvin Cassidy), Jon DeVries (FBI Agent Frank Johnston), James O'Sullivan (FBI Agent Fred Harper), Billy Drago (Mickey Seidman), Jaime Sánchez (Luis Castillo), and Dehl Berti (John Eagle) Directed by Joseph Zito (#2202 - Missing in Action)

Review: 

Admittedly, Chuck Norris and Cannon Films were a match made for the cheesy action fan in all of us. Oh sure, the Missing in Action movies (which started in 1984) didn't exactly rock the world in originality or general tone consistency, but they made some money so screw it, let's go all the way with a whole line of Norris movies with the company (in fairness, there were a few curious ones I haven't got to up to 1985, such as his work with Andrew Davis on Code of Silence). Apparently, Norris had the original idea for the film because he read an article in Reader's Digest that said hundreds of terrorists were around loose in America. Norris wrote the screenplay with James Bruner while his brother Aaron co-wrote the story with Bruner. According to Norris, he had Whoopi Goldberg (who at the time had a noted one-woman show) in mind to play the journalist role but he was overruled by Zito (Norris proceeded to never work with Zito ever again). With a budget of $12 million (which they used to do such scenes as going to the Everglades and blow-up actual neighborhoods scheduled for demolition), the movie was a solid enough hit for Cannon and company. The film at one point in time was among the highest-selling home video put out by MGM. Avenging Force (1986) was originally envisioned as a sequel before Norris turned it down, which opened the door for Michael Dudikoff to play a different "Matt Hunter". 

Well, if you can roll off the line around the same time as Rambo: First Blood Part II for Missing in Action, screw it, why not roll off the line from a different-but-totally not similar movie with Red Dawn (1984). But hey, I don't really care that much about movies that may or may not crib from adjacent movies as long as one is having fun with the material. Unfortunately, Zito hasn't really improved much, if any, from his attempts to garner drama with the aforementioned Missing film that resulted in hokey cheese, which is astounding when the film at least has the semblance of a worthy adversary this time around. The movie is the type of red meat for both people who love to see movies in the most good-vs-evil way possible and those who like to poke a few holes at the absurdity of action movies that take themselves so seriously. This is the kind of movie that shows neighborhoods in Christmastime getting blasted with rocket-launchers and people getting roughed up when trying to do cocaine only to soon get thrown into a window*. I wonder if people from Florida would regard it as "peak Florida experience" (okay the movie was also filmed in the greater Atlanta area, but still). Norris seems to only make an emotive gesture when there's a full moon, but even calling him a student of the "Clint Eastwood School of Acting" sounds a bit absurd when you consider that there aren't even that many kicks for him to do this time, mainly because he doesn't even bother with trying to have chemistry with anyone else in the film, he just maneuvers around with stunts and guns as if he really was the predecessor to Neil Breen. Lynch is charmingly hammy in a way that benefits the film more than if it was just lazy cardboard or understated, at least for a movie that has the guts to have a dream sequence of the lead characters in the first hour. You just need a bit of chaos, really. The rest of the folks (such as Prophet, who at least isn't written to try to have a romance with our wooden lead but mostly goes around with a camera saying wisecracks) are basically ho-hum for a movie that doesn't exactly present itself well in the whole "the streets are rioting because of the terrorists thing". If you know what you are getting into for 107 minutes in terms of sheer audacity, you might have a curious time with this movie. I can't give it a positive rating (that's the whole point of a 6/10), but I can't exactly hate its entertainment value in terms of what it thinks you want from action and, well, a battle of good vs. evil. What could go wrong?

Overall, I give it 6 out of 10 stars.

Song of the day!

*You gotta love the special thanks note in the credits, which lists the ones you might expect, like the Georgia Army National Guard or Nissan Motors (I guess getting blown up is good business for a car company), and, um, Phyillis Diller and Merv Griffin Enterprises.

Sneakers (1992).

Review #1886: Sneakers.

Cast: 

Robert Redford (Martin Bishop / Martin Brice), Ben Kingsley (Cosmo), Sidney Poitier (Donald Crease), David Strathairn (Irwin 'Whistler' Emery), Dan Aykroyd (Darren 'Mother' Roskow), River Phoenix (Carl Arbogast), Mary McDonnell (Liz Ogilvy), Stephen Tobolowsky (Werner Brandes), Timothy Busfield (Dick Gordon), Eddie Jones (Buddy Wallace), George Hearn (Gregor "Greg" Ivanovich), Donal Logue (Dr. Gunter Janek), Lee Garlington (Dr. Elena Rhyzkov), and James Earl Jones (NSA Agent Bernard Abbott) Directed by Phil Alden Robinson (#488 - Field of Dreams)

Review: 

Ensemble movies need their appreciation too, if you think about it. Do you remember WarGames (1983)? In the process of writing the script for that film, Lawrence Lasker and Walter F. Parkes discovered the existence of "sneakers", which refers to hackers that well, sneak into a computer system somewhere (in this case, the hackers here are hired by banks to break in and test the security system). A number of drafts eventually attracted the attention of Phil Alden Robinson, and he ended up spending nine years trying to get the film going. Getting the attention of Robert Redford (cast in a role originally intended with a star in their mid-40s as written by people in their 40s) helped the process and eventually led to a film with a cadre of actors that went from veteran stars to younger names such as River Phoenix (this was the penultimate movie released before his death the following year) while squeezing James Earl Jones in for one scene. Lasker and Parkes also produced the film, which was their fourth venture together (one of them was Awakenings (1990)). Clearly, the movie is really more of a take on the caper movies of yesteryear with its distinct characters in its ensemble, although the message about a world run by "little ones and zeroes" probably still seems quite true after three decades. You probably remember Robinson as the director of Field of Dreams (1989), his second effort; Sneakers is his third feature effort, and his next feature film ended up being Freedom Song eight years later.

Admittedly, it is a nice little movie when it comes to seeing familiar faces in an attempt at a techno-thriller/heist movie. Oh sure, it is a movie that does extoll a little bit about the quirks of a new age where having control of the information might be more important than having the fastest gun. Sneakers does so with a grasp of a number of cliches you have probably seen in countless heist movies with how you can describe the supporting characters in two-word phrases or how the climax is operated (besides the literal slow-motion sequence), right down to needing to acquire a box. In that sense, it can either prove as a comfort movie with plenty of enjoyment from an age like the 1990s or just an average ensemble, and I think it works out more often than not to make a quiet winner. Redford does well with what is needed in general charm, a uniter of misfits with what you've seen a few times from him (perhaps playing a bit of The Sting but without looking like a copy). Poitier, in his penultimate appearance in a feature film, still has the knack for steely timing to contrast the semi-whimsical others, mostly against Aykroyd (amusingly, when approached for the film, he actually was more interested in playing the Cosmo role before being told that Kingsley was signed for it). Kingsley doesn't have as much to really do as the adversary, but in a movie with just a fraction of action and more about the general chase, this works out okay in general familiarity (better him than a ham or a nonentity, perhaps). Strathairn lends a few chuckles to go along with a wiry Phoenix that make the most of those little moments to shuffle the plot. McDonnell makes a quality deadpan middleperson, one who does share a few interesting moments with Redford alongside some chuckles with Tobolowsky, who seems to be having a ball with his moments on screen. 126 minutes is admittedly a big ask for thrillers to enjoy, but I think it does pull enough out of the bag of enjoyment to work at the expectation required from its cast and crew. It's a movie about a couple of scraps who just want to untangle themselves from a weirdo conspiracy involving uncertainties that is dealt with in wry patience that makes a solid little three-decade gem. If fun-loving ensembles trying to play caper is up your alley, go right ahead with this one, where the game of concerns of privacy still holds true now.

Overall, I give it 8 out of 10 stars.