Missing in Action 2: The Beginning

Plot synopsis:
Ten years before freeing the US POWs from a brutal General, Colonel James Braddock (Chuck Norris) was held in a North Vietnamese POW camp run by sadistic Colonel Yin (Soon-Teck Oh), who forces the POWs to grow opium for a French drug runner named François (Pierre Issot), and tries to get Braddock to admit to and sign a long list of war crimes. During his team's time in captivity, they are relentlessly subjected to various forms of humiliating torture, and Braddock being told that his wife has left him and has remarried. Frankie, another US POW, starts to suffer from malaria, and Braddock exchanges an admission of guilt to Yin's charges of war crimes for medicine for the infected soldier. However, breaking his deal with Braddock, Yin gives the soldier a lethal dose of opium instead. Enraged, Braddock escapes from the camp, and plots to free his fellow prisoners and destroy the prison camp. Yin then betrays François, taking control of his drug ring. Braddock inflicts several losses against Yin's men, leading to Yin's second-in-command to dress a Vietnamese soldier as Colonel Yin and shoot him in an attempt to lure Braddock into the open. Braddock however notices that the decoy is not wearing Yin's boots, and proceeds to kill Yin's men. Eventually, Braddock fights Yin hand to hand in Yin's quarters. Subduing Yin, Braddock escorts the prisoners to an awaiting chopper, although not before exploding charges planted around Yin's quarters.

Tags: revenge, cult, murder, violence

Review:
Which we already saw in sporadic flashbacks in the first movie.Missing in Action 2: The Beginning shows the capture of Colonel Braddock (Chuck Norris) during the Vietnam war in the 1970s, his captivity with other American POWs in a brutal prison camp, and his plans to escape.
Norris and his crew are holed up in a prison camp for the whole picture, ruled by tyrannical Colonel Yin (Soon-Tek Oh) who resorts to psychological mind games, torture and murder to try to make Braddock sign a statement admitting to war atrocities he never committed.There seems to be no end to the different scenarios and interesting scenes that play out during the film: escape attempts, arranged fights between prisoners, a guy who stumbles onto the prison camp and gets executed.
But Chuck really delivers in the end, especially in his final feel good showdown with Yin. In my opinion, Missing in Action 2: The Beginning is the best of the Braddock movies, it's part action film and part action drama, which sets it apart from the other movies.The first time i ever watched this film was in the early 80's in the cinema and it was great, and i still think it's great....
Exciting prequel dealing with Vietnam prison camps , it stars the incomparable Norris' Colonel Braddock as liberator.
The tough Braddock continuously attempts to free the prisoners held captives and they receive numerous tortures and sufferings in charge of the concentration camp wardens and their evil ruler .The screenplay of the movie is plain and simple .
In the wake of : ¨Uncommon valor¨ (directed by Ted Kocheff) and ¨Rambo II¨ (by George Pan Cosmatos) and Norris imitating to Silvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger as one army man , shooting and killing numerous enemies The film results to be the second installment from a trilogy , concerning the first ¨Missing in action¨ (made by Joseph Zito) on Braddock accused of war crimes by a Vietnam general and he then escapes to free inmates ; this 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 .
STAR RATING:*****Unmissable****Very Good***Okay**You Could Go Out For A Meal Instead*Avoid At All Costs1985 was a top year for Chuck Norris,with Invasion USA and this immensely enjoyable actioner coming out.Following on from the disappointing,slow moving original,this charts his highly involving experiences in a Vietnamise POW camp,and his eventual escape.A lot of depth is invested into the characters,which fully envelops at the end when Norris faces off against Soon Tech Oh.Given that the films were created by Chuck as a tribute to his brother Wieland who was killed in Vietnam,it's not really so surprising in hindsight to notice the extra invested energy and emotion he displays in these films.And all the better for it.****.
While the acting may not be top-notch, the plot and setting give the impression that you are actually a member of a POW camp and must struggle along with Colonel Braddock (Chuck Norris) to escape.
Following Braddock's plight as a prisoner, the death of his comrades, and his final showdown with Colonel Yin (Soon Tek Oh), the movie nicely builds up to its climax and leaves the viewer with a sense of finality that many movies tend to lack in their endings.
Prequel to Missing in Action covers Braddock's years as a POW and his eventual escape.
This is one that will probably be torn to shreds critically by snobby europeans, and wannabe intellectual movie-goers who just cant get enough of their bullet time, and 200 million dollar epics.This is actually the prequel to the first Missing In Action movie.It tells the story of a forgotten group of P.O.W.'s who are being brutalised by an overbearing colonel who enjoys watching the vet's suffer.As the prisoners numbers dwindle, one James Braddock decides to take charge of the dire situation before its all too late.From the opening to the fiery, action packed finale this film boasts raw combat and even dares to throw in some emotion.I actually truly cared for the characters as I wanted to see them survive and extract revenge upon their communist enslavers.Truly strange times we live in when one cannot be proud to be an American.I will always be proud and you can go back to your dull German expressionist films.Chuck Norris is the man.I love 80's action!.
And the good guys are fleshed out enough as characters that you do feel bad for them, and want to see them get their revenge.As one can guess, this is a prequel to the original "Missing in Action" film of 1984.
It shows how Chucks' colonel character, James Braddock, was shot down and captured during the war, and the tortures that he and his men are obliged to endure for the next several years, even after the war has basically ended.
The sadistic colonel in charge of his work camp, Colonel Yin (Soon-Tek Oh) acts like a dictator, and just when you think you can't hate this guy any more, he ups the stakes yet again.With Lance Hool taking the directors' reins, this proves to be a high old time for the action junkie, underscored by the genuine poignancy to be found in stories about prisoners of war.
What makes Missing in Action 2: The Beginning, is not the great supporting cast of Cosie Costa, Professor Toru Tanaka, Steven Williams or Joe Michael Terry: Nor is it the effacious use of props such as "the tree" or Francois' helicopter.
Simply put the storyline which was developed by the renowned writer Steven Bing, makes the film a simple test of wills between Colonel Braddock(Chuck Norris) and Colonel Yin(Soon-Teck Oh)!
It makes little sense that this was released later than first one since this happens before and is much better movie.I prefer prison camp part at beginning over action part at the end.
The inevitable duel in the end was one of the most memorable martial arts combat scene of the decade.Good movie that could have been better if Chuck wasn't so down all the time, but part 3 answers to that..
Missing in Action 2 (1985) ** 1/2 (out of 4)Prequel to the first film has Col. James Braddock (Chuck Norris) and his men thrown into a POW camp where they are constantly abused and tortured.
This film has "B" movie written all over it due to the poor performances and lackluster direction but it still manages to be entertaining due to some nice action and a fun ending.
Soon-Tek Oh plays the bad guy in the film and actually steals the movie.
Death camp - with action, drama and war substance in a Chuck Norris style my personal favorite.
Missing in Action 1 and 2 are really good movies, this is one of my favorites of Chuck Norris and Vietnam war flicks that come out in the 80's.
My favorite is still Missing in Action the original film of the MIA trilogy, this is my second favorite of MIA trilogy.Come out the same year as Rambo: First Blood Part II and Commando were released and it is a good decent brutal death camp action war flick in a Chuck Norris style.
I love this film to death it is still one of my personal favorite Chuck Norris films.This film was filmed back to back with the original Missing in Action and was originally intended to be the first film of the two but Cannon switched the titles cause they thought the sequel Missing in Action would be more successfully movie, than this movie the prequel they were right.
I love the cast in this movie: Chuck Norris, Soon-Tek Oh, Steven Williams, Bennett Ohta, Cosie Costa, Joe Michael Terry, Christopher, Cary, John Wesley, David Chung and Professor Toru Tanaka.
This was always my favorite action war film of the Vietnam flicks beside First Blood and Rambo: First Blood Part II, Missing in Action I and II belongs right there with the Rambo movies.Chuck Norris returns as Colonel James Braddock in this intense, action packed prequel to the original hit .
With fists, high explosives and shear courage, he becomes one man army!Soon-Tek Oh was a good, fantastic as sadistic psychopath villain Colonel Yin who was leading Death Camp in North Vietnam while he was smuggling opium.
Real automatic weapons are used in the movie and that well.This is my favorite action war prison camp Vietnam flick alongside with First Blood, Rambo First Blood Part II and Commando the film is rated R and they are practical effects for real.
It is a decent action prequel and one of Chuck Norris best movies from the 80's..
Prequel to Chuck Norris' quite successful first film in the "Missing in Action" franchise.
The prequel tells the story of how Norris' Colonel Braddock was captured and held prisoner by the NVA during the Vietnam War. The film is a fairly standard POW war film story, complete with an evil camp commandant, cruel torture, and daring escapes.
Unfortunately the film also did not ask Chuck show off his martial arts skills much either, with the exception being a final confrontation with venerable character actor Soon-Tek Oh as the evil Colonel Yin. Chuck takes some beat downs from Professor Toru Tanaka and has some nasty torture scenes, particularly one involving rats, throughout the film as the NVA try to get him to confess to war crimes, but why have a karate champ in your film if you're not going to let him fight?
Producers made the wise choice to release what was originally filmed as a sequel ("Missing in Action" where Chuck goes back to Vietnam to rescue POWs) as the first of the franchise and then released this weaker film later as a prequel.
Well, pure and simple because it is set to be a prequel to the first movie, and we follow Colonel Braddock during his time in the Vietnam War where he was captured and held at a P.O.W. camp.The storyline was simple, for sure, but it worked out quite well, because the movie had a good continuous flow to it, and the characters were very detailed and came off as being believable characters.Chuck Norris manages to establish the Colonel James Braddock character as a memorable character with "Missing in Action 2: The Beginning", and he does a good job in this movie, both in acting and action sequences.It should also be said that the movie does include other good talents on the cast list, especially Soon-Tek Oh as Colonel Yin, the leader of the Vietnamese camp."Missing in Action 2: The Beginning" is the best of the trilogy because it puts the audience into the Vietnam War and right alongside with Colonel Braddock in the P.O.W. camp, which is what we want to see, and not some political drama about retrieving possible prisoners of war..
Prequel to the 1984 hit Missing in Action depicts the hardships of the prison camp where Col. Braddock is held and his attempts to escape with the few remaining American soldiers.
It's a bad sign when Chuck Norris is pretty much the best actor in a film.
There is no way Yin would ever let these men get out alive.The balance of the film basically depicts the torture that these men endure before Braddock is able to escape and eventually free the other prisoners.
Ten years later, they are in a prison camp run by the ruthless Colonel Yin (Soon-Tek Oh) who demands Braddock's confession.
Braddock is still holding out and only Nester has caved in to Colonel Yin.Even by the standards of cheesy 80's action movie, this is pretty bad.
The actors are bad, Chuck Norris is extremely unlikable as Col.Braddock just like in the first MIA, therefore these scenes are neither involving nor convincing.
Nevertheless, if you like 80-Style action and have already seen the gems of that decade, than MIA 2 is an acceptable time-waster, but this movie isn't even one of the better Chuck Norris-flicks.
I am only semi joking as I just enjoy a good Chuck Norris movie every now and then and this one was rather interesting and had some good action as one might expect and a very nice finale that was very explosive.
No, it's a prequel, which doesn't explain why it has the number "2" on the title."MIA2: The beginning" takes place before the first film, which has Norris' character, Col. Braddock, still a captive in post-war Vietnam.
Cannon productions backs another American colonel James Braddock film to the surprising hit that was the 1984 Chuck Norris starring post-Vietnam action-flick "Missing In Action".
After a slowly lean get-up amongst the stinking hot jungle setting and POW camp (which for most part is completely dreary), it finally breaks the shackles in the last half-hour or so with blistering action (even if some of it is poorly conceived) complete with explosions and Norris suitably paying back some of his own medicine in what is a fittingly tough and cheering confrontation (due to what has gone before it) with the sadistically malevolent Colonel Yin performed with smarting glee by Soon Tek-oh.
Chuck Norris once again plays the tough as nails, Colonel James Braddock who finds himself and a few of his men at the mercy of a sadistic prison warden when they are captured in Nam. What follows is a mercilessly drawn out representation of the prisoners hardships and humiliation in their confinement for the first half of the film, and a fairly lacklustre action fuelled second half.
This was filmed at the same time as Missing in Action and was supposed to be released first, but they liked the other one better.
It is basically a Hogan's heroes with Norris at a POW camp being tortured by Colonel Yin (Soon-Tek Oh) for 10 years until he has had enough.
It has good fight scenes, but you won't find the over-the-top action that you saw in Rambo II.It is a forgettable movie and you won't lose anything in the MIA series if you never see it..
"You lose."In Missing in Action 2, Soon-Tek Oh's soulless character says this phrase several times to the equally soulless character played by Chuck Norris.But when the movie is over, it is clear that the only real loser is the viewer himself.
Revenge of the 80's: Chuck Norris Mania/Multiple Sequels/Vietnam War movies!.
Just another Chuck Norris vehicle that was filmed back-to back with Missing in Action.
If you have a strong constitution by all means watch Missing in Action 2!!!Another bad film from Chuck Norris.
Chuck Norris returns as Col Braddock, in this inert sequel which shows how Norris escaped the prison camp in Vietnam.
Luckily Colonel Yin quickly shoots down the idea that the real world has any bearing on the movie's setting and we're off to the races- Jungle style.***there may be spoilers**** The beginning of the movie shows all of the members of Norris' crew being captured and declared Missing In Action (hence the title).
So does that mean every time someone tries to escape he shoots at them with the flamethrower, the bridge burns down, and he has to rebuild it the next day to go back to the camp?In the final scene Norris gets his revenge and beats down the colonel like an arcade wizard using cheat codes at the Mortal Kombat machine.
Chuck Norris for the most part was fantastic as always, and really did good with some of his emotional scenes, however he looked bored at times, and as a result was kinda bland, however he kicks that ass, and for the most part was tons of fun to watch!
This middle chapter of the James Braddock trilogy is a prequel to the original Missing In Action that traces the origin of Chuck Norris's not-quite-iconic franchise player.
A superior sequel to Chuck's first Vietnam effort, this is a small-scale drama of prison camp torture and escape, the second half packed with simplistic but pleasing action as Norris kills off dozens of enemy soldiers and generally acts as a hero.
Missing in Action 2: The Beginning starts during the Vietnam war in 1972 & starts as Colonel James Braddock (Chuck Norris) of the US army hitches a ride in a helicopter to Cambodia, however the helicopter comes under enemy fire & the crew along with Braddock have to bail out in the Vietnamese jungle only to be captured by the Vietnamese & taken as POW's.
Imprisioned in a POW camp in the middle of the jungle run by the strict General Yin (Soon-Teck Oh) & left to rot there by the country they once served there seems little hope of escape, but Colonel Braddock is a strong man & when the time is right will make his move in a bid for freedom...Directed by Lance Hool this supposed sequel to the original Missing In action (1984) was actually filmed first & chronologically is set before the original Missing in Action but the producers (probably the executives at Cannon) felt the original Missing in Action was the better film & decided to release that first & promote Missing in Action 2: The Beginning as a prequel.
A scene that needs to be seen, it really is quite funny even though it's definitely not meant to be.Filmed in Mexico the lush green jungle locations look nice, the action is alright but again like the original Missing in Action a little bit wimpy, why when Chuck Norris throw's a grenade into a wooden hut at the end & it goes off does the hut not even catch fire?
The acting is bad, Chuck Norris can't act & that's all that needs to be said.Missing in Action 2: The Beginning was indeed meant to be the beginning & be released before the original but as it stands it's good for a few laughs & some nice jungle scenery but little else.