The late 70s and early 80s spawned quite many "Vietnamsploitation" movies; - about rough, tough, and preferably mentally traumatized 'Nam veterans running amok on American soil a handful of years after their return from the Asian jungles. Usually they are good guys, ridding the big city streets of thugs and drug dealers, and occasionally they're the ones going on a psychotic killing spree. "Search and Destroy", by the underrated cult-director William Fruet ("Death Weekend", "Baker County USA"), is something different altogether. Here, the Vietnam war simply continues where it left off, expect that it moves to the beautiful area of Niagara Falls.
The plot is very simply, but effective and doesn't put too much energy in providing a detailed background. Former members of an elite squad are stalked and killed, and the last two remaining soldiers, Kip and Buddy, find out the assailant is a Vietnamese political prisoner they were supposed to escort through the jungle, but they left them for dead during a chaotic airstrike attack. Now he's after them during the peak of the Niagara Falls tourist season, and the local police forces want to avoid negative publicity at all costs.
In all honesty, I expected "Search and Destroy" to be better and more exhilarating. The vets, although neatly portrayed by Perry King and the awesome Don Stroud, aren't the most sympathetic characters, and their opponent - the unknown Jong Soo Park - isn't a memorable or menacing villain at all. The best roles come from the Niagara Falls cops, notably George Kennedy and Tony Sheer, and the real show-stealer of) this film are obviously the breath-taking filming locations. Promoting the beauty of Niagara Falls and inserting publicity for the popular tourist attractions, like a boat trip on the Maiden of the Mist, all this was possible in 70s exploitation cinema!