Red Scorpion (1988) User Reviews

Ivan Drago joins the military

[breakdownthatfilm-blogspot-com · 5/10 · 14 March 2014]

Once Mr. Dolph Lundgren began pursuing an acting career, it wasn't until he played He-Man in The Masters of the Universe (1987) that he began approximately putting out a movie per year. Next in that line up was this action film. It's also probably the last time Dolph Lundgren ever played a Russian character. Good thing too because being typecast as a certain character frequently doesn't give the viewer something more to look forward too. Here, he plays a devoted Russian soldier who is trained and highly skilled in the art of killing. But as the story continues, he realizes maybe he's not seeing the whole picture.

With a screenplay written by first timer Arne Olsen, it isn't great nor is it terrible. The story does contain some meaningful moments, but most of them are frequently overshadowed by scenes that are predictable enough that regular viewers could see it coming a mile away. There are also some points in the film that would make the viewer question "How does this pertain to the development of the character?". It can be far fetched at times. Like how is learning the way of a hunter open one's eyes to reality? Is it really that powerful of a activity?

That's not to say the actors perform badly though. Dolph Lundgren portraying a Russian is accurate. He's a blonde, large, hulking mass of muscle and can speak with the basic accent. Al White plays an African rebel leader who is also legitimate in his role. M. Emmet Walsh plays a an American reporter who accompanies Al White's character. My question is though, how did an American reporter get caught in the middle of this? Lastly, Brion James makes an appearance too, who would play the British character, Requin in Tango & Cash (1989) a year later. It's an alright cast for this movie.

However, the way the action is executed reminds me of Arnold Schwarzenegger's Commando (1985). There's lots of explosions and plenty of shootings. Just like Schwarzenegger, Lundgren runs around in war paint firing his machine gun without getting a scratch. But perhaps what helped this movie to excel further than Commando (1985) was the human aspect of it. Al White's character leads a bunch of poor followers who seek freedom from the Russian oppression. And when the audience sees them fall, it's hard to watch. Assisting those particular segments was Jay Chattaway's music to the film. In some places it worked but the rest didn't. It was an average listening experience.

At least, the film was directed by a competent person. Joseph Zito, the man behind Chuck Norris' Missing in Action (1984), Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984) and The Prowler (1981) knew what he was doing. Also accompanying him is cinematographer João Fernandes who has also worked with Zito in the past. Fernandes was able to get nice shots of the arid terrain, which at least allows the audience to believe the place Lundgren was set in wasn't forgiving. In the end, it's not great or terrible. It's just average film making.

As Dolph Lundgren's last film to play a Russian character, it comes off as a better rip-off of Commando (1985) but doesn't take the story in any direction that hasn't been explored. Just average on the whole.

One of the many "Red" films, but above average

[BeneCumb · 6/10 · 30 August 2012]

1980ies saw various Cold War related films with titles beginning with Red: Red Dawn and Red Heat are most known, Red Scorpion has got somewhat less attention, but it is not bad at all. Many other action films contain much more clichés and Lundgren is less numb actor than e.g. Seagal, Dudikoff or Norris.

The only thing that really annoys me is letting Americans or Slavic emigrants to communicate in Russian - the result (= accent) is horrible, providing films undue undertones.

But still, both the script and Lundgren's performance have earned my 6 points; M. Emmet Walsh's part is even more catchy. Just forget the past black-and-white East-West collisions and enjoy it as a proper action film with constant (and at times complex) fight between good and evil, friendship and betrayal.

Exciting adventures , thrills and bloody battles in the African desert

[ma-cortes · 6/10 · 4 January 2011]

Russian agent named Nikolai (Dolph Lundgren) is a Spetsnaz , a perfect killer machine . The Soviet lieutenant journey to Africa where is the headquarter in which lives the Russian and Cuban militia (Carmen Argenziano , Brion James). He is assigned to infiltrate and to assassinate an adversarial anti-Communist black revolutionary named Sundate as leader of a rebel group who is assisted by Kallunda (Al White). Nikolai unexpectedly , commits a betrayal that enrages his Russian commandant as the General Vortez (T.P. McKenna), who orders his immediate punishment . In this case the nasty General is a genocide officer who uses his helicopter to cause mayhem and slaughter in minority communities. Making his getaway through the dangerous desert, Nikolai switches sides and join forces with the rebels, in the company of an American reporter (M. Emmet Walsh). Nikolai allies himself with a tribe of bushmen, and earning the nickname "Red Scorpion" . As Nikolai's new-found independence and switch allegiances with new friends . All of them , lead in his leadership of the rebels against his previous comrades .

This moving film contains thrills ,fiercy combats , tortures , lethal shootouts and lots of explosions and noisy action . From the beginning to the end the comic-book action-packed and extreme violence is continued and it's fast movement ; for that reason the picture is pretty entertaining , though contains some perfunctory scenes . Passable performance of Sweden Dolph Lundgren as Soviet agent par excellence trained in deep undercover job and finds himself drawn to the guerrillas' riot . This is a routine actioner with Karate expertise star Dolph Lundgren as the Soviet veteran resulting to be one of the best roles he'd made to date , as he's fine -though some wooden- as tough, cold , obstinate agent Nikolai. It provides some interesting background on Dolph Lundgren 's rocky relationship with communism and switching allies with spectacular final climax storming their headquarters in a no-quarter , deadly showdown . Poor acting abounds but packed with violence , bloodshed and exciting action scenes as when Lundgren shoots his machine gun , several explosions or scenes from spectacular helicopters similarly used in ¨Rambo III ¨ at Afghanistan. Catching musical score by Jay Chattaway and regular cinematography by cameraman Joao Fernandez , both of whom worked in the trilogy ¨Braddock's Missing in action ¨ who bears certain resemblance in some qualities to ¨Red Scorpion¨. The motion picture produced in average budget is professionally directed by Joseph Zito (Invasion USA, 13th Friday final chapter, Missing in action , The prowler). Rating : Acceptable, passable and amusing but violent . Although the movie has some aspects a little tough to take , this thrilling film still has its nice moments getting a bemusing atmosphere with agreeable results , furthermore grossed moderated success at the box office .

Action!

[homman-hofield · 23 March 2012]

OK now I'm not going to try and say that this film is by any means a true classic, BUT it is a type of classic.

in so much as that it has the man Dolph, mostly half nude, and it has guns, and some really nasty ones at that. so the plot is really weak, nobody is going to buy into the fact that one guy can save a nation but thats not the point, its really just a vehicle for Dolph to do his thing, which is to look tough and sound funny in a monotone kinda way.

i really like the torture scene where the guy is sticking large needles through Dolphs anatomy, actually looks pretty realistic considering its not a big budget film, and also i like the scarification that Dolphs little tribesman friend does for him while he is drugged.

the highlight of the film for me is probably the goofy relationship that is forged between Dolphs character and the little bushman, its really fun. the language barrier is well played out but the writers and actors have enabled this element to flow very well and their means of communication is really very effective at translating the messages of the relationship for the film.

so do yourself a favor and go rent the DVD as it has at long last been released, and sit back and enjoy some cornball action for all its worth.

just don't expect any special features cause their isn't any.

Public Relations Campaign for UNITA

[AKalinoff · 1/10 · 25 June 2006]

Anything "Red" out of Hollywood would be better dead.

The usual Cold War anti-Soviet/Russian propaganda.

The movie most likely takes place in Angola, as this was the only place where Soviet and Cuban troops were deployed in Africa in the 1980's.

The real history was that a Progressive Angolan government was overthrown by "freedom fighters"(UNITA) loyal to Ultra-Nationalists in South Africa and the US. UNITA was a terrorist organization which grew out of low level Civil War in the country which had raged well before any Soviet or Cuban troops arrived. Various factions supported by the European Powers as well as the regional South Africa were seeking to come to power. A government that would have stabilized the country did come to power, but it was not friendly to UNITA, and therefore an enemy of people like Jack Abramoff and the South African government. There was a regional ideological conflict and the Soviet Union was providing weapons to some of the local government friendly groups. But in reality the amount of Soviet troops in this country never exceeded 600, Cubans sent several 1,000. This war raged way after the fall of the USSR into 1994, when the South Africans went in to clean up the mess they started, fighting their own UNITA allies for control of oil supplies. By that time UNITA was busy shooting down airliners with Stinger missiles.

Anyway this conflict in the movie is simplified as "Russians evil, rebels 'good'." Of course Russians are the darkest form of evil in the movie, even a Russian does not want to be a Russian. There are many mistakes with uniforms and such where Soviet troops are shown without any kind of gear and in uniforms dating back to the 1930's. As well as the "Mi-24" in the movie has too many rocket pods on its "wings", there can only be a maximum of 4, there are 6.

Good golly, Mr. Dolphy!

[mark.waltz · 4/10 · 22 July 2022]

Laughable in so many ways but surprisingly enjoyable, it has the braincells of a Warner Brothers cartoon and its own Elmer Fudd to go along with it, through the ridiculous cartoonish performance of M. Emmett Walsh who does everything that Elmer might do except proclaim, "Kill the Wussian!" As a commie hating journalist, he refuses to believe that the Russian Dolph Lungren has defected from his duty in order to protect the man he was assigned to kill. Al White plays the African rebel leader he was supposed to snuff, and it only takes him being in prison with white overnight to change sides.

The rugged Lungren, who made a splash in the last of the first series of "Rocky" films, is certainly something to look at, but he's obviously no graduate of the Moscow Academy of Performing Arts. I wouldn't say that he gives a bad performance. I would just say he doesn't even give a performance. He's just there, doing what he's directed to do. Walsh bellows every line like this is going to be his last big moment on screen, and he doesn't seem to care if it will result in a Razzie nomination, which he didn't get. However, in my mind, he certainly deserved it.

White is the only one of the three leads invested in his performance, and he's quite good.

As an action adventure film, this serves it's purpose, keeping the audience engaged and munching on a lot of popcorn along the way. The use of some classic rock and roll doesn't move the plot along at all, but adds a few amusing background moments. The action sequences seem like they were stolen directly from an Indiana Jones movie, particularly since a lot of this takes place in other the desert or in the wild. A lot of it is truly hokey, such as the scene where the truck the three men are in approaches a tank that is ready to fire, and they make it out with barely a scratch. But since this is a film I thought I was going to give a bomb to and did not, that adds one little thing that I can recommend the film for.

Spoilers ahead.

[raypaquin · 1/10 · 4 October 2006]

Spoilers ahead. Do you wish to know why this is one of the worst movies ever produced? Look at who wrote the story and produced the film. No, your eyes are not tricking you. It's the same self-righteous hypocritical right-wing 'fundie' who was recently condemned to jail for corruption. Look at the name of the studio. Look at the name of one of the countries where it was produced, in 1989, before Apartheid was abolished.

I am a conservative, in the REAL sense of the word. But this right-wing propaganda is so dismally moronic that I wonder if the kind of talent required to write such trash is also the talent that will make you wildly successful in Washington.

Do *NOT* avoid this film. All schoolchildren in America should be forced to watch it in civics classes. It will immunize them for all time against a certain type of propaganda.

A dated but fun action movie

[lfdewolfe · 7/10 · 27 August 2020]

Much like other 80s action movies, it's cheesy and dated but fun. Dolph Lundgren gives a good performance as do the rest of the cast and the plot is unique, about a Russian trying to assassinate a rebel leader but turning good in the process. The only bad things about this would be that it's occasionally slow and really dated with the communist threat. I would only recommend this movie for hardcore 80s action lovers.

Wake me up when it's finished

[Numero Uno · 3/10 · 30 September 2001]

What was this monstrosity of a film? I had hopes for this movie I really did. The amazing part is that this movie actually spawned a sequel. Yet the sequel does not contain Ludgren. He must not have been stupid enough to do a sequel but he was sure still stupid enough to do the first.

The movie itself is about a Russian special forces soldier sent to Africa to assassinate a couple of innocent African tribes men only to defect and join the rebel's cause.

The movie is painfully slow from the beginning and the majority of the action is packed in to the final ten minutes, a syndrome which many action movie flops suffer from.

It will take you at least half the movie to get used to Ludgren's ridiculous hair which looks like a cross between Mr. T and Einstien. Well maybe not Einstien but you get the idea. It is only after he defects from the Russians where it appears that the tribes people must have stepped in and gave him a few fashion tips. It seems silly but it is very difficult to take him seriously with the hair and it absolutely does not suit his character.

The acting is low grade and it is often difficult to understand what the actors are saying in addition to trying to identify whether they are speaking in English, Russian or Swahili.

All in all this movie is deadly boring. Some bits just do not make any sense at all. Its as if Ludgren is trying to...trying to ummmm, I don't know what the hell he was trying to do but he was terrible at whatever it was.

The only good thing about this movie is the end portion oh yeah and the final credits too. The action scene right at the end was actually pretty good. And just when it starts with the entertainment the movie ends. I don't know about you, but I like big guys shooting people with big guns.

I think Ludgren is capable of much more its a pity that he his acting portfolio is not very impressive, no thanks to this movie. Stay away from Red Scorpion, I m giving it two thumbs down and the title of "Stinker Movie of the Month".

2.5/10

It doesn't pay to lie to Dolph.

[Hey_Sweden · 7/10 · 15 July 2012]

Never mind any sort of political angle or goal of propaganda in this agreeable bit of non- think entertainment. All that matters is that it does do its job when it comes to the entertainment aspect. Sometimes it's good for laughs, sometimes a strong and touching anti-war message comes across, and sometimes it's genuinely action-packed and exciting. Dolph Lundgren plays a *supposedly* top notch Russian operative dispatched by his superiors to get close to an African rebel leader who's objecting to the occupation by Russian and Cuban forces. The surprising thing is that Dolph's character isn't too good at his job and gets figured out. While awaiting punishment for screwing up the mission, he escapes and befriends a local bushman. The gentle and helpful ways of the bushman and his people help Dolph to realize he's fighting for the wrong side and he leads the rebels in a wonderfully over-the-top action finale. Director Joseph Zito is an old hand at this kind of action fare, having already directed Chuck Norris in the classics "Missing in Action" and "Invasion U.S.A.", and he and a capable crew give this all the juice that it needs, with a decent pace and violence aplenty. Zito also works with makeup effects expert Tom Savini once again; they'd collaborated previously on "The Prowler" and the fourth "Friday the 13th" movie. Dolph is fairly stiff as always, and it's up to the very amusing supporting cast to bring life to the story. The movie really hits its stride once the great character actor M. Emmet Walsh shows up, bringing lots of xenophobia, energy, and comedy relief to the proceedings, playing an investigative journalist. T.P. McKenna is the slimy Russian villain, Carmen Argenziano a thuggish Cuban bad guy, and the late Brion James brings a ridiculous accent to his Czech adviser the same year that he pulled the same gag for "Tango & Cash". (Annoyingly, his character is never properly paid off.) Ruben Nthodi is fine as the rebel leader, with his associate played by Al White, whom the viewer may recognize as one of the jive talking dudes from "Airplane!". But the performer who gives this movie a good deal of charm and presence is 95 year old Regopstaan, a natural in the role of the bushman Gao. These actors do help to make this fun. It's decent action fare where one can loudly root for the villains to meet their doom and where it's nice to see the redemption of the lead character. As an aside, helping to give this film some notoriety is the subsequent fate of this film's co-writer and producer, lobbyist Jack Abramoff, but that shouldn't distract from what is basically acceptable escapism. Seven out of 10.

Average

[TBJCSKCNRRQTreviews · 4/10 · 1 November 2009]

The most distinguishing feature of this is where it was filmed, and, linked to that, the fact that there are actual bush-men in it. Lundgren makes a good enough Rambo-type, one-man-army action flick protagonist, though one has to wonder why this passes on every single opportunity for a one-liner. I do not know enough about Russian to judge his accent or pronunciation, but going by the message boards, it's terrible. The acting is OK. I'm certain I'm not the only who wanted to strangle Walsh every time he opened his mouth; that's not his fault, it's how his role was written. The plot is sufficiently simple. Pacing is acceptable. The explosions, chases, shootouts and fights are reasonably done and entertaining enough, if nothing special. There's a lot of attempts at humor in this... however, only a select few are funny. More typically, it comes off as forced and trying too hard. This is by no means a great piece of work, and if was truly funded by pro-Apartheid military, it basically redefines the term "guilty pleasure". There is frequent strong language and a moderate amount of bloody, and occasionally gory, violence. The DVD contains a trailer for this, and one for Blue Jean Cop. I recommend this to fans of those who made it. 4/10

One of Dolph's best and most memorable role.

[Vivekmaru45 · 10/10 · 2 September 2010]

I can't believe all the negative reviews and low rating given to this excellent film. This is one of Dolph's best film.

There is a scene which I will never forget: the tall Russian standing alongside the tiny bushman.

The film is about the oppression of the Communist regime against an anti-Communist black revolutionary. A Spetsnaz-a Soviet agent (Dolph Lundgren) par excellence trained in deep undercover work is assigned to infiltrate and stop a rebel African uprising.

He does this by being a sort of decoy: a drunk and undisciplined solder in a jail cell where he makes friends with one of the captured rebels and American journalist (M. Emmet Walsh). They all escape together and inadvertently Nikolai is lead to the leader of the rebels. In the middle of the night he attempts to assassinate him but is caught red-handed and imprisoned.

He is recaptured and placed under inquiry.

Nikolai unexpectedly finds himself drawn to the guerrillas cause, a betrayal that enrages his Russian superiors, who order his immediate termination. He is awaiting torture but manages to escape through the desert, but is stung by scorpions in the process.

A bushman rescues him and cures him of the poisonous stings. He also tattoos a scorpion on him, according to their tribal customs. Thus the title of the film RED SCORPION.

Nikolai recovers and the bushman starts to train him in the art of survival in the harsh desert environment. Nikolai learns fast and soon reunites with the rebels and helps them overthrow his former masters.

Very good acting, action and cinematography of the Namibian desert and bushmen. A must film for all action lovers. Highly recommended. I give a full 10/10.

Good for what it is.

[Boba_Fett1138 · 6/10 · 4 August 2012]

Can't say I fell in love with this movie but it has a certain appeal to it. As far as cheesy, overblown, 80's, B-action movie flicks go, this is being a petty enjoyable and good movie for what it is!

There were certainly certain aspects about this movie that I appreciated. One was its story. Not that it's being much good or anything cleverly written but it at least takes the movie to plenty of good places and meets some good characters along the way. And how many actions movies set in rural Africa are out there anyway? The movie is great and unique already, just because of that.

Another thing I also liked about the movie and its story was that Dolph Lundgren was being both the villain and main hero of the movie. There isn't really being a main villains in this, since Dolph Lundgren is already on the 'wrong' side and along the way switches sides, as he is growing more and more sympathy for his objective and their cause. the transitions his characters go through are pretty good to watch and gives the movie and its story something extra and more depth. It's probably also part of the reason why this movie is often being regarded as the ultimate Dolph Lundgren movie.

And this movie also definitely benefits from Lundgren's presence. He's a very charismatic lead, even while he doesn't speak an awful lot. He handles all of the action very well, both the hand to hand combat scenes as the ones in which he has to handle a large gun.

The action itself is always something decent enough. Certainly nothing that blew me away but there are still some large setup moments that are great to watch and definitely something the '80's action movie lover should enjoy and appreciate.

It's still being a totally silly and overblown action movie of course but if you're able to take it as just that, you'll most likely have a good time watching this movie.

6/10

http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

Last anti-Soviet movie?

[concertante-1 · 2/10 · 20 March 2006]

Nowadays it seems to be thought that films in denunciation of other country's contemporary political beliefs and methodology is a bit out of place, that this matters should be discussed in the political sphere. That is, unless we are talking of action films. I won't criticize these anti-'certain political system' nor anti-Soviet in special movies for the sake of being directed this way, as a lot of quite interesting anti-American movies have been made in USSR: for example, we have not just Dovzhenko's 'Sumka dipkuryera' but his witty inconcluded satire 'Farewell, America'. But I wonder why low budget action films have amnesty to spread such demagogy as having the 1989 Soviet Union in a genocidal expansionist campaign all over Africa, in what is the most delirious portrait of the Gorbachovian USSR I have ran into.

About the film itself, I'll point out that to a certain extent it's a movie channeled by Zito with efficiency and a certain craftsmanship, working in a sober mood even in the most spectacular action scenes. As far as scenics carrying out goes there are some suggestive moments, and some performances, as Carmen Argenziano's turbulent but not histrionic Colonel Zayas are quite compelling. But the script is schematic, the characters developing horribly as relations vary in a trivial way as for resolving the movie in a silly carnival of settlings of scores; I thought the most ridiculous changing allegiances story was Del Ponte's libretto for Mozart's opera 'Die Zauberflöte', but this beats it up...

I feel that this movie's handicap is the horrible Robert Abramoff's script, which is a burden for any appealing carrying out of it. Though seeming sympathetic to a such banal script Joseph Zito gives expression to it in a quite imaginative way, but seems unable to do a scarcely convincing film out of such a horribly written script just by working efficiently. By shooting a more sophisticated and subtle one this would have been a quite interesting movie, but with a so gratuitous script 'Red scorpion' stands as a not just mediocre, but ridiculous anti-Soviet argument.

A Russian Special Forces soldier is sent into the African desert to assassinate a revolutionary!

[DanLives1980 · 8 October 2011]

One of the best '80's action films you have never seen or heard of! I stand by my statement having watched 'Red Scorpion' aged 9 and finding it even better than I remember when watching it again as an adult. If you want the quick explanation, it's up there with 'First Blood part 2.' It's also a thoughtful war film that leaves America out of the Cold War picture and instead ponders on just how much death and destruction a man must witness before he realizes he's fighting a war that is inherently not only wrong but simply evil.

Dolph Lundgren is Nikolai Rachenko, one of the Spetsnaz's finest soldiers. He is exactly how the Motherland has cut him out to be, an intelligent, resilient, unstoppable and obedient killer. Unable to march through Africa because of anti-communist revolutionary Sundata, the Russians send Nikolai in to gain the trust of whoever will lead him to his target where he will then assassinate his target.

The plan fails and Nikolai is first captured by the Africans and then sent back across the desert with one intended message; to tell the Russians that even their greatest soldier cannot kill Sundata. Barely surviving, Nikolai finds himself disgraced and left to the Cubans to be tortured and killed but escapes and then only survives the desert a third time thanks to the Bush Man, a lone member of a secretive African tribe, who takes Nikolai under his wing and teaches him the ways of the free African.

Nikolai learns how to survive the desert and then learns of the atrocities executed against the innocent people of Africa first hand. Accepting that he is no longer with the Russians after the way they treated him and left him for dead, when he is ready to move on, Nikolai takes it upon himself to go back to see Sundata and show that he now bears tribal honours only to find that the revolutionary has been mortally wounded by the encroaching Russian forces.

Feeling that he owes it to Sundata and his people after a heart to heart with the dying man, Nikolai goes on to lead an offensive against the invaders, his former leaders and fellow soldiers, to smash the Soviet and Cuban forces and send them out of Africa.

The film was directed by Joseph Zito who reached varying degrees of success in the '80's with three other titles; two Chuck Norris vehicles, 'Missing in Action' and 'Invasion USA' and intended franchise finale 'Friday 13th part 4: The Final Chapter.' Turning Chuck Norris into a legitimate action movie star, the same could almost be said for Lundgren, only it was Lundgren's later features that failed him.

Zito makes a great film by taking the old-school action and war molds and applying a sensible amount of politics and intelligence into the African characters and their purpose. Lundgren plays not only an atypical brute of a soldier with little to say for himself, he plays a man reprogrammed by the military to obey who learns to listen to the voice of reason instead and as much as people might argue that Lundgren cannot act, watching his face turn from a constant menacing scowl to one of resolve and respect is effective enough. His change from villain to hero simply does what no other action film of its time dared to and this makes for a feelgood moral tale.

The film is literally exploding with stunt doubles doing their various acrobatic death rolls and grenade explosion somersaults etc. Special effects come courtesy of 'Wizard of Gore' Tom Savini (who worked with Zito previously on Friday 13th) and M. Emmet Walsh has a co-starring role as a terminally offensive American photographer, which helps you settle into the very ethnic feel of the movie. Add the Little Richard soundtrack and you have a classic action film with something a little different to offer.

'Red Scorpion' is like many other action films of the '80's that could have gone on to have successful and valid sequels, however it's a perfect little gem all by itself and one of the reasons Dolph Lundgren was such a promising star back in the day.

I recommend 'Red Scorpion' for an action movie night if you're planning on watching 'Missing in Action' or 'Rambo' or Schwarzenegger's 'Commando.'

Below average Lundgren action drama.

[poolandrews · 4/10 · 12 December 2008]

Red Scorpion is set in Africa where the Russians & Cubans are at war with the natives as they try to bring Communisim to the country, however the war isn't going as well as they had hoped so step in hard as nails Spetznats special forces solider Lieutenant Nikolai Rachenko (Dolph Lundgren) who is ordered by his boss General Vortek (T.P. McKenna) to go undercover in Africa to assassinate an anti-Communist revolutionary & hero to the people Ango Sundata (Ruben Nthodi) by gaining the confidence of his right hand man Kallunda Kintash (Al White). It's a tough job but someone has to do it. Nikolai apparently saves Kallunda from a public execution at his own risk which has the desired effect of making Kallunda trust him, as Nikolai spends time with Kallunda & eventually meets Sundata he realises that he has been fighting for the wrong side & wages a one man war on his own country & it's army in order to liberate Africa & it's people...

This South African, American & Namibian co-production was directed by Joseph Zito & I actually had quite high hopes for Red Scorpion in a cheesy over-the-top testosterone filled late 80's action flick of the kind they just don't make anymore sort of a way but after wasting 100 odd minutes on this rather mundane & boring film I realised why they don't make these sorts of films anymore as Red Scorpion exemplifies just about everything wrong with the late 80's & early 90's action flick fad. I like my action films with plenty of action & gratuitous violence in them, unfortunately Red Scorpion actually tries to have some sort of meaning & say something relevant about world events at the time. Now, I'm all for a bit of drama & seriousness if it's done properly but having the Sweedish actor Dolph Lundgren playing a Russian in Africa finding his true self, redemption & have him join some tribe or other in which he then instantly sympathises with the whole country & realises how bad & evil his own country is while running around in nothing but shorts & sandals with a silly haircut is not the way to go about it. Right? A lot of the running time of Red Scorpion is devoted to Lundgren wondering around as he develops a conscience, yawn. Where's all the action? Where are all the one-liners? Where is the obligatory love interest for Lundgren to save at the end? Why is Red Scorpion so boring & quite frankly dull? These Russians can't be that smart can they? I mean you have invaded Africa & have waged war on it's people so who do you send in to kill one of your biggest enemies? That's right a huge soldier with a Russian accent. Yeah, that's going to work isn't it? I mean I am sure every African will help big Lundgren, totally & utterly trust him & give him pretty much anything he wants. Wouldn't you? For my money Red Scorpion has too much preaching & moralising with the main plot an obvious take on apartheid & the events in Africa at the time. I usually like big, dumb, brainless action flicks but I found Red Scorpion seriously dull.

Even the action sequences aren't that good, they feel too random with lots of shoot-outs where lots of people are shot but you never feel Lundgren is in danger & of course all the bad guy's have terrible aims & can't shoot straight. Lots of things blow up too but for no real reason & Lundgren is rarely in the same shot so again there's no threat there or last minute escapes or anything of that sort. For all we know these explosions could be happening twenty miles from where Lundgren is. There's a reasonable car chase about twenty minutes in but it's ruined by a very inappropriate & somewhat annoying song on the soundtrack. The violence is also disappointing, there's barely any fighting or hand to hand combat in it & there's not much blood either. A guy sticks some spikes into Lundgren as a form of torture & Lundgren shoots a soldiers arm off but other than that this is actually surprisingly tame.

With a supposed budget of about $16,000,000 Red Scorpion was shot in Namibia in Africa & therefore breaking an international boycott of the country for it's apartheid regime which this film ironically tries to highlight, apparently the budget for the film was pulled & the cast & crew were stuck there for three months while the money was got back. The cast is alright although Lundgren is awful, it's always nice to see Brion James in something but what happened to his character who seemingly disappears half way through the film.

Red Scorpion is a anti apartheid drama disguised as an action film & a bad action film at that. This has no real meaning, the dialogue sucks as does the story & action. Not one I would want to see again in a hurry. Followed by the totally unconnected Red Scorpion 2 (1994).

Yes, THAT Jack Abramoff

[jread-5 · 1/10 · 4 June 2008]

This movie was produced and written by none other than Jack Abramoff, recently in the news (and in the slammer) due to being convicted of illegal lobbying and fraud. Eventually, two White House officials (J. Steven Griles and David Safavian) and a congressman (Bob Ney) were also convicted in connection with his activities. You can get an accurate feeling for the "Rules? What Rules?" attitude of Abramoff and his cronies in the Bush White House by watching this bit o' dreck.

Although this movie was released during the Reagan Era, when the atmosphere was also "Rules? What Rules?" - see Iran/Contra, the October Surprise, etc. etc. - the Bush Administration has taken this to new and previously unimagined extremes. I am anxiously awaiting a movie (written by Scooter Libby- or maybe a sequel from Abramoff when he gets out) that captures the zeitgeist of stupidity and arrogance that only a true insider can really know. "Team America" comes close (America!! F*ck Yeah!!), but it is intended as a comedy. What we have experienced the last seven and a half years is no joke.

Lame anti-communistic 80's action movie

[Maziun · 4/10 · 21 June 2018]

This made in the late 80's action movie seems to be a lower budget clone of the Rambo movies. It is certainly a product of it's time , because you can smell the anti-Soviet propaganda without even watching the movie. Hollywood made quite a few movies about the evil Russians that were actually entertaining ("Rambo 2","Rambo 3" , "Rocky 4" ) and few that were painfully bad ("Red dawn" , "Invasion USA" ). This movie unfortunately belongs to the second category.

Let's start with the good things. The movie is set in Africa , which is actually an original background for action movie. Are they any other action movies set in Africa ? I don't know - only "Shaft in Africa" comes to my mind. This brings a touch of freshness to the movie.

"Red scorpion" also learns us that communism is evil (true) , war is bad (true) and sends a few messages - think for yourself, don't follow blindly the orders , truth might be manipulated and appearances might be deceiving . It's nothing spectacular , but at least it provides some depth to the whole movie.

The relationship between the main hero and the african bushman is silly , cute , funny and even touching at times. Probably the best part of the movie.

The problem with "Red scorpion" is the fact that for an action movie this is rather mundane & boring film. Im' all in for action movie that treats itself seriously , but it was poorly done. A lot of the running time is devoted to Lundgren wondering around as he develops a conscience. The Russians plan doesn't make any sense , just like their further decisions.

The action scenes are done badly. There is a car chase in style of "Raiders of the lost ark" that is ruined by annoying and inappropriate song by Little Richard. It was supposed to be funny - it wasn't. There is a really big shootout in the end , but it isn't exciting. All the bad guy's have terrible aim and can't shoot straight. There is very little blood and violence here. Hand to hand combat or fighting ? Forget it.

This bad movie was directed by Joseph Zito , an expert of making bad propaganda action movies ("Missing in action", "Invasion USA" - both with Chuck Norris).

Dolph Lundgren who plays the main hero Nikolai Rachenko (funny fact - after his breakthrough role of Ivan Drago in "Rocky 4" here he gets to play another Russian) is passable. M. Emmet Walsh (" Blade runner ") plays an American photographer and is terribly annoying and unfunny. Brion James (" Tango and Cash ") makes an appearance , but sadly disappears at the end of the movie without any explanation ! What a waste. Everybody else give poor performances.

I don't really recommend this movie. Not even for the action junkies . I rather recommend watching one of the Rambo movies. Still it's a little bit better than most of Lundgren movies. There was a sequel in the 90's , but it had very loose connection to this movie. I give it 4/10.

Dolph stings communism!

[tarbosh22000 · 6/10 · 21 November 2011]

Lt. Nikolai Rachenko is a Russian Special Forces soldier assigned to go undercover in Africa to root out an anti-communist leader, Kallunda (White) - don't forget, Rachenko's superiors are all commies. While in the midst of this deep cover, Rachenko becomes sympathetic to the anti-communist cause and realizes he has been manipulated by the higher-ups. So he goes on an explosion-packed killing spree, shooting and, when need be, dismembering his enemies (hey, it was an emergency). Rachenko may seem like a man of stone, but it's clear he yearns to be free. Along the way he meets an obnoxious American journalist, Dewey Ferguson (Walsh) and an elderly African tribesman shows Rachenko his human side.

With a movie starring Dolph Lundgren, directed by Joseph Zito (forever in the hall of fame for Invasion USA, 1985 alone), and produced by Jack Abramoff (rumor has it his "evil hat" was an uncredited co-producer), you'd think the results would be just a bit more impressive. Not that Red Scorpion is bad at all - but it's too long and the middle section drags. Perhaps that's just to lull us before the big final battle, but it's quite a lull. There's no reason for this film to be 100 minutes. With the pedigree involved in the movie's production, it's not unreasonable to expect more.

The film has some really high-quality, impressive explosions. The team that worked on the pyrotechnics should be applauded. And of course, the hero gets tortured (there are some really impressive effects there too), but there are some nice underlying plot ideas in addition to the many "blow-ups": 1. Think for yourself, 2. Communism sucks, 3. A friendship can exist between a geriatric African bushman and a blonde, Swedish hulk even if they don't speak the same language 4. The intrigue of "who are the real enemies?", and of course, playing the same, repetitive Little Richard songs over and over again will remind everyone of America's greatness and freedom.

Interestingly enough, the one American character, Dewey, is obnoxious and unlikable throughout most of the film. If this movie is just a propaganda piece for the U.S., they aren't helping their case by portraying Americans that way. But we do learn the secret of the "Red Scorpion" tattoo - later seen as the only, tenuous (at best) link between this film and its sequel. But there are actual scorpions in the movie that crawl on Dolph's body. Whether they are "Red", i.e., commies sent by his superiors, remains unknown.

There were a lot of anti-communist 80's action movies, but this one has Dolph Lundgren, and apparently the filmmakers were so impressed with their explosions, rightfully I might add, that during the end credits, there are continuous explosion sounds. You don't see them, you just hear them. While you may know what to expect with Red Scorpion, its messages help it stand out.

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The backstory is CRAZY

[BandSAboutMovies · 5/10 · 28 August 2022]

This movie really needs a movie to be made about it.

It was produced by Republican Party lobbyist Jack Abramoff, who had championed sending U. S. aid to anti-communist guerrilla movements such as the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola. He established the International Freedom Foundation, which was financed by the South African apartheid regime. That makes sense, if only because Abramoff hired Arne Olsen to write a screenplay about the Angolan Civil War. With the money he allegedly received from South Africa. Why? Well, propaganda. They wanted to destroy international sympathy for the African National Congress.

Production began in Swaziland but was delayed after South African agents assassinated eleven ANC members. Moving the shooting of the film to Namibia, which was under South African occupation as South West Africa, Red Scorpion ended up being boycotted by Artists and Athletes Against Apartheid for being made in the country during apartheid. That caused Warner Brothers to pull out, as their deal with Abramoff stipulated that the movie not be made in South Africa. And, well, people were protesting the actual studio.

Meanwhile, soldiers and actual military equipment - like captured Soviet T-54 tanks - were provided by the South African Defence Force. The movie was even shot at one of their studios. But thanks to all the stop and starts, the movie was about ten million over. And Abramoff expected a more family friendly war movie, but he hired Joe Zito, who made The Prowler, and he got a film where Zito hired Tom Savini to go nuts all over again with the special effects.

Based on Jonas Savimbi, an Angolan South African ally and anti-Communist, Red Scorpion places Dolph Lundgren as Lieutenant Nikolai Petrovitch Rachenko, a Soviet Spetsnaz operative from the Ukraine - is this movie not relevant today?- sent to join Soviet, Czechoslovakian and Cuban forces as they battle anti-communists. Sent to kill the leader of the rebels, the mission is scrubbed when they anticipate him and escape, which ends up with Rachenko's superiors torturing him. He escapes from the gulag and is rescued by natives who brand him with a red scorpion, making him one of them. As you can imagine, Lundgren goes wild killing everyone in his path.

That tribe that saves him is totally real. Their leader, Regopstaan, was 95 years old and agreed to be in the movie if his people could also appear.

Not to be a gun geek, but man - that FN FAL that Dolph uses at the end of the movie is mixed with a twin barrel AO-63 assault rifle and if real could fire six thousand rounds per minute.

By the 2000s, according to an article on Tedium, Abramoff was at the "center of a wide array of lobbying scandals, sometimes involving obscure parts of the United States like the Northern Mariana Islands and Guam" and getting set for "a prison stay, having just been sentenced in a fraud case involving a casino cruise line."

The fact that this movie was made in the way that it was is astounding. Of course Cannon would release the video.

If Rambo were Russian his name would be Nikolai

[Enchorde · 6/10 · 7 February 2009]

Recap: Nikolai Rachenko is an elite soldier, trained warrior and the best weapon in the Soviet System. Nikolai is Spetznaz. Now he is sent to Africa where The Soviets with their communist allies tries to pacify a country and it's native rebels. Nikolai's mission is to assassinate the leader of the rebellion, stemming it at its source. But his time with the natives open his eyes and shows his armies leaders as who they truly are.

Comments: Extremely similar to the Rambo-movies, especially the ones after First Blood. So similar that you actually might interchange Rambo and Nikolai without really noticing it, except for the hair color. This movie is all about muscles, guns and explosions.

But no one really expected anything else, did they? For all it's faults in story and, unfortunately I must say of fellow Swede Dolph and companions less than stellar acting, it is entertaining. There is a lot of shooting going on, and everything that possible can (including straw huts), blow up.

Probably not the movie you would choose for a date (well, guns for the boys and muscles for the ladies, so maybe after all? :) ) but for anyone who likes mindless action, this is a sure bet.

6/10

Passable popcorn action flick

[DigitalRevenantX7 · 5/10 · 7 April 2008]

Plot Synopsis: Nikolai, a Spetznaz (Soviet Special Forces) commando is sent to an African country to assassinate the leader of a resistance group fighting the Soviets. Thrown in jail for disorderly conduct, he helps a resistance soldier & an American journalist escape. Failing to kill his target, Nikolai decides to help the resistance overthrow the Soviet base camp.

You'd think that the popularity of the "Rambo" trilogy would give rise to a whole host of clones, imitators & rip-offs, but that is not the case. So far, only "Red Scorpion" was made to copy the legendary Stallone character. While both the idea of the film's hero being a Soviet & the casting of Dolph Lundgren in the role was inspired, the film fails to make the idea work as well as it should. Certainly the first few minutes, with Lundgren managing to stage a hilarious bar-room brawl in order to get in close with his target, along with an effective chase scene, works to the film's favour. But the film does not explore the idea fully, only giving a failed mission & an interrogation as the reason for the commando to betray his superiors & help the locals fight. Brion James' character is built up to provide a menacing villain but is not seen at the climax. All in all, the film is a decent popcorn flick.

Have you ever seen a bushman?

[Antagonisten · 10/10 · 19 January 2005]

If there is something I connect to the 80's more than anything it's movies like this one. It came at the shivering end of the decade, when the cold war was nearly over. But it shows a technique honed through literally dozens of cold war action movies. A genre of it's own.

The Russian KGB-agent Nikolai (Dolph Lundgren) is sent to Africa to kill a native revolutionary. However he is betrayed by his own people and instead befriends the man he was to kill. Soon he exacts his vengeance on his deceitful commanders.

Dolph Lundgren is known from cold war epics like Rocky IV and Pentathlon. It seems his blonde Swedish looks are very Russian in the eyes of the American audience. Also his garbled accent might be appropriate as a substitute for real Russian. Here he shoots, explodes and slices half the Russian and Cuban armies in his quest for vengeance on the men who betrayed him. The machine of the communist party just needed one small deceit to see the error of his ways and instantly team up with natives and guerrillas to fight for their freedom.

A touching story if you don't think about it. So, you've seen Rambo II and III? You've seen Missing in action with Chuck Norris? You've seen dozens of other cold war action movies where Russians are killed in the hundreds and the hero hardly flinches when he is shot? Then you KNOW what this is about. And this might just be the best of the lot. This is simply 80's propaganda-action in it's most purified form. Entertaining to say the least. Rating is 1/10 for quality, 7/10 for entertainment and 10/10 for accents.

A Rollercoaster of Quality

[deepfrieddodo · 6/10 · 27 November 2020]

What would have actually been quite an enticing plot was poorly executed. The quality of the film very much fluctuates as you progress. It's not great from the start. The storyline is relatively simple to follow, although you're not given much help in knowing which characters are Soviet, Czech or Cuban. As everyone speaks English (for the most part) you're left to guess based on accents, but it seems some of the actors didn't want to stick to their associated accents all too closely. The dialogue isn't great, but passable. The biggest factor though, which drags down the quality of the film significantly, is the addition of the American character. You can only describe him as a cartoon. Irritating and cliché, he adds absolutely nothing across the entire film, and the atmosphere in some scenes could be improved hugely just by removing him. The saving grace of the first half of the film is the action. There are some great scenes and Lundgren is in his best shape.

Everything gets significantly better once the American is ditched for a while. There is a toe-curling torture scene, followed by the entrance of the Bushmen. This period far exceeds what had happened before, and that's without action or even dialect. The significance of the plot gains added depth, the development of the lead character rapidly excels, and Lundgren is given the opportunity to be the strong, silent warrior he is so perfect to play.

It's not the perfect end, slipping into a few cheesy lines not really inkeeping with the environment, but it's a massive action scene where Lundgren runs around with a big gun. This is what people are watching this for.

Better dead than red...

[fmarkland32 · 3/10 · 22 May 2006]

A soviet soldier is sent to assassinate a troublesome African rebel who is causing (never explained)problems for soviets in an unnamed country. Along the way our lunkheaded hero sees the error of his ways and decides to blow up his former employers. Red Scorpion has managed to come up in discussion, due to it's connection to Jack Abramhoff however even the most curious are well advised to steer clear of this stinker. For one there is hardly any action and Dolph Lundgren's charisma-less perf is actually one of the film's better qualities. A neat action sequence at the end but the movie is too dull for even people like me. (Lovers of bad action cinema)

*1/2 stars out of 4-(Poor)