Invasion USA (1985) review

INVASION USA 1985

Chuck Norris (Matt Hunter), Richard Lynch (Mikhail Rostov), Melissa Prophet (McGuire), Alexander Zale (Niko)

Directed by Joseph Zito

The Short Version: Cannon went wild with this extremely over the top, and violent actioner about multi-national terrorists launching an invasion on US soil. Only one thing stands in their way -- Chuck Norris, a literal one man army looking like a pissed off Yeti, and making the terrorists appear JV by comparison. It's an incredible amount of fun if you can accept the bone-headed nature of it all; particularly in the omnipotent fashion our hero, Matt Hunter, Superman with twin Uzis, is presented. Basically an exploitation movie under the guise of a polished, medium budgeted Hollywood flick, this ultra violent Chuck Norris chest-thumper is a prime example of Cannon fodder. 

Soviet, Cuban, and Arabic terrorists launch a stealthy assault on the United States of America. The plan is to use anarchy, riots, and hysteria to destabilize the fabric of the nation on their path to destroy America in a steady, systematic fashion. Only one man, Matt Hunter, stands in the way of the terrorist militants, and their plot to take over the country.

Joseph Zito knows how to deliver brutality on the big screen. His penchant for blood and guts was splattered all over slashers like THE PROWLER (1981) and FRIDAY THE 13TH: THE FINAL CHAPTER (1984). Onscreen sadism served him well with action spectacles MISSING IN ACTION (1984) and this mindless tour de corpses, INVASION USA -- a film whose plot is self-described in the title. One of the most brazenly over the top action films ever made, it wears its gold medal of implausibility with such pride, you can't help but fall in love with it. 

Thankfully, the picture has Chuck Norris -- whose face barely moves -- to keep things squarely in the realm of a comic book. He's basically a hairier version of Superman... or God from the Old Testament. Wherever the bad guys are, he's there to fill them full of lead; or spread their smithereens from sea to shining sea. Norris is still playing the strong, silent type, but in this movie, Chuck is supernatural. It's like he's an omnipotent force with ninja skills. Norris is Jason Voorhees with guns instead of a machete, and Richard Lynch is the "final girl". The difference being Jason is the hero and the final girl is the villain. There's even a "Look out, he's right behind you!" moment. You'll know it when you see it, and it's pretty damn glorious.

Norris's non-acting style definitely suits him. He'd of made a great Italian western actor. Surprisingly, his expressionless, steely countenance works in the films favor. Norris walks around looking like a pissed off Yeti virtually the entire time; although he does smile ONCE. He's sawing wood with a chainsaw when his pet armadillo turns over its food bowl prompting Chuck to break tradition and enter full grin mode for a few seconds. The script (by James Bruner and Chuck Norris), taken from a Readers Digest story, gives his character some fantastic lines, too. Chuck says sentences like, "You're beginning to irritate me", and "If you come back in here, I'm gonna hit you with so many rights, you're gonna beg for a left" with a level of conviction unparalleled in Tough Guy cinema.

There's one intentionally humorous (even Chuck sort of smiles about it) bit of metaphorical pandering where Chuck Norris is watching EARTH VS. THE FLYING SAUCERS (1956) on television, a film depicting a different sort of invasion; so Chuck has great taste in movies. This scene parallels the Cold War of the 50s when films like EARTH VS. thrived, and the Nuclear Arms Race of the 1980s Cold War.

INVASION USA (1985) is possibly the only action film where the protagonist has the main villain scared shit-less for two hours. Rostov is so nervous, so terrified of Matt Hunter, he even has nightmares about him! One of the best running gags is hearing Norris say -- whether speaking to a TV camera, to one of the terrorists, or in Rostov's dreams like a a rugged Freddie Krueger -- "Time to die." Of course this simultaneously spins our Russian (sometimes it sounds like he's spouting German) bad guy into fits of rage and sends chills up his spine. Within the span of three years, Norris has graduated from doubting himself via conversations with his subconscious in THE OCTAGON (1982) to mind-fucking terrorists with three simple words that aren't 'I', 'Love', or 'You'.

Played with only the finest psychotic fervor, Richard Lynch is one extremely violent son of a bitch. His entrance into the film is about as sadistic as you can get -- shoving a straw up a coke snorting woman's nose just moments before tossing her through a window, and emptying a clip into Billy Drago's nether regions. In contrast to Chuck's frequently uttered reference for Rostov's day of judgment, the Russian terrorists running gag is shooting men he dislikes a number of times square in the groin area. At one point, he repeatedly spits on a man as he furiously pumps hot lead into his manhood. It really must be seen to be believed. Lynch's performance is so deranged, his melon often appears dangerously close to detonation. Speaking of which, Lynch essayed a villain that could literally make peoples heads explode in 1994s SCANNER COP.

Zito's ugly, mean-spirited violence is one of the attributes of INVASION USA; such as when the terrorists leisurely stroll into a suburb and bazooka the shit out of a block of houses hanging Christmas ornaments. At other points in the movie, they attempt to blow up a mall and a church. Things get so over the top, the violence itself is often subdued by its absurdity. The big finale where the terrorists are lured into a trap is a gem; although a much more elaborate battle royal would have been much more welcome. Other than a sprawling helicopter view that captures a war zone in the making, the battle is kind of stagnant with little variation. The big showdown is little more than the camera cutting to both sides firing off thousands of rounds of ammunition at each other. The stalking sequence with Norris and Rostov comes off much better.

At the time, INVASION USA was scoffed at for its depiction of foreign forces easily getting into the country; and once here using fear and confusion to turn the public against civic authorities, and even themselves while a bigger plan of conquest is put in motion. Unlike RED DAWN, this insurgency is limited to America. It was far-fetched back then (Reagan was president, after all), but not so much today what with the border wide open, inviting guests of all shapes and nationalities. With a seemingly disinterested attitude towards border patrol, a covert infiltration isn't beyond the realm of possibility. One need only look back to September 11th, 2001, and the few, smaller scale attacks in the last few years. America plunging into anarchy isn't so preposterous, either; which is what the terrorists attempt to do in methodical fashion till Rostov's nightmares of Chuck Norris force him to act irrationally. So while Cannon's nutty actioner is little more than laughably violent escapism, it does have an element or two that, at least in today's climate, might have been on to something.

 

INVASION USA was a modest success with $17,536,256 on an estimated 12 million budget. It was one of Cannon's biggest hits of that year, and reportedly became an even bigger hit on its videocassette release. Norris's other Cannon film from earlier in the year, MISSING IN ACTION 2: THE BEGINNING, made a little more than half of INVASION's haul with approximately 11 million. RAMBO: FIRST BLOOD 2 and ROCKY 4 were the winners that year with both surpassing the 100 million mark.

Chuck was originally tapped to headline a sequel to this movie, but scheduling conflicts kept him from reprising the role. Cannon had announced Norris returning as the character in a film to be titled 'Night Hunter'. The picture did get made, but as AVENGING FORCE (1986), and starring Michael Dudikoff as Matt Hunter. The plot wasn't as ambitious, settling for a smaller scale, 'The Most Dangerous Game' type scenario.

The personification of the big dumb action movie, INVASION USA could be viewed as a parody on genre conventions. Schwarzenegger's COMMANDO (1985), released earlier in the year, was of the same exaggerated pedigree. Sharing similarities with the previous years RED DAWN, Zito's movie is a cartoon by comparison. Critics hated it, yet it wasn't designed to cater to critics; this is an audience movie. An audience that loves popcorn. One of the most outrageously macho movies of all time, this INVASION is high in testosterone content, and low on filler.

This review is representative of the MGM DVD.

Red Dawn (1984) review

 

RED DAWN 1984

Patrick Swayze (Jed), Charlie Sheen (Matt), C. Thomas Howell (Robert), Lea Thompson (Erica), Jennifer Grey (Toni), Darren Dalton (Daryl), Brad Savage (Danny), Doug Toby (Aardvark), Ben Johnson (Mr. Mason), Harry Dean Stanton (Mr. Eckert), Ron O'Neal (Colonel Ernesto Bella), William Smith (Strelnikov), Powers Booth (Lieutenant Colonel Andy Tanner)

Directed by John Milius

The Short Version: It's America vs. Russia. Freedom vs. Communism in Milius's macho 'What If' interpretation of WWIII enacted on these shores, and centered on a small Colorado town. At its core, RED DAWN is a Coming of Age tale told through the gun barrels of high school kids turned guerrillas against Soviet, and Latin American enemies chomping at the bit to trample the land of the free, and the home of the brave. An entertaining macho fantasy, the film resonates more today than it did back then. Notable for featuring a lot of future movie stars, and for being the first film released bearing the PG-13 rating. If you're a survivalist; or ever collected Soldier of Fortune magazine; or yearn for the better days of the 1980s, RED DAWN most likely holds a special place in your red, white, and blue heart.

The Soviet Union and their Latin American allies invade the United States of America capturing and executing people left and right in a bid to take the entire country. A small band of Colorado high school students scrape together as many supplies and guns as they can, head for the wilderness and form a resistance, using guerrilla tactics against the foreign occupation.

Movies are often reflections of the time periods in which they are made. RED DAWN is one such picture. The United States of America was in a very robust, influential position as the leading Super Power in the world. Bolstered by a strong economy and formidable military, an invasion by an enemy threat was highly unlikely, but not impossible. Like any classic tale of good and evil, every hero needs its villain, and America's was the Soviet Union. The Cold War was heating up between them, and the fear of a nuclear assault was ever present via heavy bombardment from media outlets and propagandists at home and abroad. Sensing singing cash registers in their heads, Hollywood took full advantage to make money off of this palpable threat.

The impetus of macho bravado in the 1980s, John Milius amassed his entire 'hairy man' arsenal to deliver a violent, melodramatic account of American patriotism doubling as a coming of age tale; and with a touch of the Old West thrown in for good measure. Milius's 'What If' scenario toys with the country's perceived invincibility (something that would ultimately be taken for granted by the new millennium); centering on a group of Colorado high school students combating a growing insurgency that has, as per Powers Booth's dialog, stretched beyond the US, and onto a global scale. Naming their group 'Wolverines' -- so named for their high school football team -- this band of kids and young adults prove to be fearsome opponents for the Russian and Cuban adversaries. To underestimate an enemy is to welcome defeat. The bad guys expect the military to retaliate, but not the populace; and especially not with the level of ferocity they bring.

The cast is a perfect blend of young up and coming stars and seasoned veterans. Performances are all fairly strong considering the cast is rather large, although not everybody gets a lot of time to flex their acting muscles. It doesn't really matter that much as this is a fairly linear action story about a ragtag band of freedom fighters versus an evil invading empire (which is how the Russians were described at the time) attempting to take everything dear to them, including their lives in some cases. Not all the youngsters wish to fight, though; fear prevents them from initially defending themselves. It's only after they witness family members gunned down by firing squad that they all make the decision to fight for their homeland. In time, these youthful warriors adopt, rather proficiently, a survivalist mentality, ultimately outsmarting the invaders. Milius, ever the master of movie martyrdom, devises some heroic exits for his cast, too.

Patrick Swayze is the leader of the pack. A major 80s heartthrob, Swayze was an extremely versatile actor. He wasn't solely an action star. He differentiated himself from the likes of Stallone and Eastwood by headlining dramas in addition to action vehicles. Men wanted to be him, and women wanted to be WITH him. He wasn't a big guy, but he could press a few hundred pounds of charisma. Some of his action films include UNCOMMON VALOR (1983), STEEL DAWN (1987), ROAD HOUSE (1989), and BLACK DOG (1998).

Before he became a SOUL MAN (1986), C. Thomas Howell was a Wolverine. His character is arguably the most interesting of this Wild Bunch. There's an early sequence where he's hunting with Swayze and Sheen. He gets his first kill and Swayze tells him he has to drink the blood of the deer to absorb its spirit -- apparently taken from Native American rites of passage. Charlie Sheen follows that up with the statement that after drinking the blood, something about him will change. This proves prophetic as Howell's character definitely undergoes a transformation. He turns from a young high school kid to a hard-hearted killing machine.

Ron O'Neal, SUPER FLY (1972) himself, plays the Latin American invader, Colonel Bella. He, too, is a bit of a complicated character. He's the only one of the bad guys written with a modicum of sympathetic characteristics. By the end of the movie, he, too -- like Howell's character -- undergoes a change. Ron was also seen in the talky, pretentious THE MASTER GUNFIGHTER (1975); the Chuck Norris actioner A FORCE OF ONE (1979); and the time travel adventure, THE FINAL COUNTDOWN (1980).

A Milius movie with William Smith is almost too much macho for one film to handle, even with Smith playing the supporting role of the Russian commander Strelnikov. Smith spoke Russian (and a few others), so this role fit him like a glove. Playing good guys and bad guys in hundreds of movies and TV shows, Smith has starred in movies like RUN, ANGEL, RUN (1969), THE LOSERS (1970), HAMMER (1972), INVASION OF THE BEE GIRLS (1973), GRAVE OF THE VAMPIRE (1974), BOSS NIGGER (1975), HOLLYWOOD MAN (1976), ANY WHICH WAY YOU CAN (1980), CONAN THE BARBARIAN (1982), RUMBLE FISH (1983), and EYE OF THE TIGER (1986).

Not everybody saw RED DAWN as escapist entertainment with patriotic leanings. In discussing RED DAWN, it's virtually impossible to do so without bringing politics into it. It's one of those movies that bothered leftists and communists back then (the latter call themselves progressives today), and that sentiment continues three decades running.

Certain critics laughed it off as right-wing hysteria, or propaganda as they always do for anything remotely pro-America. It was the 1980s, after all. It was a great time for the country. The economy was rebounding in a massive way after a disastrous downturn from the Carter administration. Money and jobs were in abundance, and the populace enjoyed a great sense of safety that is all but non-existent in today's climate. With that feeling of security, what better time to play with public sensibilities while simultaneously emboldening the patriotic spirit of the audience. Milius's intention with this movie was to show what COULD happen. Again, this was a film to stir an emotional response in its viewers and entertain them for two hours. To look at RED DAWN for its historical significance, at that time, such an invasion was preposterous, but in the America of today, it doesn't seem all that far-fetched.

With a booming economy, the right leader at the country's helm, an imposing adversary in the form of Russia's Communist regime, and the nuclear arms race at the center, films about the outbreak of nuclear war, or, as RED DAWN depicts, a national invasion, were ripe for the making. In early 1982, a miniseries titled WORLD WAR III premiered on network television. It remains mostly a forgotten artifact; it's of note mostly because the original director, Boris Sagal, was killed three days into filming after he accidentally walked into the rear rotary blade of the helicopter he stepped out of.

In 1983, another Made For TV film, THE DAY AFTER, was a response to the nuclear threat. I remember we were in school, and were shown the film in class one day. Needless to say, it scared the hell out of all of us. It was like a horror movie with the worst parts being the aftermath as opposed to the initial bombings. RED DAWN had a similar reaction to us kids that saw it at a very young age.

Other films confronted foreign threats of one sort or the other; two of the most well known chest-thumpers being INVASION USA (1985) and ROCKY IV (1985). The former was the ultra-violent comic book version of RED DAWN while the latter was among the biggest hits of both Sylvester Stallone and the decade; not to mention one of the prime examples of the 80s born and bred USA vs. Russia schematic.

A limp-wristed remake of John Milius's original surfaced in 2012. To compare the two eras and films, one can surmise by the current lowly state of the country. For example, the original villains of the 2012 piece were the Chinese. In a bid to not offend them (they do own a great deal of our debt, mind you), a lot of digital enhancement was utilized to turn everything Chinese into everything Korean. Yes, the PC Rangers once more rode in on their high-horses as they often do these days. On another note, this remake was shot in 2009 and remained on a shelf for three years. 

Basil Poledouris is perfectly chosen, and once again composes an heroic score. His cues for RED DAWN range from militaristic marches, to stirring action pieces. The opening theme is a soaring, yet ominous cue that sums up the mood of the film; while the fast-paced end theme is a rousing coda to those who fought and died throughout the films 114 battle-hardened minutes.

RED DAWN still holds up remarkably well today; mostly because it represents a better, safer time period when most people worked hard for what they owned, which only meant they'd be more inclined to fight for it. Flashing forward 30 years, its macho fantasy proclivities feel more realistic and tangible than it did back then -- reinforcing its 'What If' scenario. Taking current events of the last 10 to 14 years into consideration, RED DAWN feels less like a product of its era, than a look into a possible future for a nation that has lost some spangles in its starry banner.

This review is representative of the MGM Blu-ray.