Customer Reviews

Red Scorpion

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Dolph plays a Soviet agent (Nikolai) who is sent to Angola (I think) to kill the leader of a band of rebels. Eventually, he realizes he is on the wrong side of this conflict and joins the rebel army. There is a scene where Nikolai is rescued from the desert by a Bushman. I think the Bushman character is a nice touch. The whole movie may be more relevant to people who are familiar with Africa, the Congo in particular and the past political situations there. Dolph doesn't really have that many lines, however, he does deliver the action and convey the emotions. His costars (the guys who play the bushman, one of the rebel leaders and a reporter) are excellent.

I think this was one of Dolph's better movies. It does a pretty good job of representing the factions in Angola. It has a solid plot. Red Scorpion does what its supposed to do, which is make Dolph the savior of the people in Angola while showing off his body. Its unrealistic that one man is going to come along and single handedly end a war thats been going on for years (especially in Africa) but thats why its only a movie.

This was just too funny: the lines, the drunken singing, and the random bushman. Must see to believe. Worth your while if you love Mr. Dolph and his previous or recent work. Great for the whole family!

A lot of words have been spent describing, criticizing or simply discarding this movie. Pity, after all it's an inoffensive adventure movie a la Tarzan and as such it should be considered.

My three stars go out to the poor bushman who probably played himself and didn't get mentioned in the credits.

He's actually the reason why this movie is worth watching. All the rest is cheap anti-communism propaganda of the lowest and brainless level.

The director seems to tell us "Hey guys, the Communists got it up their a... in Afghanistan and in Africa too, so why should we blame our boys for having lost the Vietnam War?".

The script came from a spoiled child with too much time to do something useful with it.

And yet, despite all the "propaganda" bit, "Red Dawn" it is not... if you know what I mean. Thank God for that!

It's the simple story of a Spetnaz (the russian equivalent to Special Forces in the U.S. Army or the S.A.S. in the British Army) who gets an assignment as an undercover hitman to kill an African rebel leader.

Unfortunately for him, once in the midst of the Rebel group he starts to understand why they revolt and sympathises with their cause.

Bad mistake! He's captured by the Russian secret service, tortured and thrown out of the Spetnaz with dishonor.

Abandoned in the midst of an unknown African wilderness, he's suddenly confronted with the harshness of the land and must learn very fast how to survive in it.

Unfortunately for him some lessons learned are soon forgotten thanks to exhaustion and sleepiness. In fact, no sooner is he asleep that a very venomous scorpion decides to sting him.

The real movie starts here. Will he survive or not? Well, thanks to the said Bushman he gets his skin saved for a little longer.

At first, the giant Lundgren mocks the little man for being so primitive and so backward and seems to take pleasure at teasing him, despite his gratefulness for having being saved by the Bushman.

Very soon though the positions get reversed, and this is the really interesting plot twist of the movie. Lundgren is not a great actor, or even an actor at all, but in his clumsiness and genuine naivete' he gets through in convincing us about his helplessness out there in the wild.

Soon enough the wisdom of the old Bushman gets revealed to him and now a true friendship starts to ensue between two worlds as alien and as far apart as can be.

Not only do they become friends but start to respect each other as human beings, and out of this relationship comes the final strong reaction of Lundgren when he sees that the Bushman's entire village, family and friends have been wildly butchered by so-called "civilized" people. Lungren's own bunch.

While the Bushman hardly utters a word watching the scene and seems to linger in a state of deep shock at what he sees, Lundgren gets upset and swears to the old man that his family won't have died in vain.

A noble reaction, but probably one the Bushman wouldn't accept, also because it is not in his nature.

From here on the movie returns to his old actioner cliche' of Rambo's fame.

Naturally, somebody must have had some doubts on how to end the movie, but such doubts didn't last very long... Pity!

Lundgren seems more comfortable acting with the Bushman than surrounded by professional actors and at his level it is more than comprehensible. This is also where he is at his best.

So, in conclusion, if you are a Tarzan fan, this movie comes very close to that genre, with a touch of Rambism and a touch of Italian Stave Reeves' Hercules you may be served.

If you thought about a deep movie, this is absolutely not it.

It's pure escapism with a touch of sprinkled Pathos on top.

I would still recommend it just for the poor Bushman who did his job with honesty and generosity.

If you are an actor or a Drama student watch him carefully because you may still learn a thing or two about how an amateur can sometimes steal the show from a professional, despite his training and upbringing.

I only wished somebody someday will finally retrace the Bushman's name and include it on the DVD or VHS tape cover. He deserves it more than Lundgren...

I thought this movie was great, definitely one of Dolph's best, I thought he did an excellent job, as a quite killing machine, who was known as a man of few words. Some of the greatest action scenes as well, with terrific explosive effects. This movie has power, humor, excitement, and a great portray of how the Soviet Union is, with their communism. I was only 6 years old when this film came out, and went and saw it with my older brother at the theatres, and loved it even when i was just a little kid, but im not saying let a 6 year old watch this, that was a mistake for me to see it at that young,but Red Scorpion rocks, enjoy!!

If your into the rambo's and other 80's style action flicks, this one is also a good kicker. It has a good plot and decent action. Basically, a rock cold solider becomes alive and his empathy against the enemy turns as his own turns against him. It all winds up to an explosive ending with a slice of redemption.

Decent movie with some good action sequences, as long as you can overlook the .... acting?

It is rumored that Jack Abramoff earned roughly ten million dollars (after taxes) in his first and apparently only movie production. In other words, he was already a wealthy man before entering the political world of Washington, DC. Abramoff even wrote the screenplay along with another member of his family, Robert. Alas, this movie concerning the Cold War battles fought within the African hemisphere leaves much to be desired. Dolph Lundgren was still somewhat a major name in 1989 and could basically carry the movie all by himself. As matter of fact, that's precisely what he does! Red Scorpion was modestly successful only because of his involvement. Lundgren plays the role of a Russian special ops soldier who eventually sees the light and becomes an arch foe of the evil USSR. Character actor M. Emmet Walsh is a journalist willing to take great chances to get the story out about the viciousness of the Soviet empire. T.P. McKenna, Carmen Argenziano, and Brion James fill out the rest of the "name" cast. The plot makes little sense. It is the never-ending violence and action scenes which might halfway satisfy an unsophisticated audience. No, this movie doesn't even come close to winning any major motion picture awards.

Who should see this so-so action film? I would recommend only those who find the Jack Abramoff aspect of particular interest. Perhaps it might help one better understand his ultimate fall from grace. The man didn't create a cinematic masterpiece. Nonetheless, he deserves credit in sensing how best to make sure it turned a healthy profit.

David Thomson
Flares into Darkness

Dolph Lungren seems to be one of those actors with a brain who is always stuck with poor to average scripts! This movie is one of his better ones because he plays upon his strengths: physical abilities and intellectual capacity. His acting takes this average script one notch higher. Of all his movies, this and The Punisher are my favorites. My advice is to buy the movie, enjoy it, and don't admit to anyone that you have it!

The big guy gives a good performance showing his talent at kicking buts!It has a reasonable plot with a good moral to it and nice to see the good guys come through in a pinch. The accents are somehow suspicious, not the best Russian accents I have witnessed, but don't drag the film down. Good corny good guy, bad guy film but great to watch and easy to understand!