Red Scorpion is a 1988 American action film starring Dolph Lundgren and directed by Joseph Zito. Lundgren appears as a Soviet special forces ("Spetsnaz") operative sent to assassinate an anti-communist rebel leader in Africa, only to side with the rebels. It was produced by lobbyist Jack Abramoff and controversially filmed in South West Africa with the support of the apartheid-era South African government. The film was released in the United States on April 21, 1989. It is the first installment in the Red Scorpion film series.
Plot
Lieutenant Nikolai Petrovitch Rachenko, a Soviet Spetsnaz operative from Ukraine, is sent to an African country in which Soviet, Czechoslovakian and Cuban forces are helping the government fight an anti-communist rebel movement. He is tasked with the mission to assassinate the rebel leader. Rachenko infiltrates the rebel movement and to get within striking distance of his target, he stirs up trouble in the local bar and gets arrested for disorderly conduct. He is put in the same cell as a captured resistance commander and gains his trust in facilitating the escape. Upon finally reaching the rebel encampment, he is met with distrust by the rebels. During the night, he attempts to assassinate his target, but the distrustful rebels anticipate his actions.
Disgraced and tortured by his commanding officers for failing his mission, he breaks out of the interrogation chamber and escapes to the desert, later to be found by native Bushmen. He soon learns about them and their culture, and after he receives a ceremonial burn scar in the form of a scorpion (hence the title), he joins the rebels and leads an attack against the Soviet camp after a previous attack on the peaceful bushmen. Nikolai obtains an experimental assault rifle from the armory, confronts his corrupt officers and hunts down General Oleg Vortek, who attempts to escape in a Mil Mi-24 Hind, only to be shot down after takeoff. Nikolai defeats and kills Vortek, as the rebels finally defeat the Soviet forces who were assisting the government.
Cast
Dolph Lundgren as Lieutenant Nikolai Petrovitch Rachenko
With all the delays and productions issues, the film went over budget by 8-10 million dollars (approximately twice the initial amount).[9]
Abramoff later claimed that he did not intend the film to contain so much violence and profanity, blaming the director. He established a short-lived "Committee for Traditional Jewish Values in Entertainment" to release films more in line with his values, but later abandoned the project, because it would not meet his standards.[10]
Release
Theatrical
Red Scorpion screened at the 1988 MIFED film market, and was first released theatrically in South Korea in late December 1988, then the Philippines,[11] West Germany, and Japan in January 1989, then in the United States on April 21, 1989. The movie was released theatrically worldwide except in the United Kingdom (where it went "direct to video" in January 1990).
The film has been released on Blu-ray special editions in the U.K. by Arrow Video on 6th Feb 2012, and in the U.S. by Synapse Films on June 12, 2012.[12]
Reception
Critical response
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Leonard Maltin gave the film a "bomb" rating, citing it to be a "bottom-of-the-barrel actioner".[13]Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times described it as "a numskull live-action comic book" that, despite showing Lundgren's charisma, is likely to hurt his career.[14]Stephen Holden of The New York Times wrote that Lundgren's physique is the film's true star, as it communicates more emotion than his acting.[15] Noel Murray of The A.V. Club gave a more positive review, stating that "If Abramoff’s intention was to make the case for military intervention in communist-controlled countries, then Red Scorpion falls well short. But if he wanted to prove that America is the world leader in awesome pop trash, then the closing-credits soundtrack of rock ’n’ roll and artillery fire says it all. Mission accomplished."[16]
