Dolph is at it again, but this is NOT a Christmas movie.This is a movie that is like Rambo, but without Rambo. Instead? Dolph.When his makers named him they must have been like, "Whoops. We named him DOLPH."But alas, he overcame that and then became the RED SCOPION, which is also the title of this film.I haven't seen it in awhile, and I've only seen it once, but like the creation of Dolph, once is enough.If you are scared of scorpions or the colour red, this is not the movie for you.

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.

I'm pumped that Synapse films gave this the proper treatment on bluray ( my first generation DVD is basically VHS quality ). Red Scorpion is a bit underrated in my opinion. It came out at the end of the cold war and around this time action movies were still in demand , but less than a few years previous . I love the action genre and while movies like Commando and Rambo First Blood pt.2 came first and are better films, this movie is similar and delivers . This is by no means a drama , just a pure action film with lots of one liners and a high body count. Dolf Lundren plays Soviet super soldier who switches sides and did a fine job in this one man army flick . M.Emmet Walsh is great in this and completely hilarious . Brion James is a great heavy and director Joe Zito blows up half of the continent of Africa. If the same movie came out in 1986 it would be much more popular , but if you want action this movie was made for you. Also, like Predator you get the music of Little Richard.

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