Missing in Action 2: The Beginning
Short description
Set during the Vietnam War, this action drama follows Colonel James Braddock, an American officer taken prisoner along with a group of his men. Held in a jungle camp run by the sadistic Colonel Yin, the captives are subjected to physical and psychological abuse aimed at breaking Braddock's resolve. He eventually manages to escape, but instead of simply fleeing to safety he returns to take on the camp and free the men still held there. The film serves as a prequel to Missing in Action, showing how Braddock came to be listed as missing in action, with Chuck Norris leading the cast as Braddock and Soon-Tek Oh playing his captor, Colonel Yin. Steven Williams, John Wesley and Professor Toru Tanaka appear in supporting roles.
Lance Hool directed the film, the first in his directing career ahead of Steel Dawn in 1987 and 2 Hearts in 2020. It was written by Steve Bing, Larry Levinson and Arthur Silver, and produced by Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus for Cannon Group and Golan-Globus Productions. Made on a budget of about 2 million dollars, it took roughly 11 million dollars worldwide, a strong return on its cost.
On TMDB it holds a rating of 5.8 out of 10 from 349 votes, indicating a mixed audience response.
What's left behind the scenes
- Filming had to be interrupted repeatedly because Chuck Norris kept eating the prop insects placed on him.
- Chuck Norris requested that the scene in which Franklin is burned alive be filmed in a single take. He stated that to realistically portray his reaction, he would have to think of his own brother who died in Vietnam, and for that reason, he wanted to limit the scene to one take.
- The scene in which Braddock, played by Chuck Norris, is tortured by having a rat tied to his neck was originally intended to be filmed with a prop animal; however, for some reason, the prop was not delivered to the set. According to Chuck Norris, he insisted that the filmmakers use a real dead rat, which he then had to put in his mouth according to the script.
- The film marked the directorial debut of Lance Hull.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
