Invasion U.S.A. Review

MPAA Rating: R
Released: 1985

The 80's powerhouse duo of Golan and Globus struck again with Invasion U.S.A., an action-packed popcorn flick that starred Chuck Norris as an ex-federal agent asked to take on a special mission to hunt down a notorious Russian terrorist that is leading a foreign army within America's shores. This paranoid Cold War film explores such concepts as a nation in turmoil, martial law, suspension of Constitutional rights and other related and equally intriguing subjects, all wrapped within a blanket of red, white and blue patriotism as America's tough guy dishes out some homebrewed justice to the invaders.

A Cuban ship full of refugees headed towards Florida is floating aimlessly in the ocean, its engine dead. Hope arrives in the form of a U.S. military ship, and when the commander bids them "Welcome to the United States!" the Cubans cheer with jubilation. One minute later, the commander and his crew gun down every last man, woman and child. So begins the endless body count known as Invasion U.S.A.

Later we find out that the U.S. crew was brutally murdered and replaced by Mikhail Rostov (Richard Lynch), a cold-blooded Russian terrorist that is laying down the groundwork for the invasion of America. Apparently there was a good deal of drugs hidden within the ship, which Mikhail is using as trade for some heavy-duty military equipment.

Mikhail meets with the weapons smuggler, gives him the cocaine and gets the military equipment cleared for pickup. Just in case you weren't sure that this Russian was a bit on the antisocial side, Mikhail reinforces the fact by shooting his business partner in the groin repeatedly when his partner extends his hand for a handshake. He also smashes a woman's head as she's sniffing cocaine, sending the metal straw up her nose before tossing her out a window.

Next we're introduced to Matt Hunter (Chuck Norris), an ex-government agent that has retired in the swamps of Florida. He owns a pet armadillo and wrestles alligators with his buddies – a real rural type of guy. When a government agent visits and asks him to take up a special job – killing Mikhail Rostov – Hunter refuses. Apparently there's some bad blood between him and the government since he wasn't permitted to kill Rostov during a past encounter.

It's never explained exactly what history Rostov and Hunter share, but it must have been a whopper considering Mikhail is afflicted with serious nightmares about Hunter. In fact Mikhail refuses to continue on with his mission unless he kills Hunter first:

Nikko: Please Mikhail, leave Hunter alone. He's not a threat.
Mikhail: As long as he's breathing he's a threat.

As to be expected from an 80's action flick, the bad guy makes a very common mistake by taking a bazooka to Hunter's home and killing his friend. Hunter survives the attack and decides it's time to teach Mikhail a lesson. Before he begins his mission he decides to torch the remnants of his home and his friend's body. You'd think an ex-agent would know the value of leaving evidence for a subsequent investigation, but I guess such details don't really matter in the grand scheme of things. Burn, baby, burn.

If you haven't already decided that Mikhail is an unlikable guy the director (Joseph Zito) crafts a nice little speech designed to insult the audience and get them rooting for Hunter:

Mikhail: America has not been invaded by a foreign enemy in nearly 200 years. Look at them, Nikko. Soft. Spineless decadence. They don't even understand the nature of their own freedom or how we can use it against them. They are their own worst enemy, and they don't know it.

In a nutshell Mikhail is spearheading an invasion of terrorists that arrive on a fleet of pontoon boats during the dark of the night. The terrorists scatter into various pockets and strike terror into Americans across the nation (though the film is centered in Florida). Mikhail grins with glee as he fires a bazooka at homes in a sleepy neighborhood preparing for Christmas, terrorists dress as police or soldiers and gun down civilians, and enemy forces try to bomb everything from Dadeland Mall to a school bus full of children.

The citizenry starts rioting and turning against the authorities since they don't realize the disguised terrorists are responsible for killing civilians. Hunter drives around in a beat-up old pickup trying to prevent as many terrorist plots as possible. The United States government calls martial law and sends the army on the streets to help try and suppress the violence and chaos. There's even talk of Constitutional rights being suspended during this "invasion."

Invasion U.S.A. is cheese – of that there's little doubt – but it's pretty entertaining cheese. I really enjoyed the invasion premise behind the movie and regret that such films as this, Red Dawn and Amerika are no longer created. Cold War paranoia made way for some great movies.

Chuck Norris plays his character without much emotion, but his action scenes are satisfying and he gets the chance to spit out quite a few humorous one-liners as he takes out terrorists. Richard Lynch also gives a delicious performance as the obsessed and fanatical mastermind behind the slaughter. The rest of the actors in this film matter little – they're basically in the movie to add to the body count… and a huge count it is. Invasion U.S.A. may possibly have the highest death count of any movie made.

My only serious criticism comes in the form of the ending – it felt too inconvenient and unnatural. I won't divulge it so as not to spoil the film, but after laying out such a rich plotline and establishing the chaos of a nation under assault by an unknown enemy, Invasion U.S.A. settled for a cheap and easy way out. Now granted this is a mindless action flick so one shouldn't expect anything too epic, but I was still left wanting more.

Invasion U.S.A. isn't a great film, but if you enjoy the 80's action films that Cannon Films were so well known for releasing you'll probably find this movie to be an entertaining diversion. They just don't make ambitiously cheesy films like this anymore.

Movie rating : 7 stars

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