Silly, predictable action movie is definitely topical and does deliver for formula fans. It's got a tough as nails hero, a story with some actual poignancy, and villains we'll love to see get what they deserve. It's got enough bloody squib action, various objects exploding into huge fireballs, and striking Philippines scenery to make it a pretty good time for fans of the genre.Chuck Norris once again essays the role of former Vietnam war P.o.W. James Braddock, who during the fall of Saigon tries to escape with his Vietnamese born wife Lin Tan Cang (Miki Kim). But she's forced to stay behind when she loses her papers during the melee, and Braddock is led to believe that she perished. 12 years later, he learns that not only is she still alive, but that they'd sired a son, Van (Roland Harrah III). Knowing full well that his government won't try to help him (they even try to STOP him), Braddock travels to Asia to retrieve his family and bring them home.This is NOT bottom of the barrel fare for the genre. It's certainly watchable, with expert action scenes and stunts. Chucks' brother and sometime director Aaron Norris, who'd been stunt coordinator on the first two flicks, does alright. The movie, written by James Bruner & Chuck himself, has some real heart. Of course, it might have even more if Chuck were more of an actor. But I digress. Chuck still reigns supreme as an ass kicker, and it's never in any doubt that he'll rise up righteous and snuff out the lives of such despicable scum as the Vietnamese general Quoc (Aki Aleong). Aleong is great fun, especially as he spits out the heros' name after the latest amount of damage done. The supporting cast is decent if somewhat nondescript. However, be sure to look for the eternally awesome Keith David in a small role as an Embassy gate captain.An entertaining diversion, made in the mold of "Uncommon Valor", "Rambo: First Blood Part II"...and "Commando", for that matter, with a good guy who's an army unto himself.Seven out of 10.

By combining the topical bent that remained a constant thread throughout the Missing In Action series with increased firepower and nearly unceasing action, this final segment of the trilogy may very well be the strongest of the bunch.The story deviates slightly from the POW focus found in the first two Missing In Action entries, and Braddock's impetus this time is his learning that the wife he thought was dead and the son he didn't know he had are sequestered within hostile territory in Vietnam. After being dismissed by interloping and incompetent CIA brass, Chuck designates himself a one-man infiltration squad and returns to the war-torn land to bring his family home.The nefarious General Quoc proves to be Braddock's most sadistic nemesis yet, and when our oft-abused hero's wife is murdered, his mission turns into a quest for vengeance. Captured by Quoc, Braddock and his son are subjected to a particularly harrowing bit of combined torture before escaping the enemy stockade, soon after which Chuck's son is caught yet again, thus setting the stage for Braddock's return to free his boy and launch the explosive bloodbath implied by the MIA moniker.Though ample time is spent developing the story, this installment of the franchise packs more action into the proceedings than either of the two films before it. The body count is likewise elevated, and Chuck spends a good chunk of the movie mowing down anyone wearing a Vietnamese military uniform with a variety of weapons. By far the coolest of the lot is a tri-barrelled assault rife that houses a machine gun, a revolving grenade launcher, and a nasty-looking bayonet, all used to great effect in a scene which features a would-be rapist being knifed in the chest and having an explosive canister burrowed into his guts. MIA3 is easily the goriest of the series, and the squib-happy special effects team seems to relish the opportunity to make every bullet hit explode toward the camera.As you'd expect, there's also plenty of the requisite silliness that goes hand in hand with the like-minded genre films of the era. My favorite turn of events revolves around a group of orphaned Amer-Asian children Norris "rescues," who, in the brief span of time they're in Braddock's presence, get imprisoned in a military installation, see dozens of their countrymen being violently slaughtered, are repeatedly shot at with machine guns, become involved in a precarious truck chase with missiles from a pursuing helicopter detonating all around them, and are forced to march miles through the Vietnamese jungles without food or water before Chuck finally loads the lot of them into a airplane... which he promptly crash lands.Despite some of the goofier moments (Chuck: "I don't step on toes... I step on necks"), MIA3 carries a fairly serious tone throughout, and much as the previous films drove home the real-world plight of American soldiers abandoned by their country during the conflict in Vietnam, Braddock sheds a little light on the civilian casualties of that dreadful war. The opening sequence in particular, set during the chaos amidst the fall of Saigon, features powerful images that wouldn't be out of place in one of the Oscar-ready portrayals of the Vietnam War fallout released during this same period. It certainly helps that the production values here are the highest of the series, and in that respect Braddock has aged better than its two predecessors (although the two cloying Journey copycat tunes that bookend the film definitely have not).General Quoc's final come-uppance isn't quite as impactive as it could be, but the film's closing moments provide a fitting conclusion to the story, and the series. General Braddock has ostensibly retired (I'm guessing that if Chuck had any interest in doing a Missing In Action 4, it would have happened by now), but the character's fairly short-lived screen presence proved to be a consistently entertaining sector of the '80s B-action canon. Even if Chuck Norris hadn't done roughly 400 other low-budget action movies like Braddock: Missing In Action III, I'd like to think that his legacy would be secured by the not-unsubstantial merits of this outing alone.

After the decidedly mundane sequel to the original film, this Chuck Norris outing served to re-stabilize the balance so to speak, albeit whilst seemingly contradicting the events of the previous entry. The story here concerns our unflappable all American hero, Colonel James Braddock who returns to Vietnam yet again (damn, they must be sick of him by now!) this time to rescue his wife who he previously believed to have been killed way back during the fall of Saigon. As it happens, Braddock is also somewhat surprised to find that he is additionally a father(!) But of course, matters seldom flow smoothly in these flicks and sure enough, barely have our long parted family been reunited before the Vietnamese army sour the occasion. Fear not, for not to let a pesky mere army put a damper on his plans, our man Braddock is soon running around with a handy arsenal and saving a whole mission full of children as he attempts to get them across the border into Thailand.OK, so this is far fetched beyond belief as were its predecessors in fact, but if you can manage to suspend your disbelief and go with the flow, you will likely thoroughly enjoy this feel good action acting.

i'll make this short. Braddocks back in Nam to save his family and to rescue the children. along the way he dishes out a few beat downs and blows some stuff up. this is the best in the series because it has a lot of action (the other 2 were a bit light on the action) and plenty of mindless, graphic violence. this film is cheesy and not going to win awards but its fun to watch and fans of chuck Norris will love it. my only real complaint is that the song that comes on at the beginning and end is really bad, i mean terrible. in a way this adds to the b movie fun of the film. i wish action films were still like this instead of the special effects overloaded junk we got nowadays. any way, fans of 80's action should definitely pick this up along with the other 2. 9/10