DVD Report: Invasion U.S.A. starring Chuck Norris (1985)

DVD coverNothing says 1985 like a couple Uzis fired effectively from the hip. Except maybe some Chinese throwing stars killing people instantly. This film has plenty of the former, none of the latter.

As I have mentioned, this is one of my favorite Christmas movies. This also qualifies as one of those films that I watched over and over on Showtime in the middle 1980s, so it’s got a place of affection in my heart. How does it hold up?

Well, the bad guys are the Russians, and 25 years later, it’s not the Russians who provide a realistic cinematic foil for heroes. It’s the Nazis and the North Koreans, somehow. The protagonist is an American, called “cowboy” by the attractive-in-an-80s-way photojournalist who joins up with him. In short, it’s a film that was mainstream in the 1980s, but its themes seem dated by modern Hollywood mores. Which might account for continuing domestic box office decline.

So, as I said, I watched it over and over in the olden days, but I didn’t remember much but for some of the scenes. The rewatching filled in many of the blanks for me, the biggest of which was why the doings of one man in Florida could impact a nationwide covert infiltration. The film does account for it with a sort of honeypot strategy in the climax. So the film held up in the plot better than I remembered.

Also, it should be noted, this is a Chuck Norris movie. If you don’t already own it, you must click one of the convenient links in this post and purchase it.

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