Delta Force 2

The original Delta Force was a classic. There was no surprise when its sequel was greenlit. However, if the rumours on the internet are to be believed, it suffered from numerous rewrites and had plenty of people with different ideas as to how it should play out. Not only that, but actor, Lee Marvin, died during parts 1 and 2, therefore taking him out of the entire sequel, obviously.

So, we're left with the square-jawed baddie-killer, Chuck Norris, all by himself, packed and ready to take on the next wave of faceless henchmen and thugs.

And he does okay. It's hard to put your finger on exactly what's missing from the second Delta Force. On the surface everything appears to be there: Chuck, action, fight scenes, outrageous stunts, explosions, evil bad guys - it's all there. But, despite it all, there still feels like there's something missing.

This time, instead of Middle Eastern terrorists, we have Columbian drug lords (who follow every stereotype of South American cultures ever) who have kidnapped a load of DEA agents and, not only that, but they've only gone and murdered Chuck's best friend and his family. Hence Chuck better dust his beard down and kill absolutely everyone he meets. Which he does.

It's all good harmless fun (if your definition of 'harmless fun' is 'killing thousands of people in gruesome and fiery ways), but, for some reason, definitely feels lesser to its predecessor. If you enjoyed the first, you'll probably enjoy the second, too. But, if you're new to the franchise, I'd advise checking out the first one before you sit down to this.

Is this the best movie ever made? Probably. Certain people have described this and other films starring Billy Drago as "sleeper hits". Well let me tell you something - I was wide awake when I watched this one. While the action scenes are classic, the most memorable portion of this film is the dialog. Without saying a word, Billy Drago commands a presence so powerful that I almost hid behind my couch while watching him. General Taylor's blatant violation of military procedure reveals his hatred for the Columbian drug lords. This is evident in one of his greatest quotes from this film, "Why don't you....shut the f**k up!". Simply powerful dialog. To any who deny this film's greatness, I say you are a fool who deserves death as quickly as possible. I have watched this masterpiece over 180 times, and each time I find something new and beautiful hidden within its recesses.

Aside from its propagandistic aspects (it seems to argue that America has the right to invade any foreign country in the name of "law and justice"), this is a standard, brainless actioner, with lots of explosions and large-scale stunts, but not much excitement. Billy Drago, as the slimy villain, is the film's only redeeming factor. (*1/2)

Delta Force colonel Scott McCoy (Chuck Norris) and his super secret military unit The Delta Force are called back into action due to the activities of a ruthless cocaine kingpin named Ramon Cota (Billy Drago). Cota is well protected, and seemingly untouchable, making him a very arrogant adversary. His empire has just kidnapped a couple of Federal agents, including Scotts' associate Bobby Chavez (Paul Perri). Also along for the ride are a gung-ho general (John P. Ryan) and a young woman (Begonya Plaza) who wants revenge.

Chuck and his filmmaker brother Aaron serve up more of the same in this sequel. It's got plenty of gunfire and explosions and enough of a body count (but not very much gore) to satisfy undemanding action genre fans. Having the enemy be a drug kingpin certainly does make the story topical. A lot of the characters are disposable types, but the actors all fit nicely into their roles. It does help to have old pros like Ryan ("Runaway Train") and Richard Jaeckel ("Grizzly") among the supporting cast. Ryan makes the most of the situation. Cast in one of his rare good-guy roles, he delivers a jovial performance and chews on the scenery a bit. Drago (Frank Nitti in the "Untouchables" feature film) once again offers a master class in supremely oily villainy. This creep is just pure evil, and can't die soon enough. People will also notice character actor Mark Margolis ('Breaking Bad', 'Better Call Saul') as a crooked general in league with Cota.

What could have been a more interesting set piece, when Scott is required to scale a mountain in order to reach Cotas' lair, isn't as satisfying as it could have been, but at least it offers something fresh in an otherwise formula plot.

Adequate pacing and a truly excellent, rousing score by Frederic Talgorn help to make this an agreeable diversion for action fans.

Six out of 10.

I'm not sure why "Delta Force 2" gets such a bad rap. Is it just because it's a sequel? Or is it because it was the film that came out just at the point when Chuck was transitioning from feature films to Direct-To-Video and Television?

In fact, is it really a "bad" film at all? Well, yes and no—depending on what your expectations are. For instance, is DF2 a bad film when compared with Norris' other films? Definitely not! This film is the pinnacle of the latter day Norris persona. He's the superconfident, superbearded superman of action, tough and gruff but also noble and likable. He a man of few words who shoots a lot of big guns, narrowly escapes a lot of very big, very orange explosions, and doles out justice to the bad guys with no second thoughts. (as a sidenote, this is very different from the early days Norris persona—a basically peaceable karateman pushed into action, often the pursued instead of the pursuer; sometimes he was mustachioed, sometimes his face was (gasp) naked.). The story is clichéd and the characters are clichés personified, but I don't think that was an accident. Cliché can be very effective in movies if used properly (see "Rocky"). DF2 pushes all the buttons—pushes them in all the right spots and pushes them hard. It doesn't try to be ironic, self-referential, a parody, or a "reimagining" of anything. Like a John Wayne western, it just is what it freaking is.

Is DF2 a good film in the B-Action film genre as a whole? If by that we mean the Bronson/VanDamme/Segal level genre, then the answer is another resounding "yes!" DF2 is an excellent example of the kind of simple action flick that no one makes for theatrical release anymore.

Is DF2 a good action film if your tastes run exclusively to higher budgeted, more elaborate action flicks like "Die Hard," the James Bond series, "Lethal Weapon," Tarrantino flicks and the like instead of lower budgeted action melodramas? Nah, no way in hell. In comparison to the $100 million action epics, the acting in DF2 is stiff, the action too basic, and the story style outdated by decades. Compared to the big studio tentpole Summer blockbusters, all Norris films are like home movies. To me personally, however, the line between these big budgeted action flicks and Chuck's is becoming thinner and thinner as time goes by (what at first seems like innovation soon becomes just another cliché as it is imitated by everyone everywhere, a la "The Matrix").

So—Delta Force 2. Good movie? The answer's either "hell yes!" "good lord, no!" depending on who you are.

Personally, I dig it.