After the massive success of Rocky, Sylvester Stallone’s career was on the rise and he soon became a superstar. In between the sequels to his career-defining film and other films, Stallone starred in another career-defining film, First Blood. Based on the David Morrell novel of the same name, the film revolved around Vietnam veteran John Rambo. After a run-in with the local sheriff, Rambo inadvertently starts an all-out war with the local police. The movie ended up being a surprise hit, and it eventually got a sequel, Rambo: First Blood Part II. While the first one was more of a character study mixed with an action film, the sequel was just action. Despite the different tone, the sequel ended up being a massive hit, alongside Stallone’s Rocky IV released the same year. With Stallone’s ego rising, he teamed up again with Rambo II director George P. Cosmastos for 1986’s Cobra.
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Rating
Stallone stars as Marion Cobretti, aka Cobra, a hard-as-nails cop who plays by his own rules. After stopping a hostage situation, Cobra learns of a murderous cult led by the Night Slasher (Brian Thompson). One night, a young model named Ingrid (Brigitte Nielsen) witnesses the cult on one or their murder sprees. Soon, Cobra and his partner Gonzales (Reni Santoni) are assigned with protecting her and stopping the Night Slasher. All the while, Cobra is being chastised by the more by-the-books Detective Monte (Andrew Robinson). What follows is a series of car chases, motorcycle chases, and shootouts with the cult members. It all comes to a head when Cobra and the Night Slasher face off in a final confrontation. Will Cobra be able to take him down and save the girl, or will the Night Slasher’s murder spree continue?
If the plot summary seems a bit light, that’s mostly cause this movie’s plot is pretty straightforward. There is a reason for this that I’ll get into later, but first I’ll list the positives. For one, Stallone definitely carries the film as the lead, playing Cobra as a tough and cool cop. In contrast, Brian Thompson makes for an intimidating figure with his imposing figure, booming voice, and intense look. Another great draw here is that it features Andrew Robinson and Reni Santoni, both of whom were in Dirty Harry. When it gets going, the action is pretty good, especially with all the car chases and shootouts. The soundtrack, while odd at times, has some pretty cool 80s tracks, especially “Angel of the City” by Robert Tepper. On top of all that, the movie is fairly short at about 87 minutes, so it’s a pretty quick sit.
Unfortunately, for all the good things I can say about the movie, there’s also quite a few negatives. First off, not to be insulting, but Brigitte Nielsen’s acting is pretty mediocre, her line delivery being flat and stilted. Also, I mentioned how the plot is pretty straightforward and that it’s a fairly quick sit. This ties into the fact that this movie was heavily edited before its release, for content and for showings. Much of the violence had to be cut back to avoid an X-rating, so it comes off as fairly tame. Also, much of the story and character development was removed so that it would play theatrically more times per day. Because of this, there’s a lot that’s never explained and the villains have no motivation. It’s a shame because while it’s still fun, it could’ve been better. Overall, Cobra is a passable if somewhat disjointed action film.
