Diplomatic Immunity (I) (1991)

Man oh man, you folks aren't seeing the big picture (too focused on something else, it seems.) I was surprised to see this as a 1991 film, I could have sworn it was a 1980s movie. I mean, if you are a genre fan it has all the strong points. The revenge plot, the state department/CIA weasels who impede the hero because of "the man" selling the US people out over politics, the guitar rock soundtrack, the big hair on some of the characters, the weird art thing with the villain, I mean it goes on and on.. a local TV station used to show this a lot, could have sworn it was an 80s movie.. anyway Bruce Boxleitner plays a US Marine Corps Sergeant who is denied justice because a freaky crook is a diplomat and son of a political family in the apparently important foreign country of Paraguay, and of course Bruce isn't having that, so he gets out his .45 and goes chasing a Lear Jet on a runway in his Marine Corps jeep. When "the man" won't let him continue his pursuit to Paraguay he just goes anyway, where he meets BILLY F'N DRAGO! Yes, the man is back, and he actually plays a good guy in this one. Offered an arsenal, our man Bruce insists on only taking a .45 pistol and a knife, and proceeds to use them to good effect.

This is easy to accept because the political family and their hired bodyguards are obviously sleazy. Of course one can argue that local uniformed military and police are "just doing their job" no matter who is in power, but you still have to cheer when Bruce whacks them by the boatload anyway.

And yes, there is Ms. Udenio, who has been a staple of all manner of films (incuding Austin Powers among many) and who apparently is featured to greater extent in the video release than the TV version I have seen. Oh well. The point is, if you like action flicks, especially 1980s style ones, this one hits all the buttons, has suitably freaky villains, kicka$$ heroes, characters going from bad to good, from good to bad, from bad to worse, and some great plot twists. If you are up late some night and see this one about to come on, you could do a lot worse than sit back and have a cheer as Bruce busts loose and does all the stuff they wouldn't let him do on Scarecrow and Mrs. King to kill waves of foreign bad guys. If that isn't enough then Drago's line delivery and Udenio's presence should help. Not to mention the guitar rock soundtrack and the scenery that stands in for Paraguay. (Where did they shoot this one? I'll have to check this page. Wherever it was, it serves the purpose pretty well.) Not as big budget as a some actioners of the time, but much better acted than most.