Red Scorpion: A Great Dolph Lundgren Action Flick

Overview

Red Scorpion is an overlooked, gloriously over-the-top Dolph Lundgren action film. Lundgren plays Nikolai, a Soviet Spetsnaz operative sent to infiltrate African rebels and kill their leader. His plan to provoke a bar fight works a little too well: he ends up in prison, escapes with the others, and fails to complete his mission. After discovering that his Soviet commanders have deceived him, Nikolai switches sides and fights for the people he was sent to crush.

Action and Performances

The review balances the film’s blunt, macho action with a nod to Nikolai’s change of heart. After brutal torture and a journey alongside a local Bushman, he faces the Communists in a final stretch of explosive violence. Director Joseph Zito keeps the action moving, with tanks, big guns, and Lundgren making the mayhem look effortless.

The narrator jokes that young Lundgren looks barely 20 and can’t act “his way out of a set of Russian nesting dolls,” but still commands the screen. Dewey’s repeated encouragement for Nikolai to strip and swim—and the seemingly endless use of Little Richard’s “Long Tall Sally”—also get comic callouts.

Production and Reception

The film’s troubled production is part of the story. Producer Jack Abramoff moved the shoot from Swaziland to Namibia amid apartheid-era political backlash, helping prompt Warner Bros. to withdraw. Delays pushed the budget to $16 million, while the film earned only about $4 million.

A 1994 sequel has no real connection to the original. Despite its rough edges and commercial disappointment, the reviewer calls Red Scorpion an underrated action gem and gives it 8 out of 10 “Stalloons.”

Personalities Mentioned

• Dolph Lundgren
• Lewis Gossett Jr.
• M. Emmet Walsh
• Al White
• Joseph Zito
• Jack Abramoff
• Matt McComb