Cobra ** (1986, Sylvester Stallone, Brigitte Nielsen, Reni Santoni) – Classic Movie Review 7648

Director George Pan Cosmatos reunites with Sylvester Stallone after Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985) for the 1986 action thriller Cobra, based on the novel Fair Game by Paula Gosling, with a screenplay by Stallone himself.

Stallone goes on the Clint Eastwood trail as a mean, tough but good Los Angeles cop, LAPD Lieutenant Marion Cobretti, going after the usual serial killers but blocked by the stereotyped thick colleagues. Not surprisingly, Marion prefers to be called by his nickname of Cobra. These serial killers are members of a murderous cult called The New World, targeting the weak. Cobra has to protect young model Ingrid (Brigitte Nielsen), the only surviving witness, from the killers.

Cardboard cutout characters and poorly written, unconvincing dialogue are the order of the day for this populist, bargain-basement thriller material.

It is robust enough, but slightly below par for an Eighties Stallone vehicle, not particularly well done or well played, except for some effective bursts of action. Cosmatos brings some energy and enthusiasm to the project. The derivative movie even has Dirty Harry bad guy Andrew Robinson as co-star.

Also in the cast are Reni Santoni, Lee Garlington, John Herzfeld, Art LaFleur, Brian Thompson, David Rasche, Marco Rodríguez and Val Avery.

The 6′ 1″ Great Dane Nielsen was married to Stallone at the time of filming (15 December 1985 – 13 July 1987).

© Derek Winnert 2018 Classic Movie Review 7648

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