Movie Review: Invasion U.S.A. (1985)

Genre: Action  

Director: Joseph Zito  

Starring: Chuck Norris, Richard Lynch  

Running Time: 107 minutes  

Synopsis: Heavily-armed terrorists assembled by evil masterminds Rostov (Richard Lynch) and Nikko (Alexander Zale) land on a Miami beach, jump into waiting trucks, spread out into neighbourhoods, and start slaughtering civilians. Retired CIA Agent Matt Hunter (Chuck Norris) is Rostov's nemesis, and returns to action to stop the carnage. Meanwhile, a reporter (Melissa Prophet) tries to cover the story.

What Works Well: Retreading the America-under-attack threat from Red Dawn, this B-movie deploys a relatively large budget to unleash impressive destruction, including residential homes and a shopping mall slated for demolition in real life. The stunt performers are the real stars, dodging danger amidst the pyrotechnics. 

What Does Not Work As Well: The early scenes tracking the terrorists getting organized (involving the Coast Guard, a drug deal, and an arms depot) appear to be fragments of incomplete ideas, and the subsequent endless action set-pieces fail to coalesce into a movie. Despite the generous running time, not even rudimentary attempts are made to round-out the characters or describe the ultimate objective (or backers) of the ragtag invasion. A largely disinterested but absolutely indestructible Chuck Norris cruises through the action spouting a variety of one-liners but careful to maintain a singular expression.

Key Quote:

Rostov: 18 hours from now, America will be a different place.

All Ace Black Movie Blog reviews are here.