From the Vault: Cobra (1986)

With The Expendables 3 exploding into cinemas next week, it seemed only right to give a reappraisal to some of the stars’ back catalogue efforts.

Cobra, in case you didn’t know, is a Sylvester Stallone actioner from 1986, a halcyon period for action junkies where the flimsiest of plots was draped over their muscle-bound stars and dressed up in lashings of outlandish violence.

Let’s face it, any film that proudly screams as its poster tagline ‘Crime is a disease – meet the cure’ is not likely to have powerhouse acting performances as its central core.

But the thing that really does strike you when you re-watch the likes of Cobra is just how basic the storyline actually is.

Now there are plenty of movies of this ilk around today, but they are purely straight-to-DVD efforts, rather than high-profile big-budget cinema releases.

But back in the ‘glory days’ of the 80s the star was the thing, rather than the concept, as Stallone himself admitted recently.

In Cobra, directed by George Cosmatos, Sly plays LA cop Marion Cobretti (see what they did there), who is on the trail of a serial killer known as the Night Slasher (Brian Thompson).

Slammed by his bosses (including Andrew Robinson) for his rough-house tactics, Cobretti shoots, kicks, punches and swears his way through the Los Angeles underworld.

Every cliché is in evidence, from Stallone chomping on a tooth-pick to tankers exploding in a fireball after they are shot once.

There is nothing to stretch the grey matter, but it certainly succeeds in being entertaining.

And, not only that, but you also get the added oddity of Brigitte Nielsen popping up as the damsel in distress.

With plenty of over-the-top violence, corny one-liners by the bucketload and a soundtrack that could only exist in a mid-80s cheesy flick, Cobra is well worth checking out.

And, if you don’t believe me (and haven’t seen the film) then please, please check out the truly magical hunk of cheese that is the Cobra trailer below: