Red Scorpion

"First he was their weapon. Now he is their punishment."

An action film from the year 1988, directed by Joseph Zito and starring Dolph Lundgren.

Nikolai Rachenko is a Spetnaz who is given a mission to help Czechoslovakian and Cuban communists stationed in the fictional African country of Mombaka to get rid of the resistance leader Ango Sundata who′s opposing them. But he soon learns that the man is doing the right thing, and eventually joins him in his fight.

The film was followed by a loose sequel in 1995, where a Ragtag Bunch of Misfits special operatives are enlisted to take down an aspiring Nazi ideologists within American soil.

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Red Scorpion contains the examples of:

• Alliterative Name: Kallunda Kintash.
• An Arm and a Leg: When Zayas threatens Nikolai with a grenade, Nikolai shoots his arm off and Zayas ends blown up himself.
• Bar Brawl: Nikolai starts trouble in a bar as a ploy to get caught by the MPs and befriend Kallunda.
• Blond Guys Are Evil: Krasnov.
• Bulungi: Mombaka, where the film takes place. It′s obviously inspired by Angola and Mozambique.
• Chase Scene: The escape from Cuamo.
• Chekhov's Gun: Literal example with Zayas′s AO-63, which would be used by Nikolai during the Final Battle to kill both Zayas and Vortek.
• Child Soldiers: Seen among Sundata′s rebel camp.
• Cold-Blooded Torture: The Cubans subject Nikolai with this to some to get information about his purpose in Cuamo.
• Color-Coded Armies: Non-game example. The Soviets and the Czechs wear tan uniforms, the Cubans wear green, and Mombakan government soldiers wear camouflaged uniforms.
• Complexity Addiction: The initial plan to assassinate Sundata involves Nikolai gaining Kallunda′s trust by starting a Bar Brawl (getting thrown into his and Dewey′s cell in the process), escaping from said prison (killing numerous Soviet, Czech, and Cuban mooks in the process) and finally going to the rebels' camp. Which is proven to be completely pointless since Vortek decided to kill Sundata himself by launching an assault on the camp using motorized infantry with artillery, mortar, and Hind support.
• Cool Gun: Zayas′ AO-63.
• Curb Stomp Battle/Pendulum War: The Final Battle. Apparently the rebels are losing until Nikolai defects to their side.
• Defector From Decadence: Nikolai by the end of the movie.
• Dirty Communists: Classic Soviet kind and the rarely used Czechoslovakian and Cuban kind are present. You wouldn't know that the Czechs are present in this movie, though, given the fact that their flag is never seen in the movie.
• Dramatic Necklace Removal
• Eagle Land: Dewey is a mixed case. He′s a loudmouth who swears a lot and isn't really an ideal role model, but he is also reporter working to get local atrocities known and to bring peace to the land.
• General Ripper: Vortek, Nikolai′s superior.
• Hot-Blooded: Dewey. Quoth Nikolai with a grin:

"He′s very emotional man."

• Just Plane Wrong: The "Hind" used by Vortek is actually a Sikorsky S-62 with fake rocket pods and machine guns.
• Kubrick Stare: One rebel gives Nikolai one when he arrives to Sundata′s camp.
• The Lancer: Kallunda is this to Sundata.
• My Country, Right or Wrong: Nikolai relies on this when he has doubts about carrying out his mission. Later on he decides to rely on the Right Thing after his country betrays him.
• La Résistance
• Obligatory War Crime Scene: The village massacre, which along with Sundata′s death prompts Nikolai to defect.
• Precision F-Strike: The film′s very last words, quoth Nikolai:

"Fuckin-A!"

• Rare Guns: The AO-63 prototype in the movie, which is actually a mocked-up FN FAL.
• Rebel Leader: Sundata.
• Shirtless Scene: Nikolai.
• Sir Swearsalot: Dewey. For it is the right of an American!
• The Stoic: Nikolai, bordering on Dull Surprise.
• Tank Goodness: A T-34 tank tries to hinder the escape of Nikolai and company from Cuamo.
• Tanks, But No Tanks: Played with; a T-34-85 tank is present in the final battle. Given the fact that the T-34 is supplied to Soviet client states, the tank may belong to the Mombakan government instead of the Soviet/Czech/Cuban army.
• Too Dumb to Live: When Vortek sees Nikolai during the Final Battle, he tries to run away in his Hind instead of using it to kill Nikolai. This results with the pilot getting killed before it could take off and eventually Nikolai shoots up the Hind, taking Vortek with it.
• Use Your Head: Nikolai attacks his first opponent in the bar brawl with a headbutt.
• What Measure Is a Mook?: Nikolai had no problem gunning down his own even before he switched sides.

The sequel contains the examples of:

• Continuity Nod: Nikolai is briefly mentioned by his former mentor. Which is the only link between the two movies aside from the name.
• In Name Only: See Continuity Nod.
• Numbered Sequels
• Public Domain Artifact: The Spear of Longinus, though it is not shown to have the mystic properties like usually in fiction.
• Right-Wing Militia Fanatic
• Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: Initially.
• Those Wacky Nazis