One of the best examples of the eighties action film would have to be this excellent 1986 offering featuring Sly Stallone as the "Cobra", your typical outsider badass police type who handles all the dangerous cases most cops don't care to deal with. A city, perhaps L.A. (to drunk to remember the name), is under siege by the "Night Slasher", a madman who's responsible for a multitude of slayings in recent months. Actually, it's not just one single killer but a whole freaking gang that likes to hang out in empty warehouses and clang axes and hammers together as they proclaim their "new way of the world". What this exactly entails we're never told, but ah, I just assumed it wasn't anything to good. These scumbags take delight in offing innocent civilians, and you just know that old Sly is not going to stand for that bullshit. Leggy Brigitte Nielson plays a model that gets a good look at the head of the nasty gang, and pretty soon she is their next target. Narrowly escaping being murdered by the thugs, she is placed under the protective care of the Cobra and we are soon treated to tons of gunfights, car chases, explosions and enough cheesy one-liners to satisfy any fan.

. This flick is classic eighties action fare, what with Sly taking out practically a whole army of thugs without getting a scratch, and even right down to the scenes of him stocking up on mucho weaponry and the like. His character is pretty much a rip off of Clint Eastwood's "Dirty Harry", in that he's the "shoot first and ask questions later" type who gets the job done, but is constantly nagged by the straight laced police commissioner. I consider the opening segment, in which Sly takes out a scumbag in a supermarket to be classic stuff, especially the "you're the disease and I'm the cure line"...you gotta love that shit. If not, you're simply not human. Interestingly enough, the Cobra character is actually allowed to show some humor and personality, and is much different from the "Rambo" vein of things. For a change, that was refreshing to see. The pace is always moving along at a nice clip, and I even found the Stallone/Nielson romance angle to be somewhat enjoyable...perhaps I'm getting soft in my old age, huh? Kudos also must be given to actor Brian Thompson who in a very sweaty and psychotic performance plays the lead killer to perfection. An extremely cheesy and fun film from start to finish, highly recommended with a case of Coors and some good buddies.