Bullet Points: Delta Force 2: The Colombian Connection
When I was thinking of the best way to kick off our month long celebration of Bulletproof Action’s 10th Actionversary, I remembered the site’s very first post, way back on August 29th, 2014. It was on that day that my colleague, Chad Cruise, reviewed The Delta Force. Then I realized that since that time, no one had actually reviewed the 1990 follow-up, Delta Force 2: The Colombian Connection.
Truth be told, my first time watching Delta Force 2 was at some point in the past decade. And there were some standout moments in the movie that stuck with me… the whole freefalling scene, the big action finale with the off-roading limousine and of course, Chuck Norris. But unfortunately, on that initial viewing, I found myself mentally preoccupied with what Delta Force 2 was lacking compared to the 1986 original… there’s no Steve James, there’s no Lee Marvin and there was no Alan Silvestri score. This, no doubt, impacted my enjoyment of the 1990 follow up.
Let me tell you, a rewatch can do a movie good. Not only did I get to relive the moments I enjoyed the first time around, I also had a much greater appreciation for what Delta Force 2 did have…
- Elite Level Villain: The movie begins in Rio de Janeiro during the annual Carnival celebration. The DEA (Drug Enforcement Agency for those in the know) has undercover agents mixed in with the revelers, as well as a surveillance crew in a van nearby… they are there to locate and capture known drug lord, Ramon Cota (Billy Drago, Death Ring). But Cota was tipped off and he turns the table on his DEA adversaries. The surveillance team is brutally massacred, leaving the agent in charge of the operation, John Page (Richard Jaeckel, The King of the Kickboxers) horrified and defeated, with Cota leaving a video message for Page, reminding Page that they will never catch him. This is a great introduction to the Ramon Cota character, but when it comes to being evil, he’s just getting started! When Cota returns to his empire in San Carlos, South America… he gleefully destroys the family of a beautiful woman name Quiquina, in a matter of moments. And that won’t be the only family Cota destroys before it is all said and done.
- Elite Level Hero: We are re-introduced to Col. Scott McCoy (Chuck Norris, Invasion U.S.A.) as he is out to eat with his fellow Delta Force member and friend, Major Bobby Chavez and Bobby’s pregnant wife, Rita. When some hooligans are being rowdy and rude to the restaurant staff a few tables over, McCoy excuses himself and handles the situation. But McCoy and Bobby are going to have much bigger fish to fry… After the massacre in Rio, The Delta Force is called in to assist the DEA in bringing in Ramon Cota. And they bring him in, in spectacular fashion… forcing Cota to leave his cushy first class seat and off an airplane in a non-traditional manner. Unfortunately “Teflon Ramon” ends up out on bail when he gets his day in court, something that pisses off Bobby Chavez. After Ramon gloats right in Bobby’s face, Bobby does what we all would want to do, punch Ramon right in his smug face… but that only opens the door for Ramon to strike back in the not too distant future, when he and some his thugs, kill Bobby’s younger brother and pregnant wife!
- Scenery Chewing Commanding Officer: Before I go any further, I do need to call out the spectacular job that John P. Ryan does as The Delta Force’s commanding officer, General Taylor. I remember my first viewing of Delta Force 2, I kept expecting General Taylor to betray McCoy thanks to John P. Ryan’s villainous work in two other Cannon classics, Avenging Force and Death Wish 4: The Crackdown. However nothing could be further from the truth, General Taylor is all about taking down Cota’s drug cartel! And Taylor busting the balls of the San Carlos liaison, supervising The Delta Force’s mission in San Carlos were some of the most entertaining moments in the entire movie, but now I am getting ahead of myself.
- Rescue and Revenge: As you might imagine, Bobby Chavez now has a bloodlust where Ramon Cota is concerned. Bobby tracks Cota down at a polo match with intentions of killing the drug kingpin. But Page and two of his fellow DEA agents step in before Bobby goes on what would potentially be a suicide mission… but the whole the incident took their eye off the ball, and next thing you know, Bobby, Page and the two other DEA guys are all taken hostage by Ramon Cota…. It gets worse for Bobby. He is put into a gas chamber on the Cota estate and killed. A video of Bobby’s death is then sent to General Taylor…. now the shit is on! We get some training and mission planning sequences and then it is time for the action to really pick up… we get McCoy crossing a rope bridge before scaling a rock wall, McCoy infiltrating the Cota compound and freeing the hostages and then nearly meeting the same fate as his boy, Bobby Chavez. That is until General Taylor and his helicopter show up in the nick of time. Then we get McCoy, Page and a now captive Ramon Cota, attempting to escape the compound and Cota’s security force in Cota’s bulletproof limousine and it ain’t easy, because in Delta Force 2 it’s always the hard way!
In summation, Delta Force 2 is a pretty awesome movie, even though it is nothing like the first film.. Drago’s Ramon Cota works overtime in being as vile a villain as possible… John P. Ryan steals just about every scene he is in… And you get Chuck being Chuck! Plus, the level and amount of action you would expect from Cannon.
Here is the level and amount of Bonus Bullet Points you would expect from me…
- AKA: The original title of Delta Force 2: The Colombian Connection was Delta Force 2: Operation Stranglehold.
- Familiar Faces: Mark Margolis (The Equalizer and Breaking Bad) plays General Olmedo. The military power in San Carlos, that allows Ramon Cota to conduct business in that country (for a piece of the action of course… Miguel, the mole inside Cota’s cartel was played by Hector Mercado. I recognized Hector from his work in Death Wish 4 and Miami Vice.
- Directed By: Chuck’s brother, Aaron Norris directed Delta Force 2. Aaron also directed his brother in three other Cannon flicks, Braddock: Missing in Action III, The Hitman, and Hellbound.
- Favorite Quote: “You’re nothing but a chickenshit weasel!” – Col. Scott McCoy to Ramon Cota
