 | |
List Price: $9.98 | | Label: Warner Home Video
Salesrank: 9077
Released: June 1, 2004 |
| Our Price: $2.42 |
| Used Price: $2.30 |
|
MPAA Rating: R (Restricted)
Media: DVD |
|
Editorial Review:
Sylveter Stallone creates another electrifying American hero in the Rocky/Rambo mold: Cobretti the cop, a fearless dispenser of justice out to stop a gang of serial killers. Year: 1986
Cobra Reviews:
The Worlds of Action and Horror Intersect 
2009-10-25 - While Stallone is most associated with the action-adventure genre, he has made the occasional foray into other areas. When he made a disaster film(Daylight) and when he tried his hand at science fiction(Judge Dredd and Demolition Man) he had reasonable success.In these cases, he selected films that suited his innate physicality and mental intensity.As such, these films became a natural extension of his propensity for playing borderline superhuman heroes.
A couple of other times, he tried comedy, and once,God help us, he tried to do a musical(the infamous Rhinestone.)These attempts were, for the most part, unfortunate.
However, in Cobra, Stallone takes his usual action hero template-and then steers it well off into the world of slasher horror. I think this was a sterling choice, and one for which he is singularly well suited. In the Rambo films, he is usually pitted against enemy soldiers, guys who are just following orders, and who are not really explored as people. They might be evil, or they might be apathetic about the whole business.
Not so in Cobra. The villains in Cobra are sick, and right-next-door to being monsters. Of course, this is nothing new. The Death Wish films, and the Dirty Harry series, were doing all this long before Cobra. Simple premise: make the bad guys so heinous that the hero is justified in doing whatever he has to to destroy them.
What you wind up with is a near-perfect slasher-action cocktail. You get one of history's undisputed action heroes in Stallone, who is right at home here. Now, his performance in Cobra never struck me as being as natural as what he does in the Rocky or Rambo films.But his physical presense is ideal. He has a distinctive look for this film. The stubble,(big in the 80's), the dark glasses, the matchstick in his mouth, the beautiful pearl-handled Colt .45. He created a look, and a mystique, for this movie, and I thought it worked well. I wish he had played this part more than once.
And, as anybody who has seen Cliffhanger would know, nobody impales a bad guy like Stallone.
The horror elements are what set Cobra apart from typical action films. The middle part of this film-in the hospital-seems to have been inspired by Halloween 2. The film's villains are depicted as quite savage and brutal, and they are utterly without mercy when staging their attacks. Some of the mayhem is pretty effectively shot. For example, when they kill that waitress, they surround her and close in quickly, like a pack of wolves tearing a deer apart. They are ruthless, and efficient, and merciless............and the perfect opponents for our hero.
Of course, the downside to a movie like this is that it is pretty one-dimensional. The good guy is good, the bad guys are bad, but nobody is explored with any degree of depth. Compare Cobra to Rambo, for example. Rambo may be an action hero, but he comes across like a distinct personality. For me, Cobretti seems more like a concoction, a stock hero who looks cool in his shades and brandishing that nice .45, but much less like an actual human being.Stallone does well in the role-but the script only calls for him to do so well.
This is pretty much all violence, action, and suspense. I gave it five stars, because the suspense is legitimate. There are a couple of moments when you actually feel like you are witnessing horrific acts being perpetrated upon innocent people.
There is one particular moment, when the film's heroine is trapped in a bathroom, and the killer is breaking through the door, that is quite good. The guy has this huge knife, and he is wearing blood-soaked rubber gloves, and he has made a hole in the door big enough for him to reach through. And he is just flailing wildly at her with his knife, while she cringes just inches out of his reach. This is as suspenseful as any scene from most horror or slasher movies.
Cobra bridges the gap between the worlds of horror and action. It doesn't do everything, but what it DOES do, it does extremely well.
You're the disease, and I'm the cure. 
2009-09-28 - Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R34FKWRFRE3A6S Cobra
'STALLONE' Means Action!
2009-07-15 - Looking for a Stallone movie with a lot bang-bang Shootem' up and fighting action with him as a hard core cop? Look no further than his movie `Cobra'. This film is nonstop action, suspense and drama.
A handful of good guys against a army of bad guys brings out one of Stallone's better performances.
This rated `R' 87 minute film is loaded with great co-stars, great color, and the perfect camera angles that will make you feel like you're rite by some of the action scenes.
Great Movie.
I have this DVD in my personal movie collection. It's a keeper!
Reporter Joseph Toth
Washington Micro Bank BBS
Cheap thrills and old school action
2009-07-10 - A double sided disk, with basic menus a few old previews with no extra features. For collectors only.
Both movies are roughneck, about tough cops and crazy criminals.
somewhat barabaric, jokes that dont really cut it, action thats mostly just violent for the sake of being violent. Not exactly an adrenaline rush, more like a crash and burn mismatch with comic relief that just makes you scratch your head and stare at the ceiling.
Cobra is cool, Stallone is great at being the anti-hero or good guy with an edge but this type of stuff is pretty worn out ever since lethal weapon and the days of die hard. Its definetly old school and if your a fan of that then Cobra is a must have and a major milestone for Stallone.
If you like in your face action, thriling chase scenes and murder victims
this is where its at. 80s action was all about tough guys and hot chicks.
Well that is if you cant Bridgeete Neilson. This is definetly a gun glory.
Perhaps this movie is responsible for the cliched Act 3 of a horror or action movie wherein the good guy chases the bad guy into a steel mill and they slug it out. Classic.
Tango n Cash on the other hand is like a freebie thats tacked on, its somewhat interesting seeing Kurt Russel and Stallone team up but there 1 time romp is nothing more than a hayride over a hill. Its full antics and
misfortune. They try to play off each other but its obvious there a mismatch of acting styles. I feel a little bit dumber having watched it.
I think they tried to mimic the success of Lethal Weapon but failed. How can you have Stallone playing a ritzy and clever wallstreet tycoon that is also the number 1 cop in his city? Hes too clean cut and straight forward, and alot unlike Stallone other characters whove had shady pasts.
Its almost like Sacralidge when Tango says "Rambo sucks" compared to what may I ask? If this were a western it would be Butch Cassidy and the Sundance kid, but worse, its just an awful team up. Oh and it has a very young Teri Hatcher as Stallone's sister. Imagine that. Stallone without the girl this time. Silly, stupid and uneventful. Avoid it.
Its this cheap for a reason,its old, everyones already seen it,some people own it,its probably available for free at the library, and theyve been shown on tv over a dozen times in the past 10 years. But go rent or borrow a copy of Cobra, watch it once if u havent already, and prepare for the next big release from Stallone, "the Expendables" 2010.
Great combo!
2009-06-18 - I was originally just looking for Tango & Cash, but saw this double set that also has Cobra and said hey- why not! These are two movies I grew up watching on TV so they were must haves for my collection.
These are probably two of my favorite cheesy 80's action flicks. I don't care if these are Stallone's (and Russell's) worst movies ever, I love em!
Tango & Cash is just entertaining with all the wisecracking and gun blazing that goes on, and Stallone's Merc "lead sled" in Cobra is just awesome (too bad it gets wrecked and fubared like every other movie).
My one gripe is this-the double-sided DVD is not marked as to which side is which movie! So, that takes a little trial and error.
