Cobra (1986) - Stallone and Nielsen glitter in lowbrow action fare

♥♥♥♥

Sylvester Stallone is both 'the cure against crime' and the 'strong arm of the law' in the tag-lines for George P. Cosmatos' Cobra

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Lieutenant Cobretti has a knack for figuring out the really ugly criminals and fight them, - with lead! Now, his assignment is to protect a long-limbed supermodel, while he is also fighting an army of psychopaths!
Sylvester Stallone (Cop Land (1997)) and Brigitte Nielsen (Red Sonja (1985)) were married at the time of shooting Cobra, and there is true romance going on between them here, which makes their scenes together all the more enjoyable.  
Cobra also offers solid action and one-liners galore. There's a terrific car chase and plenty of exciting shoot-outs and well-made fights. As to an explanation of what the psychopaths really want, or why they have organized themselves in a small, deranged army...! But ... Stallone wrote the film himself, and what it may lack in depth or societal insight, it makes up for in  action and hard-to-resist 1980's quality: One scene feels more like a music video, the pop and bobbed hairdos, - all is very 80s.
Curiously, it was axed by critics at its release, who were very upset by its violence and had a very hard time seeing the enjoyable aspects of the film. Its original edit was 130 minutes, but it was then shortened more and more to its present 87 minute playtime. Partly to dodge an X-rating, (the initial version was apparently quite gruesome), and partly to receive more show-times in cinemas. The cut that exists now is still pretty violent and has several scenes of women getting chased or attacked by maniacs. The long cut with all the more gruesome stuff is, grievously, lost. Among Cobra's contemporary fans are Danish master director Nicolas Winding Refn (Drive (2011)).
Cobra was officially directed by Florentine director George P. Cosmatos (Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985)), although some from the production have claimed that Stallone was Cobra's real director. It is even rumored that Cosmatos was used only as a ghost director and also served as such on Tombstone (1993), which star Kurt Russell is said to have really directed. Disregarding whether or not this is myth or fact, Cobra and Stallone definitely come out on top, compared to the flawed, boring and overly long Tombstone.

Watch the 80's-glistening, original trailer here

Cost: 25 mil. $
Box office: 160 mil. $
= Big hit

What do you think of Cobra?