Missing in Action (film)  Missing in Action is a 1984 American action film directed by Joseph Zito and starring Chuck Norris. It is set in the context of the Vietnam War POW/MIA issue. Colonel Braddock, who escaped a Vietnamese prisoner of war camp 10 years earlier, returns to Vietnam to find American soldiers listed as missing in action during the Vietnam War. The film was followed by a prequel, "" (1985), and a sequel, "" (1988). It is the first of a series of ""-inspired POW rescue fantasies themed around the Vietnam War POW/MIA issue that were produced by Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus and released under their Cannon Films banner, with whom he had a long relationship. Norris later dedicated these films to his younger brother Wieland. Wieland, a private in the 101st Airborne Division, had been killed in June 1970 in Vietnam while on patrol in the defense of Firebase Ripcord. The film, however, was criticized heavily as being a preemptive cash-in on the "Rambo" franchise. Despite the overwhelmingly negative reception from critics, the film was a commercial success and has become one of Chuck Norris's most popular films. It was also Chuck Norris's first film with The Cannon Group. Colonel James Braddock is a US military officer who spent seven years in a North Vietnamese POW camp, which he escaped 10 years ago. After the war, Braddock accompanies a government investigation team that travels to Ho Chi Minh City to investigate reports of US soldiers still held prisoner. Braddock obtains the evidence then travels to Thailand, where he meets Tuck, an old Army friend turned black market kingpin. Together, they launch a mission deep into the jungle to free the US POW's from General Trau. The name of Braddock was inspired by "The Graduate" character, Benjamin Braddock, played by Dustin Hoffman. The producers' idea was to create a Vietnam War hero with the name of a lazy Californian student. The concept for the film originated from a treatment, written by James Cameron in 1983, for the film "" that was floating around Hollywood at the time. This explains the similar plotlines between "Rambo" franchise and "Missing in Action" series. Representatives from Cannon Group said Cameron's script served as inspiration to the film and subsequently produced and released the first two "Missing in Action" films two months before the release of "Rambo: First Blood Part II", in order to avoid copyright violation lawsuits.