"Crime is the disease. Meet the Cure."

"The strong arm of the law."

Back in the spring and summer of 1986, those were among several snappy taglines for this highly anticipated action thriller starring Oscar-winner Sylvester Stallone as his direct follow-up to TWO smash successes lead by him the previous year: Rambo: First Blood Part II and Rocky IV. THIS time, he was playing the ultimate cop named Marion Cobretti (nickname: Cobra) who was on the hunt around Los Angeles for a brutal serial killer (or serial killers?) named the Night Slasher played by veteran character Brian Thompson (The Terminator, Miracle Mile, The X-Files). This film was directed by George P. Cosmatos (Rambo, Tombstone) though apparently it ended up being co-directed by Stallone himself. There was much hype for this film when it was released in May 1986 though the reviews were pretty poor, mostly related to its very simplistic plot and extreme violence and.....it did ok at the box office. It wasn't the blockbuster which it was expected to be but the film made solid money at the worldwide box office. Since then, it has garnered an increasingly rabid cult following and is now looked upon as one of Sly's most quotable films....his answer to Dirty Harry. Let's see how it holds up forty years later and find out if.....THIS is where the law stops.....and HE starts. ;)

Host & Editor: Geoff Gershon
Producer: Marlene Gershon

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