Excess Over Substance, in Glorious 4K

MOVIE REVIEW
Cobra [Limited Edition]
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Genre: Action, Adventure, Crime, Thriller
Year Released: 1986, Arrow Video 4K 2025
Runtime: 1h 27m
Director(s): George P. Cosmatos
Writer(s): Paula Gosling, Sylvester Stallone
Cast: Sylvester Stallone, Brigitte Nielsen, Reni Santoni, Brian Thompson, Lee Garlington, Art LaFleur, Andrew Robinson, Marco Rodríguez, Val Avery, Nina Axelrod, David Rasche
Where to Watch: available July 22, 2025, pre-order your copy here: www.arrowvideo.com, www.mvdshop.com, or www.amazon.com

RAVING REVIEW: Even in a decade fueled by macho swagger and explosive vengeance, COBRA stood out like a clenched fist in a leather glove. Helmed by director George P. Cosmatos and fronted by a no-nonsense Sylvester Stallone, the film encapsulates the 1980s action spectacle where bullets fly, bad guys growl, and the hero says more with his sunglasses than his dialogue. It’s ridiculous, excessive, grimy, and at times self-parodic—but in the way that could only be born from an era that celebrated brute force as cinematic gospel.

Arrow Video’s release of COBRA on 4K UHD is a first for the film. This edition gets the royal treatment, with a pristine new restoration and a deep archive of extras that fans will relish. This edition might be irresistible for longtime lovers of the film or genre completists. But while the release goes all-in, the movie it’s built around is a mixed bag of grit, style, and spectacle that doesn't quite hold up to deeper scrutiny.

Stallone plays Lieutenant Marion “Cobra” Cobretti, a hard-nosed, tight-lipped LAPD enforcer who operates outside the usual boundaries of law enforcement. He’s not the guy you call when you want to resolve something peacefully—he’s the one you send in when all else fails (if you’ve seen DEMOLITION MAN, you’ll know the “type.”) That premise alone has appeal if you're looking for raw energy over nuance. Still, the film's storyline—concerning a woman, Ingrid (played by Brigitte Nielsen), pursued by a shadowy cult of axe-wielding maniacs—is more a thin excuse for mayhem than a well-constructed narrative.

The setup allows for intense sequences, especially when Cobra protects Nielsen’s character from a relentless, non-stop pursuit. But the connective tissue between these moments often feels rushed. The film’s tone aims for a gritty realism and high-octane thrills but frequently veers into cartoonish violence or unintentional satire. There’s a fascinating contradiction at play: COBRA wants to be serious and brooding, but its excesses often betray it whether it's the almost laughably stern one-liners (“You’re the disease. I’m the cure.”) or the hyper-stylized action, it leans so heavily into its attitude that it borders on parody.

Though limited in scope, Nielsen's role adds a unique texture to the film. While the character of Ingrid isn’t written with much depth, Nielsen’s performance brings a detached charisma that fits well alongside Stallone’s brooding minimalism. The chemistry between them works better than expected, especially given their real-life relationship at the time. It’s not exactly romantic tension that sparks, but rather a sense of mutual understanding between two characters caught in a world they didn’t design.

Brian Thompson’s Night Slasher is a suitably menacing antagonist, but his villainy lacks the complexity of much of the film’s lore. He’s imposing, sure, but the script reduces his motivations to abstract ramblings about a “new world,” which never feels fully explored. The cult angle has potential, especially in how it mirrors societal fears of growing lawlessness and chaos, but that thread gets lost in the gunfire.

COBRA truly excels in its aesthetic—dark alleys, neon signs, synth-heavy score, and that gloriously over-the-top approach to violence. It’s a mood piece, wrapped in leather and smoke, where the city itself feels like it's rotting under the weight of its filth. For fans of this visual style, it delivers in spades. Arrow Video’s 4K presentation only enhances that mood, revealing texture and detail previously lost in softer transfers. The Dolby Vision upgrade is especially noticeable in the film’s darker scenes, which are plentiful.

The bonus features are nearly as relentless as the movie. From multiple audio commentaries—including new ones from critics like Kim Newman and scholars like Martyn Pedler—to alternate TV edits and a visual essay on the “Maverick Cop” genre, Arrow’s release elevates the film with enough context and insight to make even its flaws feel charming.

There’s a tension in COBRA between what it wants to be and what it is. At times, it flirts with being an action epic about urban decay and justice gone rogue. Other times, it feels like a music video strung together by gunshots and close-ups of Stallone’s jawline. There’s room to appreciate both, but it’s not an easy balance. I would love to see a remake, especially a period piece with this style. COBRA is a strange beast—too messy to be great, too iconic to dismiss. It has fans for a reason, and it’s easy to see why: the film plays like a fever dream of testosterone and terror.

COBRA may not cure your craving for story, but it might just scratch your itch for an unapologetic 80s action blitz with a steel-jawed antihero and a city begging for someone to clean it up—by any means necessary.

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[photo courtesy of ARROW VIDEO, MVD ENTERTAINMENT]

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