David Carradine takes on a Chuck Norris role for Cannon in the Vietnam War knockoff P.O.W. THE ESCAPE, on Blu-ray from Scorpion Releasing.

Vietnam 1973: When the Vietnamese government refuses to turn over prisoners of war to the United States despite a date being set for U.S. troops to withdraw, the U.S. government wants to make an example of one of the enemy's most remote P.O.W. camps. Colonel James Cooper (Carradine) is dismayed to learn that his planned get-in-the-back-way-and-sneak-them-out operation has been turned into a frontal assault, concerned about how many of the prisoners could be killed in such an action and even more angered when it is explained to him that any casualties will be written off as Missing in Action and simply disappear. Cooper and his team attack the camp only to discover upon hitting the ground that it is empty and they have walked into an ambush. Most of his men are killed and he and the others are captured and brought to the real camp where the other prisoners are being held under the sadistic guard of Captain Vinh (Mako, THE SAND PEBBLES) who learns that in Cooper he has captured the highest-ranking P.O.W. and that he will be transferred to Hanoi where he will be put on trial and executed as a show to the world. Knowing the state of the country this late in the war and eager to be united with his own family who live in the United States, Vinh tries to make Cooper a deal to get the two of them to the American section of Shanghai; however, Cooper will not agree unless all of the prisoners come too. Some of the prisoners, lead by hothead Sparks (THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL's Charles Grant) plan their own escape, but it ends in disaster. After much intimidation and violence fails, Vinh relents and agrees that the rest of the men can come with them; albeit, hidden in a tanker lined with explosives lest Cooper double-cross him. While Cooper and Special Forces Sergeant Johnston (Steve James, AVENGING FORCE) are concerned with the welfare of the men, Sparks discovers that Vinh is also trying to transport gold across the border and takes advantage of an attack that splits up the group to make off with the loot. Vinh pursues Sparks but he also means to make sure that Cooper and the rest of the men do not make it to safety.

Shot back-to-back with AMERICAN NINJA and carrying over some of the same cast – including James and Phil Brock (RIVER'S EDGE) as the unit's wisecracker – and crew, P.O.W. THE ESCAPE might be the dumbest of the Cannon's action films. Faced against impossible odds, a character tells Cooper that "'Everybody goes home' is a motto, not a religion," and Cooper's gung-ho attitude in several situations seems to make things worse (such as getting a few more guys killed so he can sweep in and save a tattered American flag which comes in handy later to drape over a fallen man), and Carradine's performance makes a character who seemed compassionate at first appear reckless and arrogant even though the film insists that he is a true American hero. In spite of the number of armed men on his side, there are several scenes in which it appears as though he single-handedly blows most of the enemy soldiers away to clear a path for the other men whose number include special forces officers who seem rather passive (James is given almost nothing to do but cheer on Cooper's antics). Much more entertaining is Grant (billed as "Charles Floyd") whose determination to save his own skin is just as reckless, and he gets to undergo an unlikely redemption late in the film (although the topless prostitute may distract viewers from his intense stare into his own reflection as he thinks back on all of his selfish acts). Fans of dumb action may enjoy this one, but Cannon's more serious PLATOON LEADER is less painful for the rest of us. Michael Linn (RAPPIN') is credited as "music supervisor" and the film's score is comprised of recycled material, particularly Alan Silvestri's score for THE DELTA FORCE.

Also known as ATTACK FORCE 'NAM and BEHIND ENEMY LINES, P.OW. THE ESCAPE was released theatrically by Cannon and on home video by Media Home Entertainment (with a later LP-mode release by Video Treasures), skipping DVD altogether apart from a bootleg from Eastwest under the ATTACK FORCE 'NAM title. Scorpion's 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.78:1 widescreen transfer comes from a 2019 HD master looks pretty good in close-ups and the camp scenes, but it is presumably the fault of the original photography that the film can look flat in the contrastier lighting of the jungle scenes. It is nowhere near the disaster of the overly dark and lifeless transfer of PLATOON LEADER, but it really has not looked better than this in the digital realm (presumably Germany's subsequent Blu-ray release utilizes the same master). The DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 stereo track does what it can with a rather pedestrian mix with clear dialogue, some lively explosions, and synth scoring that has little presence. Optional English SDH subtitles are included.