Cobra

Cobra is a 1986 American action film directed by George P. Cosmatos and written by Sylvester Stallone, who also stars in the titular role. The film co-stars Reni Santoni, Brigitte Nielsen and Andrew Robinson. Loosely based on the novel A Running Duck by Paula Gosling (later published as Fair Game and filmed under that title in 1995), Cobra follows police detective Marion "Cobra" Cobretti as he investigates a string of violent crimes while also protecting a witness targeted by the perpetrators. Cobra is the second and final film which featured the collaboration between Stallone and Nielsen after Rocky IV (1985) until Creed II (2018), and their only film they worked together after their marriage before they divorced in 1987. The film's screenplay was largely inspired by Stallone's original screenplay for Beverly Hills Cop (1984). Cobra was released to generally negative reviews with criticism focused on its excessive violence and overuse of genre tropes, but it was a box office success, earning $49 million in the U.S. and $160 million worldwide. It has since been considered a cult classic. Plot In Los Angeles, a mass shooting at a supermarket evolves into a hostage crisis, prompting the Los Angeles Police Department to summon Lieutenant Marion "Cobra" Cobretti, a member of their elite "Zombie Squad", to resolve the crisis. Infiltrating the supermarket, Cobretti stands off with the shooter, who espouses social Darwinist ideals and mentions a "New World", and kills him before he can execute a group of hostages. As the scene is processed, Cobretti is reprimanded by Detective Monte for his seeming disregard for police procedures and protocols, while Cobretti himself admonishes a group of reporters harassing him for not prioritizing the victims.