The Missing in Action Timeline
Here is the timeline order for the events in all 3 films:
Missing in Action 2: The Beginning
- Prologue takes place in Vietnam 1972
- After the prologue the film takes place in Vietnam circa 1973-74
Braddock: Missing in Action III
- Prologue takes place in Saigon 1975
Missing in Action
- The entire film takes place in 1984
Braddock: Missing in Action III
- After the prologue the film takes place in 1988
A couple things to note which causes the confusion of the timeline to begin with:
In MIA 2, after the 1972 prologue, the film flash forwards to real footage of Ronald Reagan giving a Memorial Day speech circa 1984. Then the film comes back to Vietnam but doesn't say what year it is so one would think it's the 1980's because of the Reagan speech, but it's not, it's back in the 1970's.
Because Braddock is in Saigon 1975 during the prologue of MIA 3, it means the events of MIA 2 finish sometime before that. After the Paris Peace Accords were signed in Jan 1973, the U.S. pulled out of Vietnam and in March 1973 all the U.S. POW's were supposedly released by North Vietnam, the POW camp scenes in MIA 2 take place after that because Braddock and our heroes are now MIA and being secretly held.
Also in MIA 1, Miss Fitzgerald the hot State Dept official, tells Braddock at the party that he's 38 years old and was a POW for 8 months and then MIA for 7 years until escaping last year. Braddock tells her, "Like I said, you don't know anything about me." This is done tongue in cheek by Braddock making it seem like she does know a lot about him but because MIA 3 shows that he was in Saigon in 1975 it now literally means what he says and she actually doesn't know everything and has been given misinformation.
By Fitzgerald's account, the events of MIA 2 would've occurred in 1972-1980 and MIA 1 would be set in 1981. If MIA 3 didn't exist this could've been correct, but it's not since MIA 3 is canon and does exist. Also the theatrical trailer and one-sheet poster for MIA 1 both state it's Vietnam 1984, so Miss Fitzgerald facts are not correct.
I recently just watched the films in this timeline order and they sync really well knowing the above.