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Commando
Phantom Kommando
USA 1985
produced by Joel Silver for Silver Pictures, SLM Production Group, 20th Century Fox
directed by Mark L. Lester
starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Rae Dawn Chong, Dan Hedaya, Vernon Wells, James Olson, David Patrick Kelly, Alyssa Milano, Bill Duke, Drew Snyder, Sharon Wyatt, Michael DeLano, Bob Minor, Michael Adams, Gary Carlos Cervantes, Lenny Juliano, Charles Meshack, Chelsea Field, Julie Hayek, Hank Calia, Walter Scott, Greg Wayne Elam, George Fisher, Phil Adams, Ava Cadell, Mikul Robins, Branscombe Richmond, Matt Landers, Peter DuPont, Tom Simmons, Bill Paxton, Richard D. Reich, John Reyes, Billy Cardenas, Eddie Reyes, Vivian Daily, Thomas Rosales jr, Ronald C. McCarty, Jim Painter
story by Jeph Loeb, Matthew Weisman, Steven E. de Souza, screenplay by Steven E. de Souza, music by James Horner, stunt coordination by Bennie E. Dobbins
review by Mike Haberfelner
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Once upon a time, John (Arnold Schwarzenegger) was a top Special Forces
colonel who wouldn't hesitate to get dirty on command - but that was long
ago, now he lives retired life with his daughter Jenny (Alyssa Milano) in
their house in the woods - when his former superior Major General Kirby
(James Olson) stops by per helicopter to tell him that someone's out there
killing his men ... and wouldn't you know it, as soon as Kirby's gone
again, John's house is attacked by a militia, and while John does his best
to defend it, Jenny's kidnapped. John tries to cut off the kidnappers'
getaway despite them having wrecked his car engine, but ultimately is
taken captive himself by Bennett (Vernon Wells), one of his former men
gone rogue, and his team and brought to their leader Arius (Dan Hedaya), a
former South American dictator once overthrown by John, who wants John to
assassinate his successor to come into power again - it's the only way for
John to get Jenny back. So the baddies sit Johnny on a plane to said
country, accompanied by one of Arius' men (Charles Meshack), so John can't
escape, and think they have him under control - but not so, on the plane
John manages to kill his carer before lift-off without anybody noticing
and manages to make it off the plane while it's still rolling on the
tarmak ... and then he goes after Sully (David Patrick Kelly), small fry
in Arius' organisation but John's only lead, and somehow while doing so he
manages to attract stewardess Cindy (Rae Dawn Chong), who becomes his
sidekick even though John wrecks her car. Like a fighting machine, John
goes through many of Arius' men, usually killing them, until he learns
about the island Jenny's held. He thus breaks intoa gun shop, arms himself
to the teeth, flies to the island, and just before the baddies are
informed that he hasn't been on the plane to that South American country,
he starts his attack and all hell breaks loose. Suffice to say, John
gets his daughter back, and is apparently rewarded with Cindy as his new
girlfriend. In 1985, Arnold Schwarzenegger was pretty much only
just established as an action superstar, and Commando is widely
considered as not one of his more memorable movies - which is a bit of a
shame, really, as the film stands the test of time very well. Sure, on one
hand this is typical 1980s macho action fare all over, taking plenty of
advantage of Arnold's rather impressive physique, and of course the film's
very reactionary an-eye-for-an-eye attitude is questionable at best. But
that said, as an "action" movie it works nicely, it's fast
paced, full of chases, fights and explosions, the story might be overly
simplistic but the lead character has a believable and relatable motive
for what he's doing, and he's not presented as a brute force of nature but
as a human being that is vulnerable and has to rely on his brains and
quick wits just as much as his brawn and heavy arsenal, often finding
rather original and inventive solutions to standard situations (even if
that means bending a law of nature every now and again). And while the
movie's very brutal (with a body count above 100 to be sure) and loud,
everything's done in a very comicbook-ish, exaggerated way. So basically,
it's a film one shouldn't take seriously - to then be able to enjoy it
very much.
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