Commando (1985)

A retired elite Black Ops Commando launches a one man war against a group of South American criminals who have kidnapped his daughter to blackmail him into starting a revolution and getting an exiled dictator back into power.

Director:

Mark L. Lester

Writers:

Jeph Loeb (story), Matthew Weisman (story),

Stars:

Arnold Schwarzenegger, Rae Dawn Chong, Dan Hedaya

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Arnold Schwarzenegger	...	John Matrix
Rae Dawn Chong	...	Cindy
Dan Hedaya	...	Arius
Vernon Wells	...	Bennett
James Olson	...	Major General Franklin Kirby
David Patrick Kelly	...	Sully
Alyssa Milano	...	Jenny Matrix
Bill Duke	...	Cooke
Drew Snyder	...	Lawson
Sharon Wyatt	...	Leslie
Michael Delano	...	Forrestal (as Michael DeLano)
Bob Minor	...	Jackson
Michael Adams	...	Harris (as Mike Adams)
Gary Carlos Cervantes	...	Diaz (as Carlos Cervantes)
Lenny Juliano	...	Soldier

Storyline

A retired special agent named John Matrix led an elite unit and has left the armed forces to live in a secluded mountain home with his daughter Jenny. But now he is forced out of retirement when his daughter is kidnapped by a band of thugs intent on revenge! Unbeknownst to Matrix, the members of his former unit are being killed one by one. Even though Matrix' friend General Franklin Kirby gives Matrix armed guards, attackers manage to kidnap Matrix and Jenny. Matrix learns that Bennett, a former member of his Matrix' unit who was presumed dead has kidnapped him to try to force Matrix to do a political assassination for a man called Arius (who calls himself El Presidente), a warlord formerly bested by Matrix who wishes to lead a military coup in his home country. Since Arius will have Jenny killed if Matrix refuses, Matrix reluctantly accepts the demand.

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Plot Keywords:

dictator | airplane | general | rescue | commando | 

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Taglines:

Somewhere... somehow... someone's going to pay

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Genres:

Action | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 October 1985 (USA)

Also Known As:

Comando

Filming Locations:

Griffith Park, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$10,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

SLM Production Group, Silver Pictures, Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min 92 min (director's cut) 75 min (video)

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The shopping mall (Sherman Oaks Galleria) used is the same one that was used in Terminator 2: Judgment Day, also starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. Since both films wrapped, the mall has been remodeled.

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Goofs

When Matrix jumps off the plane, the landing gear is almost completely retracted. When Matrix looks back at the plane after landing in the ocean, the landing gear is extended again.

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Quotes

Arius: Do you remember me Colonel?
Matrix: I remember you. Scumbag. Especially the people you've tortured and killed.

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Connections

Referenced in I Love You Mama, I Love You Papa (1986)

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Soundtracks

"WE FIGHT FOR LOVE"
Music by Andy Taylor
Lyrics by Michael Des Barres
Performed by Power Station
Produced by Bernard Edwards and Andy Taylor
Courtesy of Capitol-EMI Records

User Reviews

A classic guy flick with non-stop action and hilarious one-liners.

Rating: *** 1/2 out of ****

Every time I'm accused by friends of being too tough or too picky on action movies made for pure entertainment (i.e. the works of Jerry Bruckheimer), I point back and tell them to look no further than Mark L. Lester's Commando as the prime example of a pure macho classic and the standard by which all mindless action cinema should be judged.

In its own simplistic ways, Commando is actually the epitome of Arnold Schwarzenegger. Whenever we think of the Austrian muscle-bound star's films; gun battles, fist fights, deadpan one-liners, a total lack of plot, and a ridiculously high body count come to mind. Commando represents all this, directed with high energy flair and a great sense of fun.

Schwarzenegger stars as John Matrix, a former commando who lives in the mountains with his young daughter (Alyssa Milano). Matrix's former teammates are being knocked off one-by-one at the orders of a Latino dictator (Dan Hedaya) who wants Matrix to assassinate a popular South American leader so that he can be instilled back in power. As incentive, Matrix's daughter is kidnapped by renegade military, led by Bennett (Vernon Wells), who was once part of Matrix's team. As soon as Matrix boards his flight, he kills his escort, leaps off the plane, and begins his eleven-hour search for his daughter. Inexplicably joining his search is a flight attendant (Rae Dawn Chong) who gets mixed up in this whole mess.

Commando is one of those critically berated movies that only concerns itself with giving its target audience a good time. Running at a lightning fast ninety minutes, the film is packed to the gunnels with explosive action sequences and quotable one-liners. In fact, the lines are so fun, I have a hard time choosing my favorites. Here are a few examples: "I eat green berets for breakfast and I'm very hungry,""Remember when I said I'd kill you last? I lied," and "Let off some steam, Bennett!"

The script is mindless and idiotic, but serves its purpose by providing just enough plot and enormously entertaining one-liners to keep the momentum from ebbing. There are also plenty of noticeable continuity errors (ask yourself how a guy standing behind a railing atop a balcony could be hit with shotgun pellets without the railing taking the slightest bit of damage!), but that just adds to the movie's list of unique charms.

But you don't watch Commando for plot or technical brilliance, you watch it to see Arnold acting as a one-man army, mowing down scores of enemy thugs and soldiers. Whether it's through the movie's various shootouts, fistfights, or chases, the movie delivers thrilling action one scene after another. The climactic battle sequence, in which he single-handedly takes on at least a hundred men, will either make or break the film for you. Me, I had a blast watching Arnold inflict his brand of justice upon these nasty villains. Unless you don't like Arnold or over-the-top action films, it's unlikely you'll find Commando boring.

Schwarzenegger's charismatic and hugely likable screen presence is undeniable, and his delivery of those classic one-liners is perfect. Luckily, the movie has an equally strong villain in Vernon Wells, who delights in chewing the scenery and generally acting as insane as possible in any given situation. From his manic facial expressions to his questionable tastes in clothing, Wells makes Bennett one of the few villains that really stand out in an Arnold flick. You know the movie's going to boil down to a one-on-one fight between the two, and it's one of those fight scenes where each one takes his turn beating the crud out of the other without one ever truly having the upper hand until the very end (when, obviously, one of them's got to be dead).

For pure mindless mayhem, Commando is a perfect choice for Saturday night entertainment. I first saw the film on its network broadcast premiere, and distinctly remember that in the scene where Arnold hides in the garden house (which is the film's goriest part), the movie is edited in such a way that it appears only one man approaches the house instead of six!