Commando

Rating:
Summary: Classic guy flick with non-stop action.
Review: 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 alone 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 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 escorter, leaps off the plane, and begins his eleven-hour search for his daughter.

Commando is one of those critically lambasted movies that only concerns itself with giving its target audience a good time. Running at a super fast ninety minutes, the film is packed 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 story is idiotic, filled with holes and contrivances, the most obvious being Arnold invading the enemy stronghold, as LOUDLY as possible. I'm guessing it never crossed his mind that somebody would notice all that noise and maybe decide to kill his daughter? Rae Dawn Chong serves no other purpose than to just give us a female character as relief from all the testosterone. Her performance is okay, but fundamentally useless.

But you don't watch Commando for plot, you watch it to see Arnold acting as a one-man army, mowing down scores of enemy soldiers. 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 an absolute 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.

At the time, Schwarzenegger had just become a big action star, and Commando was made purely as a vehicle for him. A great, or even particularly good performance this is not, but his 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 acting generally as insane as possible. 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 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!

Rating:
Summary: Commando: doing a bad job of concealing all of the excellent
Review: This is a great Arnold movie. Some idiots made the mistake of stealing Arnold's daughter, and he kills them all! This is the one where Arnold holds the guy over the cliff and says, "Remember when I said I'd kill you last?" and the guy is relieved, but Arnold says, "I lied," and drops him! Then the woman asks, "Where's Sully?" and Arnold replies, "I let him go!"

The movie starts out with an excellent montage of Arnold being a good father. His daughter offers him ice cream, and he licks it, and she pushes it into his face! And then Arnold's like, "Dah, you trick Arnold? For that you die!" and she's like, "No, dad, I'm your daughter. You love me." And he laughs, and she laughs, and he eats her. Actually, that didn't happen, which doesn't stop the movie from being excellent.

Oh man, there's this one great part where Arnold fights a guy in a motel and he knocks him through a wall, and on the other side, a couple is doing it. It! And Arnold's like, "Dah, I can see your how do you do's," and then he beats the sandwich out of the guy.

This is also the one in which Arnold goes to an island terrorist base and excitement and hilarity ensues. Then he fights Jessie "The Body" Ventura and impales him with a pipe, and steam comes out! Steam! And Arnold says something really funny after that, but I don't remember what. All I remember is how great this movie is. It's on TV a lot, but there are all of those annoying commercials. So I recommend buying it. Look around; I got it at a pharmacy for 6$ and it's a purchase I definitely don't regret.

Rating:
Summary: I'll be back Bennett.....I'll Be waiting John.
Review: Commando is great movie because of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Vernon Wells. Bennett hates Matrix so much that Arius offers him one hundred thousand dollars but, once they told him you get Matrix. Bennett did it for free how cool is that. One compliant people had in this movie. How can Matrix defeat all those soldiers with hardy receiving a scratch? Easy if people would have watch the movie there is one scene in the movie when Arius and Bennett walking in the hall. Then some stupid soldier show Bennett his knife and start rambling about killing a little girl is like cutting warm better. After that Bennett told him put that knife up and shut your mouth. Bennett told Arius your soldiers are nothing me and Matrix can kill every one of them in a blink of an eye. I wanna know one thing who would win in a fight, Matrix or Rambo. If you down and out and need a pick me up watch commando for the sheer fun and entertainment of Arnold kicking butt and saying those funny one liners.

Rating:
Summary: Previous Review's mistake...Sorry Keith Whitener
Review: Keith Whitener(previous review) made a mistake when he was talking about the final battle scene in "Commando". When Matrix fight Bennett...Bennett is played by Vernon Wells and not by Jessie Ventura. And the funny thing that Matrix say when he kill Bennett is: "let off some steam Bennett !"

Rating:
Summary: Schwarzenegger + 1985 = action sludge
Review: Synopsis:
John Matrix (Arnold Schwarzenegger) is an ex-commando who lives with his daughter (Alyssa Milano) up in the mountains. His life is Idyllic until a band of thugs come after him and kidnap his daughter. To get her back, he must assassinate the leader of a South American country. It becomes a race against time as Matrix races to save her before the thugs realize that he's not exactly doing as told.

About the Movie:
You know how people talk about movies that are so bad they're good? Well, this is one of them. It's sort of like watching a train wreck in progress. It's horrible, but you can't stop watching it till it ends.

If you're looking for a clever, intelligent and witty film, this is not it. In fact, it has none of these qualities at all. What it does have to make up for it, is violence, one line groaners, violence, super-unrealistic action segments and violence (did I mention the violence?).

This film is Arnold Schwarzenegger typecast to the max, playing John Matrix an ex-commando (with the subtlety of a tank) out to save his daughter. During the course of the film, he shoots a man in the forehead, breaks another's neck, beats up a bunch of mallcops, drops a third man off a cliff, impales another with a piece of wood, destroys a shop filled with illegal firearms, kills about 50 soldiers with such implements as rotary saw blades, and throws a steel pipe through the main villain's gut.

All in a day's work for a 1980's action hero.

This move is extremely unimaginative and cliche'd. It's clearly intended as not so serious, but much of the humor in it is completely unfunny, right down to the stereotypical one-liners. "He's DEAD tired." Yikes. Who comes up with this stuff?

Rae Chong's as the lead female character (and Matrix's slightly unwilling sidekick) doesn't help much either as she whined and stumbled her way through much of the film, making you wonder why Matrix didn't chuck her out the door the first chance he got.

And as far as villains, music star Vernan Well's, pudgy and laughingly unimposing Bennett was a yawner as a villain. He didn't even look like he could take a punch from Matrix, much less beat him in a fist fight.

The only character I rooted for in this movie was Matrix's daughter. She shows the only bit of intelligence in the whole film and manages to escape on her own. Too bad her daddy didn't leave it to her. A lot less people would have died.

This is a typical 80's action movie. High on gratuitous violence and gore and low on plot, intellect and subtext. But then again, you don't go to this type of movie for any of those.

The only thing that this movie really has going for it is Arnold as the lead character. Switch in any other actor with the possible exception of Sylvester Stallone and you would have a movie that would have been completely forgotten by today's audience. With Schwarzenegger, you have a bad, yet more memorable film. That said, there are a good number of Schwarzenegger films that are just as violent yet are a far better watch (Predator, True Lies, Total Recall).

That all said, there's something about this film that makes you come back to it again and again. If anything, it's a great movie to make fun of with a bunch of friends.

About the DVD:
This DVD comes in a hard snap case in widescreen with Dolby Digital sound. The picture quality of the DVD is about average and the sound is about the same. The much touted bonus features include interactive menus, subtitles, and theatrical trailer... all things 99.9% of DVDs have on them as standard features. It's translated into French and has English and Spanish subtitles. For some reason, the movie's theme music with those Jamaican steel drums, sounds cooler in the French dub. Go figure.

Overall, a terrible movie that's strangely compelling, on a budget DVD release.

Rating:
Summary: The Classic "Ah-nold" Shoot-em-up!!
Review: Okay, so Arnold is not much of an actor. But when movie fans need him to kill the bad guys, cause some explosions and save the day, Arnold never disappoints. This time he's on the hunt for a gang of thugs who kidnapped his cute little girl, as he gets help from an airline stewardess played by Rae Dawn Chong. The both of them encounter some exciting and humorous adventures along the way -I loved when she blows up a police van in order to save Arnold. Pretty good stuff huh? A skinny airline stewardess who actually fires a rocket launcher! Anyway, this is in the tradition of entertaining Schwartzengger junk like Predator and Total Recall. We gets lots of action, cartoonish bad guys and those Arnold one-liners we know so well. And yes, Arnold says "I'll be back" in Commando as well! The film is presented on dvd in it's original format of 1.85:1, but look out for screen grain, especially during the night scenes. Except for a theatrical trailer, there are no extras on the dvd but the action of Commando is just good enough. This is a movie where you just want to sit back with popcorn and a coke, and forget about reality for 90 minutes. So if you're in the mood for a good action flick, Commando is sure to entertain you. Have fun!

Rating:
Summary: So bad, but so GOOD!
Review: Arnold Schwarzenegger was king of the 1980's when it came to Rated-R action films. He had so many and this was one that took place between some of those hits. It's got one of the worst scripts ever made for a movie and the casting isn't all that great, and it makes the movie so good.

Matrix(Schwarzennegger) is an elite retired Army Commando. He lives in a solitary town with his daughter Jenny.(Milano) A dictator has hired one of Matrix's former men Bennett(Wells) capture Jenny. The dictator Arius(Hedya) was taken out of power by Matirx. He now wants Matrix to kill the President of his country in 12 hours or they will kill his daughter. With the help of Cindy(Chong) Matrix must hurry or his daughter will die.

First of all you never threaten any character played by Arnold and especially a direct family member. That's an instant indicator that you know there is going to be some awesome payback. It will be swift and hard.

Arnold is awesome in this film. He really mows throw the bad guys in this one. He kills over a hundred in this movie. It has a ton of action in it for a 90 minute film and is one of the more violent movies he's done.

I can't stand Rae Dawn Chong who plays Cindy in the film. She is so horrible. What were they thinking when they casted her in this movie. She is a horrible heroine. It was very common in Arnold's movies in the 80's that they put horrible unattractive woman who stared along side him. This one is a great example of it. Not all of his movies, but Commando sure does. The only thing that makes her standable in the film is the great one liners she gets.

The one liners are great in this film. There are so many that you will never forget. Everybody has the one liners too. The writers did a great job making that the only good part of the script.

Commando is a fun film. It's not Arnolds best film and it's far from his worst. His fans should really enjoy it a lot. If you want to see a cheesy bad made movie, then Commando is it. It's easy to find cheap and it makes a great guys night movie.

Rating:
Summary: Forget Vin Diesel, Arnie will always be the man!!!
Review: Long before Vin Diesel started doing mainstream PG-13 crowd pleasers, Arnold Schwarzenegger did quite a number of films that were so laughably bad but you couldn't help but love them. Commando is one of them, and the premise is so godforsaken ridiculous you'll be laughing the whole time, but you can't help but love it. When Arnie's daughter (a very very young Alyssa Milano) is kidnapped by some of Arnie's ex military comrades, Arnie goes on a one man army killing spree to rescue her. We see Arnie take out the baddies (and a few cops and mall security guards) by shooting them, running them over, impaling them, slicing them up, and we can't forget the good 'ol rocket launcher now can we? A scene chewing Dan Hedya plays a chessily written villian whose intentions most viewers will ignore while watching all the over the top gratuitous violence that makes Commando such a great movie. XXX can't hold a candle to this or to any of Arnie's other greats (Running Man, Predator, and we can't forget Total Recall), and Commando is a popcorn movie all the way. So put your brain on hold, grab a sixer, and enjoy the gratuitous yet hilarious antics of one of the best action heroes of all time.

Rating:
Summary: Still a great bad movie.
Review: EVERYONE loved COMMANDO. And what's not to love? Definitely dated, this still stands up as an exciting, entertaining film. Arnold Schwarzenegger, hot from his stint as Conan and fresh from his role as the Terminator one year before, cemented his status as THE action hero for the next decade, starring in such similar fare as RAW DEAL, PREDATOR, and RUNNING MAN, and ultimately parodying himself in 1993's LAST ACTION HERO. A non-stop, over-the-top, excessively violent film, COMMANDO also introduced the world, previously only graced with "I'll be back," to a whole slew of Arnie-isms, e.g., "Don't disturb my friend, he's dead tired" and "Let off some steam."

As Col. John Matrix, Arnold has retired from the hectic life of a military killing machine. Happy with his life in the wilderness, he spends his days cutting down trees and spending quality time with his daughter (dig the title sequence montage in which the gentle giant feeds a fawn by hand). Not even fifteen minutes into the film, however, paradise crumbles as Matrix's comrade-turned-enemy kills all of his former unit and kidnaps his daughter in an attempt to force Matrix to assassinate a third-world leader so that wannabe dictator General Arius (so hilariously poorly portrayed by Dan "Nick Tortelli" Hedaya) can take control. The fast pace never lets up - though Matrix has eleven hours to complete his assignment, we, thankfully, are privy to only 90 minutes of compressed chaos. And what a terrible, wonderful hour and a half it is.

Bad acting, bad wardrobe, and an absolutely unbelievable premise are all easily ignored as our eyes glaze over and we watch, delighted, the body count grow by the second. Arnold kills everyone to save his daughter. EVERYONE. Bad guys, policemen, mall security guards, EVERYONE. He shoots them, he snaps their necks, he runs them over with cars, he explodes them with a rocket launcher, he impales them on furniture and pitchforks, he drops them from cliffs, he dismembers them with machetes, axes and circular saw blades, cracking wise all the way while keeping a straight face. COMMANDO is the kind of fun film they simply do not make anymore. Excessive, but not grisly, and completely devoid of any overbearing social commentary, COMMANDO is simply pure entertainment. The DVD looks crisp and sounds magnificent - rich colors, deep, dark blacks, and many, many LOUD explosions. Order a pizza, buy a six-pack, turn off your brain, and turn up the volume.

Rating:
Summary: Previous Review's mistake...Sorry Keith Whitener
Review: Keith Whitener(previous review) made a mistake when he was talking about the final battle scene in "Commando". When Matrix fight Bennett...Bennett is played by Vernon Wells and not by Jessie Ventura. And the funny thing that Matrix say when he kill Bennett is: "let off some steam Bennett !"