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The 80s was such a fertile ground for action films. The peak of Schwarzenegger and Stallone, the rise of Van Damme and Seagal. Indestructible men that could toss you across the room with a flick of their fingers into a drum of instantly exploding gasoline while throwing a witty one-liner, and walk away with barely a scratch. Any of their films started and there was no doubt that they would kick all of the bad guy's collective asses. It was all about the ass-kicking journey.
Commando is probably one of the prime examples of this, featuring Schwarzenegger at the top of his game, doing pretty much just that. He plays John Matrix, a former Special Forces colonel who sets out to rescue his daughter (Alyssa Milano) who was kidnapped to force him to assassinate a South American political leader. Despite these stakes, I don't think there's any doubt in anybody that watches this as to who will walk away victorious.
This is one of those films I used to see often when I was a kid. Growing up in the 80s, I caught the brunt of that action film wave. However, it had been probably 25-30 years since I had last seen it, and it is probably that lack of stakes that had kept it at a distance for me. I mean, it is fun and laughable to see Arnold plow his way through an endless army of thugs with bad aim, as bodies fall left and right of him, but it is not necessarily something that sticks with me.
But again, it *is* fun. Vernon Wells does a lot of scenery chewing, which makes for a fun bad guy, it's always fun to see Dan Hedaya in anything, and Rae Dawn Chong makes for an interesting and competent sidekick instead of just a damsel-in-distress; and much like her character, you're enjoyment of this will depend on how much you can believe this macho bullshit.
Grade:
COMMANDO
(1985, Lester)
(1985, Lester)
John Matrix: "I eat Green Berets for breakfast. And right now, I'm very hungry!"
Cindy: "I can't believe this macho bullshit..."
Cindy: "I can't believe this macho bullshit..."
The 80s was such a fertile ground for action films. The peak of Schwarzenegger and Stallone, the rise of Van Damme and Seagal. Indestructible men that could toss you across the room with a flick of their fingers into a drum of instantly exploding gasoline while throwing a witty one-liner, and walk away with barely a scratch. Any of their films started and there was no doubt that they would kick all of the bad guy's collective asses. It was all about the ass-kicking journey.
Commando is probably one of the prime examples of this, featuring Schwarzenegger at the top of his game, doing pretty much just that. He plays John Matrix, a former Special Forces colonel who sets out to rescue his daughter (Alyssa Milano) who was kidnapped to force him to assassinate a South American political leader. Despite these stakes, I don't think there's any doubt in anybody that watches this as to who will walk away victorious.
This is one of those films I used to see often when I was a kid. Growing up in the 80s, I caught the brunt of that action film wave. However, it had been probably 25-30 years since I had last seen it, and it is probably that lack of stakes that had kept it at a distance for me. I mean, it is fun and laughable to see Arnold plow his way through an endless army of thugs with bad aim, as bodies fall left and right of him, but it is not necessarily something that sticks with me.
But again, it *is* fun. Vernon Wells does a lot of scenery chewing, which makes for a fun bad guy, it's always fun to see Dan Hedaya in anything, and Rae Dawn Chong makes for an interesting and competent sidekick instead of just a damsel-in-distress; and much like her character, you're enjoyment of this will depend on how much you can believe this macho bullshit.
Grade: