Commando (1985)

Plot Outline: A retired commando has his daughter kidnapped by an exiled dictator and one of his old commando buddies and is told that he must kill the president of a country in order for her to be released. But he has other plans and he tracks down the villains before all hell breaks loose.

The Review: Arnie's first lead role after making The Terminator is one of the biggest cult flicks ever. Commando is an enjoyable action film right up until the completely unbelievable climax where it turns into a complete and utter farce. This film heralded the start of Arnie's infamous one-liners (he also gets to say "I'll Be Back" as well!) and its packed full of some great ones ("You're a funny guy Sully, that's why I'll kill you last" and we all know what happens to Sully!). He always manages to deliver these one-liners with such ease and wit, but at the same time, he also manages to keep it realistic for his character. Arnie can't act. He doesn't try to hide that fact. Pounding people and blowing things up is what he does best and in that respect, many can argue this is his best flick because that's all he does - and do it in style. Rae Dawn Chong is an annoying and pointless female supporting role. Talk about stereotypical characters! All she does is scream, moan and get worried about what is going on. Plus she isn't exactly what I'd call attractive (didn't stop Arnie though). And Vernon Wells as the evil commando is completely over-the-top as he tries too hard to look and sound bad. He comes off as more of a ponce than anything else! Bill Duke is also on hand to give some decent steel to the huge number of villains that Arnie has to waste. And waste them he does! He takes apart a whole assortment of bad guys and cops with ease. The start of the movie really shocked me with its extreme brutally. Nothing is spared (such as when one of the villains tells Arnie that they have his daughter and want to make a deal with him, only for Arnie to shoot him in cold blood). However the climax to the movie is too far-fetched to really be entertaining. Arnie manages to take apart a whole army with a seemingly endless supply of ammo, manages to take a grenade explosion (whereas the enemy soldiers were dropping like flies), is able to take cover in a shed which is then pumped full of bullets, only to emerge without a trace of injury and then finally managing to defeat a commando bad guy in hand-to-hand combat. This bit is more like Rambo: First Blood Part II than anything else as we witness a one-man wrecking crew take apart an entire army. You can see the mechanisms they used to propel the actors into the air as well and there's also the infamous shot of Vernon Wells slipping as he hops into the boat right at the start. They've been kept in for reasons unknown but just add to the ridiculous charm of this much-loved action flick.

Final Verdict: Commando is excellent "Arnie in his prime" but leave your brain and disbelief behind before you check in. Easily one of Arnie's greatest films. One last thing, when you consider the way Bennett (Vernon Wells) dresses and the camp way in which he behaves, it just makes me think why he was thrown out of Matrix's unit in the first place!

Rating: