Made only a year after Arnold Schwarzenegger made THE TERMINATOR, COMMANDO is the future Governator's first attempt at handling comedy. Violent action is mixed with one liners set against a standard rescue plot. On every level from the acting to the production value to directing, the production reeks of cheese. One might be able to have a laugh at how bad it all is for a while, but like eating too much Velvetta you start getting a stomachache before too long.
John Matrix (Schwarzenegger) is a former military commander who helped run a revolution in South America before retiring to a cabin in the woods with his young daughter Jenny (Alyssa Milano, TV's CHARMED). After having Matrix's men murdered, the ousted dictator Arius (Dan Hedaya, THE HURRICANE) kidnaps Jenny in an effort to force Matrix to murder the new leader he helped put in power. After offing a few bad guys, Matrix gets a flight attendant named Cindy (Rae Dawn Chong, QUEST FOR FIRE) wrapped up in his desperate search for his little girl before the villains, including his former teammate Bennett (Vernon Wells, ROAD WARRIOR), discover he is not on a plane to South America.
Schwarzenegger seems to be laughing at every obvious one liner he must utter. His acting is as stiff as the corpses he leaves in his wake. Hedaya chews up the scenery with his ridiculous Latin accent. Wells, with his beer belly and chain maille vest, looks to be no match for the mega ripped former Mr. Universe. Chong, whose character is poorly integrated into the story with little motivation to remain an active player, is often annoying.
The screenplay by Steven E. de Souza is just a string of fight or chase sequences frankensteined together. Director Mark L. Lester, whose resume is full of bad B action flicks, helps punctuate every awful joke with a distracting close-up. Choppy editing, used sometimes to cover up Schwarzenegger's robotic performance, doesn't help Lester's command of filmic techniques. Whether it was in the script or not, Lester still went along with the embarrassing cliché-filled montage to establish Matrix and his daughter's loving relationship. When they happily feed a deer in the forest, one should know what they are in for. Additionally, as one innocent bystander after another gets hurt in Matrix's rampage, the more absurd the film gets.
So typical of '80s action flicks, the violence is gratuitous and pointless. The film's only purpose is as a vehicle to get the hot action star Schwarzenegger back on the screen. Too bad the vehicle is a Pinto — a film that is dangerous for the audience at any speed.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
