Commando (1985)

Director: Mark L Lester
Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Rae Dawn Chong, Dan Hedaya

Synopsis:
A retired commando's daughter is held hostage by a South American dictator he helped depose. In exchange for his daughter's safety, he has to kill the new president, but he has other plans.

Impressions:
You'll be hard-pressed to find a more excellent example of a big, dumb, brilliant 80s action film. What? You think "dumb" and "brilliant" are contradictions? Not in this case. Yes, the movie's not particularly intelligent, but it's immensely entertaining and if you want Schwarzenegger action at its best, this is the movie for you. I honestly think it's pretty self-aware and has fun with the ridiculous extremes. John Matrix is a superhuman and he has to be for the over-the-top action that fills the movie. Besides Schwarzenegger, Rae Dawn Chong is pretty good as a stewardess shanghaied into helping Matrix and standouts among the villains are Vernon Wells as the unhinged Aussie Bennett, David Patrick Kelly as Sully and Bill Duke as Cooke. Like I said, this movie is a lot of fun and quite quotable. It belongs in the collection of any action movie aficionado.

As a side note, this film is responsible for me wearing watches with a countdown timer. Fortunately, I haven't picked up any other habits from this movie, like eating Green Berets for breakfast. I hear they're pretty tough.

Rating:
Own It