Director: Mark Lester
Pigeonhole: Action / Thriller
Commando is light on plot and script, but it what it lacks in those areas, it completely compensates for in gunfire and explosions. Schwarzenegger plays John Matrix, a retired special forces operative, who is raising his daughter Jenny (Milano) as a single parent. A crazy South American warlord named Arius (Dan Hedaya) tries to blackmail Matrix into helping him to assassinate the current ruler of a fictional country called Val Verde, by killing all of Matrix's former comrades and kidnapping his daughter - all so Arius can take over.
Matrix decides to instead kill his escort (sent by Arius), and then he "enlists" the help of stewardess/ pilot-in-training named Cindy (Chong) to garner a cache of weapons and fly to Arius' staging area near Val Verde to kill everyone. Literally. Oh, and to rescue his child.
The 80's actions genre was really led by Schwarzenegger, Stallone, and Willis. Commando, while not the crown jewel of Arnold's action days, is still a fun hour and half ride that requires no thinking; there are no double crosses to reconcile; and there is no silly attempt to try to force in a love story. The audience clearly knows who the bad guys are, who the good guy is, and frankly that can be a breath of fresh air. Commando moves along at a good pace - yes there is a little suspension of disbelief at how Matrix gets the clues to save his daughter - but it does not get bogged down with any fluff. Arnold does spout off some sarcastic remarks, but still nothing close to Willis' Die Hard movies.
Anyone with a Y chromosome will enjoy the hail of bullets and destruction caused by rocket launchers being used (similar to a Stallone film out earlier in 1985). An entire mercenary army cannot stop Arnold on the way to saving to his daughter. And speaking of Alyssa Milano (who was just a year into her role on Who's the Boss) did a good job to be the scared teenager without being a whiny brat, which I really appreciated.
Rae Dawn Chong does a serviceable job as Cindy, the reluctant helper, although at times it was tough to tell if she was the comic relief or some victim of circumstances.
Bill Duke (who later joins Arnold in the movie Predator) is probably the "best" actor of the bad guys. He comes off as very reserved, but when time for action he is ready to fight. Plus he has very distinct voice which is perfect for action movies.
Recommendation: See this film for video-game-esque slaughter of bad guys who were ignorant enough to kidnap an ex-special forces colonel's daughter. Enjoy Arnold's dispensing of said villains with impunity. Commando, beginning to end, stays serious enough to not degenerate into lame one-liner spewing, or attempting to wedge in a sad-sack romance. **I could not detect any difference in the unrated cut from the theatrical release.
'R' rating is for violence, language and brief nudity.
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