Commando *** (1985, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Rae Dawn Chong, Dan Hedaya) Classic Movie Review 9496

Director Mark L Lester’s time-passing Rambo-esque 1985 action thriller Commando is a pre-superstardom vehicle for Arnold Schwarzenegger, who is chucked together, in another of those odd-couple couplings, with Rae Dawn Chong on the trail of a Latin-American tyrant who has snatched his daughter.

The plot is silly, the direction ragged, the playing eagerly amateurish, but the film has a lot of vigour and entertaining rough-house humour very typical of its producer Joel Silver, who went on to Die Hard and Lethal Weapon.

The sparky chemistry between Arnie as retired special agent John Matrix and Chong as Cindy motors the movie and helps to mitigate some nasty violence. In a scene that won’t make the TV print, Arnie chainsaws off a bad guy’s arm and uses it to beat his head. The TV version also cuts other violence and swearing.

Commando was a good-sized hit for the star, costing $10,000,000 and grossing  $35,100,000 in the US.

Also in the cast are Dan Hedaya, Vernon Wells, David Patrick, James Olson, Alyssa Milano, David Patrick Kelly, Bill Duke, Drew Snyder, Sharon Wyatt, Michael DeLano, Bob Minor, Michael Adams, Gary Carlos Cervantes, Lenny Juliano and Bill Paxton.

Commando is directed by Mark L Lester, runs 90 minutes or 92 minutes (director’s cut), is made by SLM Production Group, Silver Pictures and Twentieth Century Fox, is released by 20th Century Fox, is written by Steven E de Souza, from a story by Steven E de Souza, Jeph Loeb [Joseph Loeb III] and Matthew Weisman, is shot by Matthew F Leonetti, is produced by Joel Silver, is scored by James Horner and is designed by John Vallone.

© Derek Winnert 2020 Classic Movie Review 9496

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