Commando

Year: 1985

Grade: A-

Country: USA

Director: Lester

Review

action classic that was actually a bit better than i remembered. there are a lot of classic one-liners in this one, some of which i had forgotten, but quickly remembered (let off some steam, bennett). this predates schwarzenegger’s best films (predator and t2) and he’s still a little unpolished here. it wasn’t until later that he was able to play more than one note effectively. that said, he shows promise here when he’s with alyssa milano. in terminator he didn’t need to play more than one note, but as his career progressed he added a depth that people didn’t expect from a bodybuilder. this isn’t to say that he ever became a fully rounded actor, but he was able to add comedy to his repertoire in films like t2 and last action hero which gave his films additional entertainment value.

everyone remembers the end of this picture which has schwarzenegger going up against about 100 mercenaries. dan hedaya is no good as the “hispanic” drug lord, or whatever he is. and bennett is oddly effeminate in his chainmail outfit and oversized knife which makes up for a lack of size elsewhere. bill duke should have been the real henchman, but he was a lower level button pusher. luckily duke got his due in predator, that time as a good guy.