Review: Commando (1985)
- Nov 22, 2016
- 2 min read
Bantucinema Reviews
Commando 9/10
Released: October 4, 1985
By William A. Rivers
“Please don’t bother my friend; he’s dead tired.”
This is by far, the quintessential Arnold Schwarzenegger movie. Commando is the perfect combination of action, cheese, brutal kills, one liners and fan service. The film of course stars Arnold Schwarzenegger in the prime of his career. This is the point after Terminator, when his spot on the list of world’s greatest action heroes was solidified and he really found his niche. If you like over the top 80s action, and don’t mind laughing at the silly dialogue, this is the movie for you.
The basic premise here is that John Matrix (Arnold Schwarzenegger), a former military combat specialist, has retired and is focused on raising his 11 year old daughter. When word gets out that somebody is killing off Matrix’s former partners, John is asked to return. John refuses, but is soon after attacked. They kidnap his daughter and are using her as leverage to get John to help a dictator rise to power once again. That is the main premise, but we all know that it is simply a means to putting Arnold Schwarzenegger into crazy situations of glorious violence.
This film not only features some of the greatest lines ever uttered in film history; it also features one of the most compelling action movie scores to date. This music never lets up! You feel every second of this epic adventure as it unfolds and it is simply wonderful. It is especially great when paired up with a perfect ending credits song to wrap up the film.
There isn’t much to be said about this film other than, “if you haven’t seen it, go see it.” It’s just a great time by and large. Its score is based on the enjoyment to be had and not really on the overarching quality of the film. It’s pretty unfair to judge cheesy 80s action flicks by such a harsh margin, so by the standards of the genre, Commando is as good as it gets.
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