Commando (1985)

A retired elite Black Ops Commando launches a one man war against a group of South American criminals who have kidnapped his daughter to blackmail him into starting a revolution and getting an exiled dictator back into power.

Director:

Mark L. Lester

Writers:

Jeph Loeb (story), Matthew Weisman (story),

Stars:

Arnold Schwarzenegger, Rae Dawn Chong, Dan Hedaya

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Arnold Schwarzenegger	...	John Matrix
Rae Dawn Chong	...	Cindy
Dan Hedaya	...	Arius
Vernon Wells	...	Bennett
James Olson	...	Major General Franklin Kirby
David Patrick Kelly	...	Sully
Alyssa Milano	...	Jenny Matrix
Bill Duke	...	Cooke
Drew Snyder	...	Lawson
Sharon Wyatt	...	Leslie
Michael Delano	...	Forrestal (as Michael DeLano)
Bob Minor	...	Jackson
Michael Adams	...	Harris (as Mike Adams)
Gary Carlos Cervantes	...	Diaz (as Carlos Cervantes)
Lenny Juliano	...	Soldier

Storyline

A retired special agent named John Matrix led an elite unit and has left the armed forces to live in a secluded mountain home with his daughter Jenny. But now he is forced out of retirement when his daughter is kidnapped by a band of thugs intent on revenge! Unbeknownst to Matrix, the members of his former unit are being killed one by one. Even though Matrix' friend General Franklin Kirby gives Matrix armed guards, attackers manage to kidnap Matrix and Jenny. Matrix learns that Bennett, a former member of his Matrix' unit who was presumed dead has kidnapped him to try to force Matrix to do a political assassination for a man called Arius (who calls himself El Presidente), a warlord formerly bested by Matrix who wishes to lead a military coup in his home country. Since Arius will have Jenny killed if Matrix refuses, Matrix reluctantly accepts the demand.

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Plot Keywords:

dictator | airplane | general | rescue | commando | 

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Taglines:

If there's a mission that no man could survive...then *he's* the man for the job.

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Genres:

Action | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 October 1985 (USA)

Also Known As:

Comando

Filming Locations:

Channel Islands, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$10,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

SLM Production Group, Silver Pictures, Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min 92 min (director's cut) 75 min (video)

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Patria Industries really exists. It's a company from Finland which produces armored modular vehicles, mortar systems and helicopters for military purposes.

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Goofs

During a scene towards the end of the movie, when Matrix shoots one of the lone guards from the roof, you can clearly see a blue crash-mat that he lands on after rolling off the roof (4:3 version).

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Quotes

Cooke: You know what I like best about this car? The price.
[Cranks up the car and backs up]
Forrestal: Wait a minute! You can't do that in here!
[Cooke speeds up and runs over Forrestal]

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Connections

Featured in Great Movie Mistakes (2010)

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Soundtracks

"WE FIGHT FOR LOVE"
Music by Andy Taylor
Lyrics by Michael Des Barres
Performed by Power Station
Produced by Bernard Edwards and Andy Taylor
Courtesy of Capitol-EMI Records

User Reviews

Remember Sully when I promised to kill you last? That's right Matrix you did. I lied!!

When I was growing up, I had two heroes on the big screen. One was Rambo and the other was Indiana Jones. They were two relentless characters that would never stop, never give up and their tenacity was stuff that kids or teens would swear by. When we were playing adventure games those were the two characters that always got chosen to play first. But the same year that Rambo II came out, a new hero was born. We all knew who Arnold was, he was the Terminator. But when Commando was released, one of my best friends said to me, " Hey Dan, I think this guy could take Rambo." After all Matrix says to Cook, " I eat green berets for breakfast and right now I'm very hungry!" I would maybe have to concur. Matrix was the toughest man alive ( until MacGyver came out ). And Commando is one of the best memories that I have as a young man growing up in the 80's. Besides it being a damn fine, fun movie, it also has two other elements that began to teach me about film. First a young Bill Paxton was in it and secondly I began to notice the name Joel Silver. He is the producer extraordinaire that is the man behind hits like Die Hard, Predator, Weird Science and more recently The Matrix. Now I look for his name in the producers chair and when he is on that poster as producer, I'll run to that movie.

Commando doesn't pretend to be something that it's not. The Rambo character was more into politics and it took itself a little more seriously than Commando did and that's fine. But this film is nothing but entertainment. It starts fast and violent and it ends hard and violent. You think Rambo kills a lot in Rambo, then count the bodies in this one. But it is so much fun because not only does Arnold have fun with it, but the script, as cheesy as it may seem is actually brilliant. Arnold's one liners are now a staple of his film persona and I think you can look at this film as the root of that persona. For example " Any carry on luggage? " the stewardess asks Arnold, " Just him," he replies pointing at the thug that is escorting him onto the plane. After he beats the hell out of Bill Duke he says, " We'll take Cooks car, he won't be needing it." And of course, to Bennett when they are about to fight mano a mano, "Come on Bennett, let's party!" Commando is littered with small moments like that you won't soon forget. It has stayed with me for 15 years and me and my friends rent it every now and again to laugh and cheer. If this a film that you haven't seen yet, then do so. If you haven't seen this film in quite a while, you should treat yourself to it. It is fun fun and more fun. And this is the first film that Arnold reprises his famous line " I'll be back!" So what's not to like about it?