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 | commando | rescue | 

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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:

Harold Lloyd's Greenacres Estate - 1740 Green Acres Drive, Beverly Hills, 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

Matrix goes into battle with an Valmet M78 light machine gun, an Uzi submachine gun, a Remington Model 870 combat shotgun and a Desert Eagle automatic pistol. He also commandeers an M60E3 belt-fed machine gun and an M16A1 assault rifle.

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Goofs

When Bennett's fishing boat is pulling away from the dock there is no disturbed white water from the prop. The boat is either being pulled or pushed.

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Quotes

Bennett: Sully will make sure you get on the plane, Henriques will stay with you, make sure you get off. i don't hear from either one of them, she's dead.
Matrix: How much are they paying you, Bennett?
Bennett: They offered me a hundred grand. You want to know something? When I found out I could get my hands on you, I said I'd do it for nothing.
Henriques: Hey hold it!
[Henriques and Sully grabs Matrix]
Matrix: I'll be back, Bennett.
Bennett: John... I'll be ready, John.

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Connections

Referenced in Torrente, el brazo tonto de la ley (1998)

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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

This movie was touched by God!

Did it ever happen in your life that you've seen such a beautiful movie, such a perfect piece of art, such an unbelievable example of man-made splendor, such a gorgeous masterpiece that it hurt your eyes? Well, I did. And it wasn't the Schindler's List or the Lord of the Rings. No, it was the BEST action movie ever made. The BEST interpretation of the Governator. The BEST explosions. The BEST one-liners. The BEST plot. And the BEST tag-line. This movie is like the Art of Japanese gardening. Simple and beautiful. Balanced. Proportioned. There's just the right amount of everything. And there is just about everything that should go into an action movie: car chases, explosions, drug-lords, sex, an invincible hero, sitting-duck-like enemies, humor, knife duels, fist fights, rocket launchers, blood, death, bullets, glass, pectorals, muscles, some more muscles, explosions and more explosions. You need more? It's got Arnold. Need more? It's got Arnold with a sense of humor. Still more? It's got Arnold with a sense of humor and a rocket launcher. Put these three elements together and try to guess what happens. Destruction. On a mass scale. I won't give away the plot, because it is too intricate and surprising. Basically it is Arnie on a mission to save his daughter. That's about it. But what is important is not the fact that Arnie will save his daughter, but HOW will he save his daughter. Oh, are you saying that The Matrix is the best action movie of all time? Does The Matrix have Arnold Schwarzenegger? NO. Does Commando have the Matrix? YES. JOHN MATRIX, in fact. Oh, so you are saying that Neo dodges bullets? John Matrix doesn't need to. He is bulletproof. He eats bullets for breakfast. Need more proof? I thought so... I gave this Caravaggio painted on celluloid a 10 only because IMDb doesn't go to 11. This movie is so eye-blindingly beautiful I can't find the words to properly end my commentary and render justice to this cinematic masterpiece. So I will just use the movie's tag-line: Somewhere... somehow... someone's going to pay!