Commando (1985)

Commando (1985)

8/10

Starring

Arnold Schwarzenegger

Rae Dawn Chong

Directed by Mark L. Lester

I miss the good old action films. Commando had a twelve-minute intro, and then the action starts—similar to Rambo, which also came out in the 80s. After a brief intro, the unexpected kicks in. This style of delivery was what we were used to and what we loved as kids. The action was fast, the men were impossible to kill, and the musical score felt like a mix of neo, jungle, and rock.

Commando is that one action film that stood out over the years and cemented Arnold Schwarzenegger in the hearts of many as an action hero.

The movie had so much going for it—stunts and moments that make it impossible not to admire the scripting and the one-liners.

We get scenes like Arnold pushing a car down a hill to drive it using gravity because the battery was missing, or his co-star firing a rocket launcher in the middle of the street. There’s no way you can watch this movie and not admit its classic status.

It’s interesting and captivating for an action film. The name Colonel John Matrix (Arnold Schwarzenegger) is one I remember for his unstoppable persona and his magnificent feats.

The plot Matrix is caught up in is simple and straightforward, but the scenes and the build-up to the expected end of any action film are worth commending.

It was here I first heard Arnold use the line, “I’ll be back…” but in this movie, it was, “I’ll be back, Bennett.”

The movie cemented the one-man army trope that many action films use to excite us. There are plenty of near-death scenes, over-the-top killings, and muscle-man tactics from Arnold’s character that you’ll never get tired of seeing.

The plot, as I said, is simple: Retired Delta Force operator Colonel John Matrix is informed that all the other members of his former unit have been killed. The government deploys men to his house to protect him, suspecting he’ll be next. Not long after, Matrix’s home is attacked, and his daughter is kidnapped.

The men capture him too and give him a mission: kill the president of Val Verde, a man Matrix helped put in power. He’s told to get the job done, or his daughter will be killed.

Matrix, knowing full well that even if he completes the task, he and his daughter will be killed, escapes from the plane heading to Val Verde and starts hunting down the men who kidnapped his daughter.

Go watch Commando again—just for the thrill of it.