Commando
Rent & Buy
John Matrix, the former leader of a special commando strike force that always got the toughest jobs done, is forced back into action when his young daughter is kidnapped. To find her, Matrix has to fight his way through an array of punks, killers, one of his former commandos, and a fully equipped private army. With the help of a feisty stewardess and an old friend, Matrix has only a few hours to overcome his greatest challenge: finding his daughter before she's killed.
What critics thought
A quintessential mid-80s Schwarzenegger vehicle that critics received with genuine ambivalence at the time: fun in stretches, thin everywhere else. The humor-laced action earned it comparisons above Rambo in some quarters, while others found the finale a letdown and the whole enterprise too relentless to sustain itself.
“While it's not in the class of Schwarzenegger's last hit (The Terminator), Commando is actually superior to Rambo: First Blood Part II because of its deft mixture of humor and action (with most of the action brushed with humor) and its deliberate evasion of any political message.”
Variety
“Full of spectacular stunts and shootouts, it's a gory crowd-pleaser, directed with jolting efficiency by low-budget veteran Mark L. Lester. If his scenarists had only given Lester a finale with as much explosive punch as his opening scenes, the film could have been a real treat instead of a glorified fireworks display.”
Patrick Goldstein·Los Angeles Times
“Schwarzenegger plays his action scenes both with vengeance and a comic-book laugh, but the mix never gels”
Gene Siskel·Chicago Tribune
“two-thirds of this 90-minute film is mayhem unrelieved by humor and untouched by humanity”
D. J. R. Bruckner·The New York Times
“starts out fun and ends up dreary—how long can you watch this stony Austrian take target practice?”
Paul Attanasio·The Washington Post
Genres
Action, Adventure, Thriller
Cast & Crew
Mark L. LesterDirector
Arnold SchwarzeneggerJohn Matrix
Rae Dawn ChongCindy
Dan HedayaArius
Vernon WellsBennett
James OlsonMajor General Franklin Kirby
David Patrick KellySully
Alyssa MilanoJenny Matrix
Bill DukeCooke
Drew SnyderLawson
Sharon WyattLeslie
Michael DelanoForrestal
Bob MinorJackson
James HornerComposer
Steven E. de SouzaWriter
Jeph LoebWriter
Matthew F. LeonettiCinematographyCommando
John Matrix, the former leader of a special commando strike force that always got the toughest jobs done, is forced back into action when his young daughter is kidnapped. To find her, Matrix has to fight his way through an array of punks, killers, one of his former commandos, and a fully equipped private army. With the help of a feisty stewardess and an old friend, Matrix has only a few hours to overcome his greatest challenge: finding his daughter before she's killed.
What critics thought
A quintessential mid-80s Schwarzenegger vehicle that critics received with genuine ambivalence at the time: fun in stretches, thin everywhere else. The humor-laced action earned it comparisons above Rambo in some quarters, while others found the finale a letdown and the whole enterprise too relentless to sustain itself.
“While it's not in the class of Schwarzenegger's last hit (The Terminator), Commando is actually superior to Rambo: First Blood Part II because of its deft mixture of humor and action (with most of the action brushed with humor) and its deliberate evasion of any political message.”
Variety
“Full of spectacular stunts and shootouts, it's a gory crowd-pleaser, directed with jolting efficiency by low-budget veteran Mark L. Lester. If his scenarists had only given Lester a finale with as much explosive punch as his opening scenes, the film could have been a real treat instead of a glorified fireworks display.”
Patrick Goldstein·Los Angeles Times
“Schwarzenegger plays his action scenes both with vengeance and a comic-book laugh, but the mix never gels”
Gene Siskel·Chicago Tribune
“two-thirds of this 90-minute film is mayhem unrelieved by humor and untouched by humanity”
D. J. R. Bruckner·The New York Times
“starts out fun and ends up dreary—how long can you watch this stony Austrian take target practice?”
Paul Attanasio·The Washington Post
Genres
Action, Adventure, Thriller
Cast & Crew
Mark L. LesterDirectorArnold SchwarzeneggerJohn MatrixRae Dawn ChongCindyDan HedayaAriusVernon WellsBennettJames OlsonMajor General Franklin KirbyDavid Patrick KellySullyAlyssa MilanoJenny MatrixBill DukeCookeDrew SnyderLawsonSharon WyattLeslieMichael DelanoForrestalBob MinorJacksonJames HornerComposerSteven E. de SouzaWriterJeph LoebWriterMatthew F. LeonettiCinematographyRent & Buy