Commando (1985)

Director:

Mark L. Lester

Writers:

Jeph Loeb (story) &
Matthew Weisman (story) ...

Release Date:

4 October 1985 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Comedy | Thriller

Tagline:

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

Plot:

A retired elite commando has only a few hours to find and rescue his daughter from an exiled dictator.

Plot Keywords:

Airplane | General | Rescue | Commando | Exiled Dictator

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

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 Cervantes	...	Diaz (as Carlos Cervantes)
Lenny Juliano	...	Soldier

Also Known As:

Comando (Portugal) [pt]
Comando Para Matar (Brazil) [pt]
Commando (Finland) [fi]
Commando (France) [fr]
Commando (Spain) [es]
Das Phantom Kommando (West Germany) [de]
Komando (Greece) [el]
Komando (Czechoslovakia) [cs]
Komando (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
Komandos (Serbia) [sr]

Runtime:

90 min | 92 min (director's cut) | Sweden:75 min (video version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:16 | West Germany:18 (video premiere) (cut) | Germany:18 (re-release) (2001) (JK/SPIO) (uncut) | Italy:T (re-rating) | Italy:VM14 (orginal rating) | USA:R (certificate #27763) | Finland:K-15 (TV rating) (uncut) | Finland:K-16 (cut) (1992) | Finland:K-18 (cut) (1985) | Australia:MA (Definitive Edition DVD) | France:-12 | Finland:K-18 (DVD rating) (cut) | Sweden:15 (video rating) | Sweden:(Banned) | South Korea:18 | Spain:18 | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:R (Manitoba) | Australia:R | Finland:K-18 | Ireland:18 (cut UK version) | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:M | Singapore:M18 | UK:18 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Norway:18 (video premiere) (1987) (cut) | Norway:(Banned) (1985-2003) (cinema release) | Germany:BPjM Restricted

Filming Locations:

Beverly Hills, California, USA

Company:

SLM Production Group

Trivia:

Arius (Dan Hedaya) is said to be a deposed dictator from the country of Val Verde. Val Verde was a fictionalized South/Central American country used by Hollywood from the 1980s to early 1990s to depict a Spanish speaking country similar to Cuba or Nicaragua without getting encountering diplomatic problems. It is also referenced in the films Predator (1987), Die Hard 2 (1990), and the made for TV movie Supercarrier (1988) (TV).

Goofs:

Continuity: When Matrix is raiding the surplus store, and enters the hidden room full of guns, he grabs the rocket launcher off the wall and hands it to Cindy. After he says "Go!" and she leaves the room with the rocket launcher, the next shot of Matrix shows it hanging on the wall again.

Quotes:

Bennett: [on his way to kill Jenny Matrix, tries to open the door, and the knob fells off, Bennett smashes the door open] You little BITCH!
Bennett: [He enters the room, saw a hole in the wall] Errr... GOD!
Bennett: [He looks through the hole, saw Jenny fled, Bennett hurled his way through the wall to chase Jenny Matrix] Catch... YOUUUUU !

Movie Connections:

Featured in Clean Slate (1994)

Soundtrack:

WE FIGHT FOR LOVE

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!