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Commando (film)

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Commando

Directed by	Mark L. Lester
Produced by	Joel Silver
Written by	Jeph Loeb & Matthew Weisman and Steven E. de Souza (story) Steven E. de Souza (screenplay)
Starring	Arnold Schwarzenegger Rae Dawn Chong Vernon Wells Dan Hedaya James Olson David Patrick Kelly Alyssa Milano Bill Duke
Music by	James Horner
Cinematography	Matthew F. Leonetti
Editing by	Glenn Farr Mark Goldblatt John F. Link
Distributed by	20th Century Fox
Release date(s)	October 4, 1985 (USA)
Running time	88 min.
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$10,000,000 (estimated)
Gross revenue	$57,000,000 (estimated)
IMDb profile

Commando (first released on October 4, 1985) is a Hollywood action movie starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. The film's use of humor in an action movie context became a distinctive element of Schwarzenegger's later roles.

1 Synopsis
2 Reception
3 Weapons used by Matrix
4 Cast
5 Notable supporting cast
6 DVD releases
7 Production
8 References in popular culture
9 Toy line
10 Soundtrack
- 10.1 Track listing
11 References
12 External links

Synopsis

Schwarzenegger plays retired colonel John Matrix, a special forces soldier who once led an elite unit and has left the armed forces to live in a secluded mountain home with his daughter Jenny (Alyssa Milano). 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 (Vernon Wells), 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 who wishes to lead a military coup in a foreign country. Since Arius will have Jenny killed if Matrix refuses, Matrix reluctantly accepts the demand. After Matrix is taken aboard an airplane heading to the foreign country, he kills the henchman guarding him ("Don't disturb my friend. He's dead-tired") and jumps into a swamp just as the plane is leaving the runway. Matrix then sets his stopwatch for the approximate time of the flight, because if Arius learns that he has escaped, Jenny will be killed. Matrix commandeers the car of Cindy, an off-duty flight attendant (Rae Dawn Chong) and enlists her help by explaining the disaster that has befallen him and Jenny. The two follow Sully, and Matrix kills him by dropping him off the side of a mountain. Afterwards, Cindy asks what happened to Sully, to which Matrix replies, "I let him go". After Matrix learns where Arius' mansion is located and, presumably, where Jenny is being held, he breaks into a gun shop, and steals pistols, shotguns, assault rifles to grenades, explosives, and a rocket launcher. After commandeering a seaplane from a nearby marina, Matrix and Cindy land the plane off the coast of the island where Arius was located. Matrix instructs Cindy to contact General Kirby and then proceeds to Arius' villa. Matrix uses the weapons and explosives to kill most of Arius' forces, and then proceeds to Arius' villa, where he kills Arius with a shotgun. Although Matrix finds Jenny in the basement, Bennett shoots Matrix in the arm. After Matrix convinces the sadistic Bennett to face him in a knife fight, Matrix impales Bennett with a steam pipe, telling him to "let off some steam." After Kirby's men arrive, Matrix, Cindy, and Jenny fly off into the sunset as the pop song "We Fight for Love" plays in the background Power Station.

Reception

Commando earned $7,700,000 during its opening weekend, playing on 1,495 screens in the United States. It went on to gross $35 million in the United States and $57 million worldwide.

Weapons used by Matrix

Valmet M78 light machine gun (sometimes mistaken for an RPK light machine gun due to similar appearance)
Desert Eagle handgun
M202A1 FLASH multi-shot rocket launcher
Remington 870 12-gauge shotgun with high-capacity magazine tube
M16A1 assault rifle
Combat knife
M60E3 machine gun
M67 fragmentation grenade
IMI Uzi submachine gun
Heckler & Koch G3 assault rifle
M18A1 Claymore Antipersonnel Mine
Improvised weapons (e.g., Circular saw blade, lead pipe, metal furnace door)
Mêlée weapons (e.g., a Pitchfork, Machete, Axe)

Cast

Arnold Schwarzenegger as Colonel John Matrix
Vernon Wells as Bennett
Rae Dawn Chong as Cindy
Dan Hedaya as Arius
David Patrick Kelly as Sully
James Olson as General Franklin Kirby
Alyssa Milano as Jenny
Bill Duke as Cooke
Gary Cervantes as Diaz
Charles Meshack as Henriques

Notable supporting cast

Sharon Wyatt as Leslie
Michael Delano as Forrestal
Michael Adams as Harris
Chelsea Field as Western Airlines Flight Attendant
Julie Hayek as Western Airlines Flight Attendant (also Miss USA 1983)
Walter Scott as Cates
George Fisher as Security Guard at Galleria Mall
Ava Cadell as Girl in Bed at Motel (also a sex therapist)
Branscombe Richmond as Vega
Bill Paxton as Coast Guard Intercept Officer

DVD releases

The first DVD of Commando was released on region 1 in the US on May 25, 1999. Common with early DVD releases, the disc featured a non-anamorphic video transfer, a basic 2.0 surround track, and only the US theatrical trailer as an extra. DVDs released in other regions soon followed, some with anamorphic transfers, but the 2001 UK region 2 DVD was censored by the BBFC (approximately 12 seconds of cuts) due to violence. These cuts were brought over from the 1985 original release. However, a German master was used for the UK DVD, meaning the film was cut even more than it should have been, leading to 56 seconds of cuts instead of the BBFC's 12 seconds. If the film had been resubmitted to the BBFC, it would be passed uncut under the BBFC's new more liberal rules. This has proven to be the case as the BBFC's website indicates that both versions of the film for the new DVD were passed uncut on June 11, 2007. This means the film will be uncut in the UK for the first time outside the UK laserdisc. On June 5, 2007, 20th Century Fox officially announced that a completely unedited and unrated director's cut of the film would be released on region 1 DVD on September 18, 2007. Through seamless branching, this new disc will not only feature the new unrated cut (which they claimed would clock in at 95 minutes but in truth it is only 91 minutes with a mere 92 seconds of extra footage), but as a bonus, will also contain the original 90 minute R-rated US theatrical cut. Aside from this, the new DVD will be a special edition, featuring an audio commentary from director Mark L. Lester (strangely only on the theatrical cut), additional deleted scenes, a "Pure Action" featurette, a "Let Off Some Steam" featurette, and four photo galleries with over 150 photos. On a more technical note, the transfer will be anamorphically enhanced and will feature a new 5.1 audio mix.

Production

Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines.
The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.

In the second scene of the movie, Cooke kills a car salesman. In the screenplay, this scene features Sully, not Cooke. ^[1] The reason for the film departing from the script in this instance is not known.
The song that plays at the end credits is "We Fight for Love" (also known as "Somewhere, Somehow, Someone's Gotta Pay") by the Power Station.^[2]
Following his success in the Conan movies and The Terminator (1984), producers realized that Arnold Schwarzenegger was becoming a household name. This was the first film in which he got true "top" billing. The name Schwarzenegger was placed at the top of the poster, above the title of the film. Almost every film he has starred in since has done the same.
A sequel was considered, but never filmed; Arnold Schwarzenegger, by his own admission, was not interested.
John McTiernan was offered the chance to direct this film, and turned it down. Later, while editing Nomads (1986), his feature debut, he was offered the chance to direct Arnold Schwarzenegger's second film for 20th Century Fox, Predator (1987) , which he accepted.
The shopping mall used is the same one that was used in Terminator 2: Judgment Day and Fast Times at Ridgemont High: the Sherman Oaks Galleria.
The mansion used in the final shoot out between Matrix and Arius is the same mansion in the final shoot out between Axel Foley and Victor Maitland in Beverly Hills Cop (1984), and was the home of silent film star Harold Lloyd.
The house in the opening scene where Cooke and Diaz kill the first of Matrix's men was the home of screenwriter, Steven E. de Souza.
This movie was nominated for a Saturn Award for Best Special Effects, but lost to Back to the Future.
In the scene aboard the plane, one of the flight attendants is actress Chelsea Field; this film is one of her early roles.
Bill Paxton also makes a small appearance as a radar operator. He has also appeared with Schwarzenegger in The Terminator and True Lies.
The movie references Val Verde, a fictional country frequently used by Hollywood. The airport in the fictional country is actually Long Beach Airport.
Bill Duke, who plays Cooke, later played alongside Schwarzenegger again in Predator.
Composer James Horner, who crafted the film's distinctive themes, also worked on 1986's Aliens and won an Academy Award for his score on Titanic.
World renowned sex therapist, Ava Cadell plays the busty girl in a motel bed in the film.
In the scene where Matrix dangles Sully over a cliff, an editing flaw is visible. Although it appears Sully's doom is imminent, he is completely free from harm's way, as he is supported by not only the strength of Matrix but a cable attached to his leg. The dummy 'Sully' glimpsed as he is dropped off the cliff also has ripped clothes from multiple attempts at the shot.
Shortly after Matrix kills Sully, a continuity error occurs. When Matrix flips Sully's car, damage on one side is clearly visible. However, when they drive away the car appears unscratched. Also, during the chase sequence, the driver's side rear view mirror falls off of Sully's Porsche due to contact with Matrix's car. Later during the chase it is reattached.
In the fight scene between Matrix and Bennet, when Bennet has Matrix up against a cement column, Matrix clearly throws Bennet into another column but a second later shows the two flying through a metal door into the furnace room.
Matrix kills 89 people on camera in Commando and quite likely dozens more off-camera with the sheer number of explosions he sets off in the island climax. With a movie running time of 90 minutes, that is approximately 1 kill per minute.
Two lines spoken by Schwarzenegger in The Terminator are repeated in Commando:"Fuck you asshole!" and "I'll be back."

References in popular culture

The commercial for the fictional movie, Exploder: Evacuator Part II in the video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City parodies the movie, including the plot device of the hero's family being kidnapped as well as "all hell breaking loose."
In an episode of The Simpsons, Rainier Wolfcastle (a parody of Arnold Schwarzenegger) references Commando while holding a sausage and glaring at it and says: "Remember when I said I would eat you last? I lied."
The World of Warcraft instance "Ruins of Ahn'Qiraj" references Commando when Lieutenant General Andorov says: "Remember, Rajaxx, when I said I'd kill you last? I lied..."
In the Pani Poni Dash! episode "A Demon In Clothes", after learning that Becky was in disguise all along, Serizawa puts in the make-up of the main character in the film, along with a minigun.

Toy line

Diamond Toymakers released a line of action figures in 1986 in an attempt to cash in on the success of G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero. Matrix now leads an elite special forces unit called C-Team, made up of Spex, Blaster, and Chopper, against the forces of F.E.A.R., led by Psycho and consisting of Lead-Head, Stalker, and Sawbones. There was an assortment of 4" figures, containing all of the above, a series of 8" figures, consisting of Matrix, Spex, Blaster, Psycho, Lead-Head, and Stalker. Oddly, Chopper and Sawbones are absent. Finally, there was an 18" John Matrix that came with a pistol, an M-16, and a grenade. The toy line was criticized (as was competing lines for RoboCop and Rambo) for making toys marketed to children out of Rated-R movies that few of them should have seen.