As many will tell you, "Commando" epitomizes the completely mindless (some would even call it downright lobotomized) action/adventure that defines the career of Arnold Schwarzenegger. "Commando" is an incredibly stupid movie, but it never pretends to be anything else, either. It's not trying to win any awards but rather to just give the audience what it wants: lots of fighting and action sequences, quotable one-liners (often great, often corny, often both), and a plot that serves no purpose other than to provide a reason to shoot down bad guys by the hundreds or to blow stuff up. Here is a movie that has absolutely no artistic merit, a movie that sucks, but knows that it sucks and doesn't pretend not to suck.
In a sense, that's what makes the movie fun to watch. Yes, the stunts are impossible (like Ah-nold jumping from a plane and landing in 3 feet of water with a nice soft splash). Yes, the plot is awfully convenient (like Rae Dawn Chong going from being a hysterical onlooker to trusty sidekick in the span of about 1 scene). But, that's what this movie was always supposed to be. It's what it was marketed as. The film-makers knew they were making a movie that would be "so bad that it's good", one where the entertainment would come from what almost amounts to a parody of action movie plots. That's what they promised and that's what they deliver.
The plot of the movie (seriously, do we care?) involves the Governator taking on a bunch of foreign thugs led by an exiled dictator (Dan Hedaya, who I remember as later having played the greedy Cubs manager in "Rookie of the Year") who are seeking revenge and have kidnapped his daughter (played by a young Alyssa Milano). But Arnie is not one to take things sitting down, though, and soon amasses enough firepower to take a small country and a dorky sidekick (Rae Dawn Chong) with enough annoying power to actually irritate me.
Don't get me wrong. The movie sucks, but I'm not saying I didn't have fun while watching it. I think one thing I liked about "Commando" (and probably the reason why it remains a cult favorite) is that it doesn't merely stick to clichéd plots and action sequences. Instead, every single aspect of this movie, every line of dialogue, every fight scene, everything is cliché. Rather than even trying to be original, it goes all-out on clichés. Leave no cliché behind. The result of this is a movie fits the mindless action movie genre perfectly. If somebody asks what a mindless action movie is, point to "Commando." I think this is why "Commando" has endured as a cult favorite.
Along the same lines, "Commando" sums up Schwarzenegger's entire career. Note that I'm certainly not saying that "Commando" is Schwarzenegger's best movie. The best movies of his career are "The Terminator" and "Terminator 2: Judgment Day." Those are movies that have artistic merit and that completely redefined action/adventure (and special effects). They have memorable one-liners ("I'll be back"), interesting plots, strong characters, and are just extraordinarily well-made movies. "Commando" is none of those things. But, neither are most of Arnold's movies. "Commando" thus defines what is a stereotypical Arnold Schwarzenegger movie.
You know those "McBain" movies that they show clips of on "The Simpsons" from time to time? You know, the ones starring Springfield's resident Arnold-look-alike Rainier Wolfcastle that basically parody Schwarzenegger movies? "Commando" is a McBain movie.
In a sense, that's what makes the movie fun to watch. Yes, the stunts are impossible (like Ah-nold jumping from a plane and landing in 3 feet of water with a nice soft splash). Yes, the plot is awfully convenient (like Rae Dawn Chong going from being a hysterical onlooker to trusty sidekick in the span of about 1 scene). But, that's what this movie was always supposed to be. It's what it was marketed as. The film-makers knew they were making a movie that would be "so bad that it's good", one where the entertainment would come from what almost amounts to a parody of action movie plots. That's what they promised and that's what they deliver.
The plot of the movie (seriously, do we care?) involves the Governator taking on a bunch of foreign thugs led by an exiled dictator (Dan Hedaya, who I remember as later having played the greedy Cubs manager in "Rookie of the Year") who are seeking revenge and have kidnapped his daughter (played by a young Alyssa Milano). But Arnie is not one to take things sitting down, though, and soon amasses enough firepower to take a small country and a dorky sidekick (Rae Dawn Chong) with enough annoying power to actually irritate me.
Don't get me wrong. The movie sucks, but I'm not saying I didn't have fun while watching it. I think one thing I liked about "Commando" (and probably the reason why it remains a cult favorite) is that it doesn't merely stick to clichéd plots and action sequences. Instead, every single aspect of this movie, every line of dialogue, every fight scene, everything is cliché. Rather than even trying to be original, it goes all-out on clichés. Leave no cliché behind. The result of this is a movie fits the mindless action movie genre perfectly. If somebody asks what a mindless action movie is, point to "Commando." I think this is why "Commando" has endured as a cult favorite.
Along the same lines, "Commando" sums up Schwarzenegger's entire career. Note that I'm certainly not saying that "Commando" is Schwarzenegger's best movie. The best movies of his career are "The Terminator" and "Terminator 2: Judgment Day." Those are movies that have artistic merit and that completely redefined action/adventure (and special effects). They have memorable one-liners ("I'll be back"), interesting plots, strong characters, and are just extraordinarily well-made movies. "Commando" is none of those things. But, neither are most of Arnold's movies. "Commando" thus defines what is a stereotypical Arnold Schwarzenegger movie.
You know those "McBain" movies that they show clips of on "The Simpsons" from time to time? You know, the ones starring Springfield's resident Arnold-look-alike Rainier Wolfcastle that basically parody Schwarzenegger movies? "Commando" is a McBain movie.