Synopsis
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.
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Cast
- 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
Recommendations
- 70
Variety
In Commando, the fetching surprise is the glancing humor between the quixotic and larky Rae Dawn Chong and the straight-faced killing machine of Arnold Schwarzenegger. Chong lights up the film like a firefly, Schwarzenegger delivers a certain light touch of his own, the result is palatable action comics. - 63
TV Guide Magazine
Though not as good as Terminator, the film has a better-than-usual script for this sort of thing and shows a lot of humor. Schwarzenegger isn't especially good as an actor, but his presence is impressive, and he is beginning to show some style, if not much substance. For action fans, one of the picks of the litter for the year. - 63
Miami Herald
There is something weirdly appealing about Commando and its self-deprecating celebration of violent excess. [16 Oct 1985, p.D5] - 60
Chicago Reader
Comic book stuff, helped out by the presence of Rae Dawn Chong as an airline stewardess whose sarcastic commentary adds some comic counterpoint to the deliberately overscaled action. - 50
Washington Post
Lester doesn't have the sense of visual style that other directors, like Spielberg and Lucas, bring to their comic-book movies; harshly lit and sometimes amateurish, Commando doesn't last in your eye. And Lester doesn't pace his sequences, allowing the suspense to build -- it's all breakneck, and it tires you out. [04 Oct 1985, p.E3] - 40
The New York Times
Two-thirds of this 90-minute film is mayhem unrelieved by humor and untouched by humanity. - 40
Time Out
Lots of machine-gunfire, explosions and disposable khaki-clad extras, as you'd expect.
