review: COMMANDO

Fox  //  Buy from Amazon.com Colonel Matrix (Schwarzenegger) is retired and living peaceably with his 10-year-old daughter when she is kidnapped by the henchmen of an exiled Latin American dictator. The dictator's plan is to reinstate himself in power by eliminating the president of his country, using Matrix to kill him (or he will kill the kidnapped daughter). Matrix escapes from the plane that is supposed to be carrying him to his mission and then proceeds to go from one violent confrontation to the next as he hunts down the dictator and moves to rescue his daughter. Helping him is Cindy (Chong), who has her own reasons for wanting the dictator dead. "Commando" was one of those classic action flicks from the 80s that I think I rented a half-dozen times as a teenager, as it was always solid entertainment when getting together for a birthday party or big sleepover - it does away with any semblance of engaging storyline and just relishes what it is: balls-to-the-walls action, killing, guns & mayhem. In short, Arnold at his best! The film is still very much worthy of repeat viewing, for exactly the same reasons it was when I was 11 years old (listed above.) Arnold cranked out some of the best action flicks of all time, and "Commando" is definitely up there with the best of them (probably joined by "Total Recall," "Running Man, "Predator" and others.) I love that Fox has seen fit to give this film not only a director's cut release onto DVD, but has remastered the film to its widescreen glory and given it a kick-ass Dolby 5.1 surround mix to boot. I found myself giddy with glee while watching this one for review, and the best compliment I can pay it is to say that I was entertained from start to finish - honestly, how many movies nowadays can you say that about?! Video This classic action flick gets a 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer and I was surprised at just how good it looks (infinitely better than the old VHS fullscreen version I used to rent as a kid... let alone late night cable broadcasts!) Audio A booming Dolby 5.1 surround mix accompanies this director's cut, and as you might expect, the near-endless machine gun shooting will rattle the pictures from your walls! Extras both theatrical & director's cuts of the film audio commentary w/ director 2 featurettes deleted scenes still photos Closing Thoughts Epic 80s action romp + good assortment of extras = fantastic popcorn viewing!