Commando (1985)

Commnndo is the story of Colonel John Matrix (Arnold), a peerless commando and former leader of a special operations task force specializing in political hot spots. Matrix, no longer considered useful by his superiors and forced into retirement, lives under a new identity in a rural haven with his 11-year-old daughter Jenny (Alyssa Milano). Suddenly, he must confront his tumultuous past when a Latin American dictator he helped depose, General Arius (Dan Hedaya), works with one of Matrix's former men, Bennett (Vernon Wells), to track him down and kidnap his daughter. Arius's plan is to regain power in his nation by killing the current president-elect.

Although Matrix soon finds himself under fire in a no-win situation, a stewardess (Rae Dawn Chong) he abducts during a getaway at an airport reluctantly agrees to help. Together, they run into more than they had bargained for: On an island off the coast of California, the dictator has gathered a large force of men that includes Bennett, the renegade agent who wants to prove himself superior to his former boss; and Sully (David Patrick Kelly), an evil punk. Besides the stewardess, Matrix's only other ally is General Franklin Kirby (James Olson), the man who trained him and gave him a new identity. Trouble is that Kirby is always one step behind the action.

Regardless of the odds, Matrix becomes a murderous vengeance machine as he sets out to terminate the kidnappers. Following a climactic assault on their island refuge and the destruction of Bennett and the other culprits, Matrix is reunited with his daughter.

Commando is a violent fantasy that garnered a cool critical response, and not without some justification. USA Today critic Jack Curry pointed out, for example, that the hero massacres innocent bystanders as well as the bad guys, a behavior flaw that reduces Matrix's moral authority. But moviegoers were apparently not bothered by such quibbles, and responded warmly to the picture. An undeniable part of the film's appeal is Arnold's byplay with Rae Dawn Chong, who was a marvelous, wisecracking sidekick, and an effective counterbalance to the film's violence. "Matrix has 11 hours to save his daughter's life," Arnold commented, "so he can't have too much fun. That would be unacceptable." It's for this reason that Chong got the opportunity to serve as comic relief.

Not that the iron man himself doesn't crack a joke from time to time. After telling one villain that he likes him and will kill him last, he drops him off a precipice and shouts after him, "I lied." Later, when asked what he has done with the man, Matrix responds, "I let him go." Similarly, an invitation from Bennett to duel to the death with knives is accepted thusly: Let's party!"

Commando outgrossed The Terminator by a small amount, confirming Arnold as a genuine crowd pleaser, and a box-office force. But the star himself contends that the importance of the movie for his career has to do with the new image he projected in it.

"In the beginning of the film," he said, "I play a loving, gentle and understanding father ... I educate and protect my daughter. I show a human, sensitive side that I never have a chance to show. I can play that. The movie was well written and it showed a soldier in combat, but also in his private life, which rarely happens."

Commando required Schwarzenegger to perfect his fighting skills, an accomplishment that didn't escape the critics.

D.J.R. Bruckner of The New York Times commended Arnold for his mastery of fencing, karate, and knife-fighting, and praised him for being· "more supple and faster in Commando than he has ever been." Even fight choreographer Mike Vendrell was impressed. "I was told bodybuilders were slow," he said, "but Arnold moved like a cat!"

The star himself acknowledges the physical danger in doing his own stunts, a long-time tradition in his film career. "I was injured, but it was never more than a few days' layoff," he recalled. In the scene where Matrix exits a plane during takeoff, Arnold had to "climb down the wheel but there was no place to step on - if I made a mistake, I would have been crushed by the wheel. The danger was real! But sometimes the emotional strain and the psychological pressure you go through almost equal the physical pain and danger."

There's nobody else but Arnold who could have done what he did," said director Mark Lester. Co-star Rae Dawn Chong enthused, "Arnold is so beautiful inside and out! We were having so much fun on the set, but when it was time to work, we just did. He's very generous and gentle. And a real movie star."