It's amazing how most of Arnold's movies are still revered and talked about a lot, despite most of them being over 30 years old. Greatest action star of all time.
@@dbreiden83080 The Running Man. Total Recall. Terminator 2. Red Heat. Are in 4k also. I really do hope True Lies gets a 4k treatment. That's such an overlooked good movie
"Are you going to tell me what's going on or what?" "NO" Everyone responsible for this dialogue exchange and it's subsequent inclusion in the original trailer should be rightly pleased with themselves.
Without a shadow of a doubt one of the most iconic 80s action movies. I've seen it at least a dozen times and it never ceases to entertain me. They just don't make 'em like they used to, eh?
@@Haerinx87 It's hard to sum it up with just three movies. Lethal Weapon and Red Heat were great buddy cop movies, Die Hard was a great siege/hostage movie, First Blood dealt with the stab in the back from the public to Vietnam veterans. The Running Man foretold reality TV. The 80s action genre is so underrated.
It didn't even seem that over the top to me as a kid. I really thought a guy built like that could rip a car seat out of the frame of a car. LOL. I was a pretty dumb kid.
17:46 they are "not" super efficient, it was their plan to follow the general. Remember that their goal was to get hold of Matrix but they didn't know where he was but they knew that the general knew so they killed off every member of his team so that they would force the general to travel to Matrix to warn him off so they followed his helicopter, hence they where there the moment he left.
Everything wonderful and terrible about him in one package. And I mean that as a compliment. Also props for being so lean on the runtime, not feeling too short or too long.
The moment I saw Arnold carrying a whole log over his shoulder I knew what kind of movie this was. Those opening parts with the father and daughter hanging out and feeding the deer are so sacharine. But it's a fun watch and I appreciated that the leads didn't get together, which I feel is atypical of action films at this time. Bonus points for deranged bad guy who could front a metal band, complete with mustache and chain mail shirt.
Arnie was, and should still be, the blueprint for an action movie star. The build, the looks, the line delivery, the unmistakable voice, everything. He pioneered a new era in the genre. He raised the bar to a level that has not since been matched. Arnie will always remain amongst the top names mentioned as the greatest action movie actors of all time.
He had a thick Austrian accent and a very heavy voice. His dialogue delivery was cringeworthy and his acting was unconvincing but because of his larger than life persona and charm his limitations actually worked FOR and not against him.
This was part of his rivalry with Stallone at the time. They became good friends later on. "I eat green berets for breakfast." Rambo was a green beret. The same line is used in "Predator." A little nudge at Sly.
I grew up in the era of these movies you cover. Your channel is like a nostalgic time machine for me. Thank you and keep up the awesome work. Greetings from South Afrrica.
I vividly remember visiting a buddy when I was a kid, as he asked 'hey, want to see a movie?' and showed me the VHS of Commando, with Arnold in all his glory on on the cover. I've seen many 'better' films since then, but the entertainment value of Commando remains very dear to my heart.
That edited intro was top notch brotha! Also I always found it interesting that bennet had PLENTY of opportunity to kill Matrix but since he was infatuated with him, bennet throws his gun and decides to gimp himself fighting Matrix CQC.
Commando is the perfect Saturday night in movie along with Terminator 1 and 2, Conan the Barbarian and the Running Man. Get a takeaway and some drinks and your night is set. The movie itself is great as it doesn't take itself too seriously and the acting by all is spot on. I highly recommend it to anyone who hasn't seen it.
Cheesey, over the top, ridiculous.. damn right! And it's everything that makes the movie great. Can't even count how many times I've seen Commando, by far one of my favourite VHS rentals as a youngster and a staple in Arnold's catalogue of films.
What????? The music was absolutely EPIC. It was sensational. The music to where Arnold arrives on the beach and gets kitted up is absolute perfection. This film is remembered by everyone who grew up in the 80's and its still talked about not like the garbage films of today that nobody ever really talks about or remembers. Commando and Rambo 2 inspired a whole generation.
It's funny how Commando and Rambo First Blood part 2 came out just months apart. When Arnold and Sly finally did a movie together, it should have been a crossover between the two. They even could have called it Contra for laughs.
Back in the 80s Contra the NES game is called Rambo and Commando by kids in my village. We don't know Japanese and we assume the title by the art on the cartridge.
Both action pictures were edited by Mark Goldblatt. Frederick J. Brown was the supervising sound effects editor, Jay Wilkinson was the special sound effects creator & designer, Lucy Coldsnow-Smith was the supervising dialogue editor and Lauren Palmer & Hugo Weng were also done both action pictures during post production at Disney's Skywalker Sound.
I’ve never thought one could be expected to score 165 projects and never repeat even a single sound. James Horner is one of the most inventive and eclectic music composers who ever lived, and admits to forgetting what he’s composed before as he likes to just move on. Directors often asked him to repeat himself. Compared to the generic actual copy and paste of the likes of Hans Zimmer, who seems to score half of all movies today, Horner was a goddamn genius. Williams, Goldsmith, Elfman, Giacchino all have a distinctive and recognizable sound, so why can’t Horner? Criminally underrated.
Somewhere, some how somebody is going to pay is one of the best tag lines for a movie ever. This was one of Arnie's early action movies after Conan & The Terminator and still to date one of his best movies ever. Let's party!!!
My favourite score of all time. It's so layered and complex. I'd say it's unique, but I get the feeling James Horner recorded all of this music for 48 Hours and just re-edited portions for Commando. The editing and pace of this film is also exceptional. There's an extended version that has some extra dialogue and interesting backstory on Matrix, but despite not adding much length to the film, it's amazing how trimming them makes the film "move" so much quicker and leaner.
Oliver, been a big fan for a long time and watch all of your videos. I'm sitting here watching this one, and my wife was nearby. When you did your impression of Arnold, she about pissed herself, as did I. Sounded totally perfect. Keep up the excellent work and I'm very excited to watch your newest documentary. Your other ones have been amazing and I can't imagine that your newest release won't meet the same high level of standards. Thank you for all of your hard work.
Commando, Predator and the first Conan are my top 3 Schwarzenegger movies of all time and Terminator 2, True Lies and Eraser are my top 3 from his '90s period.
Huge fan of your channel, and love your focused and detailed review of Commando. It was definitely a good blend of action and humor, and can appreciate the unfolding rivalry which became apparent between Stallone and Schwarzenegger. Please do a special video on 1985’s Explorers!!! Godspeed!
Years back id get baked and watch your reviews. It was my little chill time and i loved it. Its been a long time, lots of grief, lots of hell. I am finally sitting down with a shit ton of bud, dab, and vape. My friend, im about to chill and watch a new review from you and i am happy. Thank you.
This is probably by favorite Arne movie. It’s absolute peak 80s over the top action, and cheese. Chopped full of so many great one-liners. This is the film I point to as best example of traditional 80s Action Movies. I also love that less 10 years later Arne would lampoon all of this in Last Action Hero.
Cant get a commentary from Arnie. He charged Fox 500K for the commentary on Conan The Barbarian. Maybe his rate is cheaper these days because that was back around 2001.
@@silvervalleystudios2486 It’s easily the worst commentary of DVD history, as well. All he does is narrate his actions that you can plainly see in the movie. He adds nothing 😂
as a kid growing up in the 80's from a regular family getting a VHS tape was expensive and would rarely happen How I totally regret the choice when my birthday came around and I was allowed to pick a Arnold video to buy and own and I picked RAW DEAL , how I regretted that decision!!! I had rented Commando multiple times and always enjoyed it but Raw Deal was the one film of Arnies I hadn't seen and the trailers made it look awesome. Stuck with Raw Deal which I never enjoyed and rarely watched while I rented Commando relentlessly every month or so
Great as always. I think I've only seen bits of this movie, but I do remember most of the iconic moments like when John kills Sully and the Bennet kill and "Let off some steam Bennet." I should give this movie a watch in its entirety, really does look like a fun ride.
I saw this movie at the cinema when I was only 11 years old... my parents ran the local cinema so I was able to view it from the projection room. I've loved this movie ever since... like you say, it doesn't take itself too seriously and is fun to watch!
An 80s Joel Silver produced action flick with a lead character with the last name Matrix, who would later go on to produce The Matrix films. In a way coming full circle.
What a classic. I always knew you would get round to Commando. Congratulations on getting Last Action doc onto Amazon, definitely deserves it. Wish there were more . My favourite channel, I've watched most of your retrospective videos more than once because we are the same age and we've clearly been influenced by a lot of the same movies. Can't wait to see where your talent takes you next. All the luck in the world JB.
I remember the original trailer. It featured, "I'm going to kill you last!" And then the same trailer had the payoff. I thought, "Well, there's no point in seeing it now!"
Loved it! The story, the cast, the mix of action drama/progression of storyline was perfect at the time. Love that Arnold is always taking chances on roles. Raw Deal was another one.
Possibly the greatest movie ever. That's a clichéd comment, but what I mean is by its balancing of action, self aware comedy, pacing, plotting, overall story, characters & casting, etc. around what it set out to do. All of these things aren't sophisticated, but they are exactly what they need to be and don't overdo what's required of them. Balancing all these components is nearly an impossible feat for any movie, but Commando is one of the few that pretty much got everything measured to perfection for what it is. It didn't really need anything more or less than what it delivered, and it's immensely entertaining as a result. The review here was fantastic.
I've always felt that The Terminator is perhaps Schwarzenegger's most important film. Yes Conan was a success, but without The Terminator I'm not so sure studios would've had much confidence in Arnold outside of barbarian films. Maybe I'm wrong, but I'll still ask this: *If The Terminator is not the success it was do studios still cast Arnold for Commando?* Would love some insight. Thanks!
Me and a friend (both Middle aged men) watch this at least 4 times a year and laugh our way through it! Guaranteed good evenings those "Commando Nights".
I love this movie! Outstanding choice and a video! I'm looking very forward to watching it. I learned a lot from your videos a lot about movies and a lot about how making videos. Keep them coming really good video enjoying to watch it as of now and keep them coming I'll watch them all.
Been saving great videos like this for workout videos. You do some amazing work, recently watched the Double impact retrospective. Really looking forward In search of tomorrow. Also enjoyed Last Action Heroes. Even though I have never been a fan of horror movies, I loved both parts of In search of darkness. Really well put together documentaries.
Wow! Just as I thought. Your retrospectives and reviews especially your editing is vastly improving over time! Now I’m excited on a retrospective on The Warriors!
I discovered this movie for the first time in 2001 (which happened to be a year when two of this movie’s stars were on prominent TV roles: Alyssa Milano was at her height of hotness on Charmed Vernon Wells was a Power Rangers villain (Time Force’s Ransik, one of the best PR villains of all-time)
Standing Ovation. Im delighted to see this film get the Harperspective. The Saturday night showing you talk about may indeed have been when ITV showed it in September '92 alongside Red Heat, Predator and Conan The Barbarian that month. Commando works brilliantly. Aware of itself and having the best fun in all the carnage and Blastorama every minute. I love the soundtrack, and have it on the Ipod for walks, training. A classic movie from childhood, thank you for this retrospective.
@@Marvdogger2 👍I taped the 4 films at the time,and remember being over the moon at having them for myself, but being annoyed at the edits, and cuts made to the films. It happened all the time, but I was 12-13, and I wanted all the full action, swearing, and violence in there, like Sky Movies showed 'em! I think with Commando for instance, some of the Knife Fight at the end is cut out. As Bennet charges at Matrix with his knife, the scene suddenly cuts to them falling over into the nxt area, and the punch up begins. Various little scenes of the Island shootdown was edited a bit aswell. I remember Predator - the scene when Carl Weather's severed arm still firing the gun on the jungle ground was edited out. When you mentioned the "Coca Cola" sponser, I instantly remembered the little "Movie Priemere' indent featuring CocaCola before and after the Ad breaks. 👍
@@kylereece1979 I was 8 or 9 around the time of the ITV broadcast and had no idea at the time it was cut it was only later in the early 2000s and the internet that I realised who much we in the UK had things censored. I do remember watching (Commando) and not understanding that the film was funny and had one liners. Being 8 or 9 all that wen over my head and I just thought it was a straight action film. Same with Ghostbusters it wasn't until I was in my twenty's that I realised how funny the film was and all the jokes in it aimed at adults.
@@Marvdogger2 Id seen Predator and Commando in friends houses before ITV showed them. I remember being 10 and we somehow got free Sky Movies for about 2 months, before it was scrambled and removed. But when we had it, it was absolutely glorious. My mates taped the uncencored Arnie films onto VHS and thats how I saw them. I didnt have a video player just yet. ITVs cuts of Robocop and Lethal Weapon were comical! Stupidly obvious overdubbings of swearings, and snippets to the more violent scenes. In Robocop , I remember laughing at when Bob Morton looks into Robocops eyes and says- in a hilariously bad overdub- "You're gonna be a bad Mother Crusher!". Brilliant. 😁 Im Irish, and thankfully when the TV stations showed movies here, they were surprisingly unedited. I remember rejoycing at having a full uncencored Lethal Weapon 2, as opposed to an ITV version.😁 If youve still got that Commando on VHS, fair play to you. Thats great. My cherished VHS movies taped from telly sadly were lost over the years of time since.🤔
Hey Oliver, another great review/documentary. This was one of the ones from Arnold that I was hoping that you'd get around to sooner rather than later, you must have read my mind. I'd like to see you do Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, Rambo: First Blood Part II, as well as Top Gun.
Class film, it’s the most 80’s of all the 80’s cheesy action films with all the tropes. Think I once watched it for the 3rd time in a week when I was 13 to count how many died in it.
Still one of my favorite Arnold films, I remember my father & I watching it on HBO the night it debuted. I was 12. That's one thing my old man and I had in common, our love of a good action movie!
Arnold is the most underrated actor in history. You need serious charisma and presence and physical ability to make a movie like this and pull it off. And some of his more dramatic stuff in other films is actually quite good. He has a natural believability about him even with his often less-than-great delivery. Check out when he is giving orders to his team in Predator - I see a leader giving orders, not an actor playing a leader giving orders.
in the unedited version you see a scene where Matrix tells Cindy about how he was never there for jenny as he was always away i felt that it added so much to the film and also why she seems to all of a sudden help him more
I had two movies I would watch on repeat daily as a kid growing up in the early 80's. It was Conan the Barbarian and Commando. Both films have two phenomenal soundtracks that I still listen to today. The editing is all over the place. I bought a version that kind of cleaned up some of the editing and honestly it just didn't work. Showing that original theatrical cut was perfect (warts and all).
I visited the locations used in the final act of the film last year and stood on the beach where the last scene takes place. I scooped up a water bottle full of sand from roughly the spot where Arnie had stood and then sold vials of it on eBay as ‘Schwarzenegger Sand’. I thought I might sell one or two but surprisingly sold dozens!
I haven't seen this entire movie before, but this really looks awesome. And I always love hearing Roger Ebert saying that something got blown up "real good". He did that on the Siskel and Ebert review for "On Deadly Ground".
the steel drum in this is just perfect, makes for an iconic soundtrack. as a kid i thought it was intense and fascinating like the movie. and that was the most relevant time to have an opinion about all of this.
I love how Vernon Wells comes off of this movie as a buff version of Freddy Mercury circa 1985. And the chainmail. Why was he wearing chainmail? That chainmail didn't stop him from being spit roasted by that pipe.
How does it feel like the unofficial prequel to Predator? They have two completely different tones. Arnold is a bit of a one dimensional actor but Dutch and Matrix are nothing alike ? I just don't see your connection ? But then again wasn't Predator made when somebody made a offhand comment about the next Rocky movie being Stallone fighting an Alien because his opponents kept getting bigger, stronger and badder and they had to up the anti lol... I could see you making a case for The Rock being a part of the James Bond franchise or Get the Gringo being a sequel to Payback but not Predator and Commando. Prove me wrong?
Plus I just remembered the same actor that plays part of Dutches team in Predator is one of the bad guys in this movie so how can it be set in the same universe? Unless Bill Dukes (I think its his name? the bald black guy. who never smiles that was also in Payback) has a twin
I love how you always give detail on the soundtrack, can't believe you never went in depth with the plot for this. ;) No way is that Bill Duke's own scream, not enough bass. One of Arnie's best films for comedy one-liners. Your retrospective/review videos are great, cheers. When are we getting Red Heat? :D
I can remember watching Commando for the first time as a young teen, nothing better than a movie running on action, cinema cheese, charisma and actors absolutely chewing the scenery.
I don't know if it's still available, but Arnold was on The Nerdest podcast to promote Sabotage a few years back, and he told an absolutely hilarious story about these horrible ideas he had for the climax of Commando. This movie, man. I love this movie. I saw it as a kid and was awestruck. It had two of the most bad ass moments I had ever seen. The "I lied" bit, and, much more subtle, the moment he jumped off the plane and set his watch for eleven hours. I don't know what it was about that, but I just struck me. It was so straight forward. He's like, I've got eleven hours to do this, and I'm gonna fucking do it. The music score, while not my favorite, I couldn't imagine anything else. It's just so unique and different. It and the movie are inseparable to me.
I remember being a kid watching this movie on tv for the first time. I was so young that Arnold was just Terminator to me and not Arnold. So I when I turned it on it was just the ending where he’s blasting through everyone and I remember thinking to myself “I need more of this!!!” I go to the TV guide channel to find the name of the movie (which in those days internet wasn’t a big thing to just search whatever you want.) and finally found the name Commando. I was like badass name. I kept a eye out for it on tv again and I never got to see it until I found out it was in my dads VHS collection. I went to watch it and absolutely hated it when nothing at all was like the climax. I wanted a “commando” blasting through guys like I did in video games and I wanted it to be the terminator. But it was completely different. After awhile I watched it more and more and became one of my overall favorite movies.
Wings Hauser was the original Bennet and he was on the film for one week before being replaced by Vernon Wells. He only shot one scene which was a prologue scene in Vietnam with Matrix's whole unit. Which was shot in Screenwriter Steve DeSouza's back garden. Unfortunately with the Bennet character being recast it meant that the Vietnam prologue had to be dropped from the film as there was'nt the time or money to re-shoot it with Vernon Wells.
John Matrix: "You're a funny guy, Oliver Harper. I like you. That's why I'm flagging your retrospective video last."
Oooooh la laaaaaaa!
"What _is_ important is GRAVITY."
😂😂😂😂
😂😂😂
I eat Flaggers for breakfast and right now I'm VERY hungry
This is movie is an underrated piece of art in its own genre…
I love the score, the characters, the humor, the lines…
I EAT GREEN BERETS FOR BREAKFAST !!! LOL.
You know what day it is John? Pay 💰 day.
@@anakinchosen You're funny guy Anakin, I like you...
It's amazing how most of Arnold's movies are still revered and talked about a lot, despite most of them being over 30 years old. Greatest action star of all time.
Just watched Predator on 4K Blu-Ray last night..
@@dbreiden83080 The Running Man.
Total Recall. Terminator 2. Red Heat.
Are in 4k also.
I really do hope True Lies gets a 4k treatment. That's such an overlooked good movie
@@v8matey
I think Running Man is only in 4K in Germany or something.. I want all the Arnie classics in 4K.. Studios are dragging their feet..
@@dbreiden83080 It's region free. Great transfer.
T2 is horrendous on 4kray.
@@v8matey Last action hero is on 4k.
Really needs to be a Terminator 4k, this and Conan.
"Are you going to tell me what's going on or what?"
"NO"
Everyone responsible for this dialogue exchange and it's subsequent inclusion in the original trailer should be rightly pleased with themselves.
This is probably the most quotable Schwarzenegger movie
It could've been straight out of a Terminator film lol
Facts
Im pretty sure he also says "ill be back" in this movie as well
@@Tyler-hs9eu he totally does
Without a shadow of a doubt one of the most iconic 80s action movies. I've seen it at least a dozen times and it never ceases to entertain me. They just don't make 'em like they used to, eh?
Only a dozen? This went on 4 times a week when I was about 6 years old 🤣
12 times?
I once watched the VHS 12 times in 1 week 😄
Nice ghostbuster reference
the "I LIED" scene is pure comedy genius, especially when Arnold followed up with his "I Let Him Go" response
@@nzneo643 ohhhh llaaahhh! RIP Sully 😂
Definitely one of my favorite Arnold films. Commando is a textbook example of over the top hyper-masculine action films in the 80s.
@@blippitybloo
Commando, Predator and Bloodsport are the best 80s action films.
@@Haerinx87 It's hard to sum it up with just three movies. Lethal Weapon and Red Heat were great buddy cop movies, Die Hard was a great siege/hostage movie, First Blood dealt with the stab in the back from the public to Vietnam veterans. The Running Man foretold reality TV. The 80s action genre is so underrated.
It didn't even seem that over the top to me as a kid. I really thought a guy built like that could rip a car seat out of the frame of a car. LOL. I was a pretty dumb kid.
@@JimmyMon666 me too! But this video has me thinking that this movie was kind of a spoof. I kinda believe it.
@@JimmyMon666
You don’t need to be quite as big as Arnold to rip a lightweight seat out of a sportscar. They’re not really that well constructed.
17:46 they are "not" super efficient, it was their plan to follow the general. Remember that their goal was to get hold of Matrix but they didn't know where he was but they knew that the general knew so they killed off every member of his team so that they would force the general to travel to Matrix to warn him off so they followed his helicopter, hence they where there the moment he left.
"Let off some steam Bennett!"
Damn I never get tired of watching Commando and Predator. Classics.
Total Recall is one of my favourites along with Predator.
@@oonmm Total Recall is so good. Conan the Barbarian too
The Running Man is another one of my favourites.
Oh yeah, just remembered The Running Man as I was writing that comment. Has been too long since I saw that one.
Mate, I laughed out loud when you did that Arnold laugh during the ice cream scene. Well done.
I love this film, as it’s just quintessential Schwarzenegger.
It's a distillation of the Arnie action movie, before they existed.
@Serac please excuse my friend, he is dead tired
Everything wonderful and terrible about him in one package. And I mean that as a compliment. Also props for being so lean on the runtime, not feeling too short or too long.
I have a Schnauzer called Arnold Schnauzernegger 😂. It is a brilliant film and do you know what I like most about this film? The price.
The moment I saw Arnold carrying a whole log over his shoulder I knew what kind of movie this was. Those opening parts with the father and daughter hanging out and feeding the deer are so sacharine. But it's a fun watch and I appreciated that the leads didn't get together, which I feel is atypical of action films at this time. Bonus points for deranged bad guy who could front a metal band, complete with mustache and chain mail shirt.
A gay metal band?
It’s like Bennett is larping as Rob Halford
Arnie was, and should still be, the blueprint for an action movie star.
The build, the looks, the line delivery, the unmistakable voice, everything. He pioneered a new era in the genre. He raised the bar to a level that has not since been matched.
Arnie will always remain amongst the top names mentioned as the greatest action movie actors of all time.
He had a thick Austrian accent and a very heavy voice. His dialogue delivery was cringeworthy and his acting was unconvincing but because of his larger than life persona and charm his limitations actually worked FOR and not against him.
No objection from me,Mr Mojo,well said.
hell no. He can't act and his action was slow as shit.
This was part of his rivalry with Stallone at the time. They became good friends later on. "I eat green berets for breakfast." Rambo was a green beret. The same line is used in "Predator." A little nudge at Sly.
I bought this movie from the $5 DVD bin at Wal Mart ten years ago and I've probably watched it 30 times. It's great.
And that folks is the best 5 dollars ever spent.
Yea most of the stuff in the $5 bin is garbage. Every once in a while you will find a gem.
I grew up in the era of these movies you cover. Your channel is like a nostalgic time machine for me. Thank you and keep up the awesome work. Greetings from South Afrrica.
Arguably the most 80's action film
I vividly remember visiting a buddy when I was a kid, as he asked 'hey, want to see a movie?' and showed me the VHS of Commando, with Arnold in all his glory on on the cover. I've seen many 'better' films since then, but the entertainment value of Commando remains very dear to my heart.
This is by far the greatest action movie EVER made. Its just perfect.
That edited intro was top notch brotha! Also I always found it interesting that bennet had PLENTY of opportunity to kill Matrix but since he was infatuated with him, bennet throws his gun and decides to gimp himself fighting Matrix CQC.
Commando is the perfect Saturday night in movie along with Terminator 1 and 2, Conan the Barbarian and the Running Man.
Get a takeaway and some drinks and your night is set.
The movie itself is great as it doesn't take itself too seriously and the acting by all is spot on.
I highly recommend it to anyone who hasn't seen it.
God bless Bill Duke! Today is his 79th birthday I believe... So appropriate you released this today!
Absolutely Outstanding and Brilliant Editing! My son Harry and I absolutely love your retrospectives! Looking forward to the next one!
Give Thanks to Mark Goldblatt who edited both Rambo 2 and Commando.
Cheesey, over the top, ridiculous.. damn right! And it's everything that makes the movie great. Can't even count how many times I've seen Commando, by far one of my favourite VHS rentals as a youngster and a staple in Arnold's catalogue of films.
What????? The music was absolutely EPIC. It was sensational. The music to where Arnold arrives on the beach and gets kitted up is absolute perfection. This film is remembered by everyone who grew up in the 80's and its still talked about not like the garbage films of today that nobody ever really talks about or remembers. Commando and Rambo 2 inspired a whole generation.
I get a tear in my eye everytime he feeds the deer. The score is the best
both movies are dumb. First Blood is a good movie but the rest are hilarious in how bad they are.
@@carlosluismendez7392 Yeah as dumb as you.
It's funny how Commando and Rambo First Blood part 2 came out just months apart. When Arnold and Sly finally did a movie together, it should have been a crossover between the two. They even could have called it Contra for laughs.
Back in the 80s Contra the NES game is called Rambo and Commando by kids in my village. We don't know Japanese and we assume the title by the art on the cartridge.
Both action pictures were edited by Mark Goldblatt. Frederick J. Brown was the supervising sound effects editor,
Jay Wilkinson was the special sound effects creator & designer, Lucy Coldsnow-Smith was the supervising
dialogue editor and Lauren Palmer & Hugo Weng were also done both action pictures during post production
at Disney's Skywalker Sound.
I’ve never thought one could be expected to score 165 projects and never repeat even a single sound. James Horner is one of the most inventive and eclectic music composers who ever lived, and admits to forgetting what he’s composed before as he likes to just move on. Directors often asked him to repeat himself. Compared to the generic actual copy and paste of the likes of Hans Zimmer, who seems to score half of all movies today, Horner was a goddamn genius. Williams, Goldsmith, Elfman, Giacchino all have a distinctive and recognizable sound, so why can’t Horner? Criminally underrated.
He used the “danger theme” in multiple movies
Was
Commando is one of my favorite Schwarzenegger movies along with Terminator 2, Predator, and True Lies.
Somewhere, some how somebody is going to pay is one of the best tag lines for a movie ever. This was one of Arnie's early action movies after Conan & The Terminator and still to date one of his best movies ever.
Let's party!!!
My favourite score of all time. It's so layered and complex. I'd say it's unique, but I get the feeling James Horner recorded all of this music for 48 Hours and just re-edited portions for Commando. The editing and pace of this film is also exceptional. There's an extended version that has some extra dialogue and interesting backstory on Matrix, but despite not adding much length to the film, it's amazing how trimming them makes the film "move" so much quicker and leaner.
He also re-uses the steel drum segments in 'Clear and Present Danger'.
Need to get a 4K of this!
Oliver, been a big fan for a long time and watch all of your videos. I'm sitting here watching this one, and my wife was nearby. When you did your impression of Arnold, she about pissed herself, as did I. Sounded totally perfect.
Keep up the excellent work and I'm very excited to watch your newest documentary. Your other ones have been amazing and I can't imagine that your newest release won't meet the same high level of standards.
Thank you for all of your hard work.
"Hey Sully remember when I said I kill you last?"
"That's right, Matrix! You did!"
"I lied."
Drops him to his death. Nice!
Oh la la!
You can see why Arnie became a politician!
But there's no sound effect for Sully hitting the ground.
I let him go.
"NO CHENCE "
Commando, Predator and the first Conan are my top 3 Schwarzenegger movies of all time and Terminator 2, True Lies and Eraser are my top 3 from his '90s period.
There is no better segment in your list than the 80s action/sci-fi genre personally. Eagerly waiting for Stallone's Cobra - thanks for the great work!
Huge fan of your channel, and love your focused and detailed review of Commando. It was definitely a good blend of action and humor, and can appreciate the unfolding rivalry which became apparent between Stallone and Schwarzenegger. Please do a special video on 1985’s Explorers!!! Godspeed!
Years back id get baked and watch your reviews. It was my little chill time and i loved it. Its been a long time, lots of grief, lots of hell. I am finally sitting down with a shit ton of bud, dab, and vape. My friend, im about to chill and watch a new review from you and i am happy. Thank you.
I'm so glad I finally saw this recently because I thought it was so awesome and just a fun movie.
This is probably by favorite Arne movie. It’s absolute peak 80s over the top action, and cheese. Chopped full of so many great one-liners. This is the film I point to as best example of traditional 80s Action Movies. I also love that less 10 years later Arne would lampoon all of this in Last Action Hero.
Commando is a Schwarzenegger and 80s action classic. We need a 4K Ultra HD Blu Ray with a Schwarzenegger commentary!
Cant get a commentary from Arnie. He charged Fox 500K for the commentary on Conan The Barbarian. Maybe his rate is cheaper these days because that was back around 2001.
@@silvervalleystudios2486 Wow didn't know that!
@@silvervalleystudios2486
It’s easily the worst commentary of DVD history, as well. All he does is narrate his actions that you can plainly see in the movie. He adds nothing 😂
One of my favorite Arnie films. Has some great one liners and the music is great as well
Best half a second Arnold impression! @18:31
as a kid growing up in the 80's from a regular family getting a VHS tape was expensive and would rarely happen How I totally regret the choice when my birthday came around and I was allowed to pick a Arnold video to buy and own and I picked RAW DEAL , how I regretted that decision!!! I had rented Commando multiple times and always enjoyed it but Raw Deal was the one film of Arnies I hadn't seen and the trailers made it look awesome. Stuck with Raw Deal which I never enjoyed and rarely watched while I rented Commando relentlessly every month or so
Sounds like Raw Deal's getting a bit of a ehhh Raw Deal? I'll see myself out.
Thanx for existing, Oliver. The 80’s is my happy place, and you provide such perfect hits. Peerless.
“I lied” and “Let off some steam” have become iconic in pop culture
Fun , underrated '80s action caper! I laughed at Oliver's all-too -brief Arnold impersonation! Also funny to hear Ollie say "Val Verde"... ;)
Was there a slight pause before he said it? LOL
My friends and I coined the term “business casual mullet” when referring to Arnold‘s hair in this classic.
He has a crew cut, not a mullet.
@@cgh7337 look at the back
Great as always. I think I've only seen bits of this movie, but I do remember most of the iconic moments like when John kills Sully and the Bennet kill and "Let off some steam Bennet." I should give this movie a watch in its entirety, really does look like a fun ride.
I saw this movie at the cinema when I was only 11 years old... my parents ran the local cinema so I was able to view it from the projection room.
I've loved this movie ever since... like you say, it doesn't take itself too seriously and is fun to watch!
I kinda like the steel drums. Makes the movie feel more fun and light.
An 80s Joel Silver produced action flick with a lead character with the last name Matrix, who would later go on to produce The Matrix films. In a way coming full circle.
What a classic. I always knew you would get round to Commando. Congratulations on getting Last Action doc onto Amazon, definitely deserves it. Wish there were more . My favourite channel, I've watched most of your retrospective videos more than once because we are the same age and we've clearly been influenced by a lot of the same movies. Can't wait to see where your talent takes you next. All the luck in the world JB.
I remember the original trailer. It featured, "I'm going to kill you last!" And then the same trailer had the payoff. I thought, "Well, there's no point in seeing it now!"
Bro, your retrospectives are the best on youtube. I love how you do them.
"Let off some steam, Bennett" is one of the best one-liners of all time.
Loved it! The story, the cast, the mix of action drama/progression of storyline was perfect at the time. Love that Arnold is always taking chances on roles. Raw Deal was another one.
Possibly the greatest movie ever. That's a clichéd comment, but what I mean is by its balancing of action, self aware comedy, pacing, plotting, overall story, characters & casting, etc. around what it set out to do.
All of these things aren't sophisticated, but they are exactly what they need to be and don't overdo what's required of them. Balancing all these components is nearly an impossible feat for any movie, but Commando is one of the few that pretty much got everything measured to perfection for what it is. It didn't really need anything more or less than what it delivered, and it's immensely entertaining as a result.
The review here was fantastic.
I've always felt that The Terminator is perhaps Schwarzenegger's most important film. Yes Conan was a success, but without The Terminator I'm not so sure studios would've had much confidence in Arnold outside of barbarian films. Maybe I'm wrong, but I'll still ask this:
*If The Terminator is not the success it was do studios still cast Arnold for Commando?*
Would love some insight. Thanks!
This movie is timeless. One of the GOAT's of the action genre.
Don't disturb my friend his dead tired...
- What's wrong? This isn't a plane.
- This is a canoe with wings!
- Well, then get in and start paddling.lol
Yes! I love a good Arnold movie review. No one kicked as much ass as Arnold did in the 80’s-90’s.
Me and a friend (both Middle aged men) watch this at least 4 times a year and laugh our way through it! Guaranteed good evenings those "Commando Nights".
I can’t explain how much I love this movie especially when I was a kid, way too young watching this every weekend with my cousins
I’ve been waiting for a retroactive movie review channel to review Commando for such a long time! Thanks Oliver!
I love this movie! Outstanding choice and a video! I'm looking very forward to watching it. I learned a lot from your videos a lot about movies and a lot about how making videos. Keep them coming really good video enjoying to watch it as of now and keep them coming I'll watch them all.
as I think about it, the background bongos were the clock ticking, incessantly reminding us of the countdown.
I liked it.
Been saving great videos like this for workout videos. You do some amazing work, recently watched the Double impact retrospective. Really looking forward In search of tomorrow. Also enjoyed Last Action Heroes. Even though I have never been a fan of horror movies, I loved both parts of In search of darkness. Really well put together documentaries.
Wow! Just as I thought. Your retrospectives and reviews especially your editing is vastly improving over time! Now I’m excited on a retrospective on The Warriors!
This is definitely one of my favorite Arnie movies - infinitely rewatchable and some great one-liners.
This is fun. Movies today should be more like this.
So you want Scarlett Johansen running around with a rocket launcher cracking one liners?
i want an mcu film like this.
No an arnold like actor who's cool and fun@@VenusHeadTrap2
I discovered this movie for the first time in 2001 (which happened to be a year when two of this movie’s stars were on prominent TV roles:
Alyssa Milano was at her height of hotness on Charmed
Vernon Wells was a Power Rangers villain (Time Force’s Ransik, one of the best PR villains of all-time)
Standing Ovation. Im delighted to see this film get the Harperspective. The Saturday night showing you talk about may indeed have been when ITV showed it in September '92 alongside Red Heat, Predator and Conan The Barbarian that month. Commando works brilliantly. Aware of itself and having the best fun in all the carnage and Blastorama every minute. I love the soundtrack, and have it on the Ipod for walks, training. A classic movie from childhood, thank you for this retrospective.
I still have the VHS recording from when ITV showed it. It was back when Diet Coke used to sponsor the ITV movie.
@@Marvdogger2 👍I taped the 4 films at the time,and remember being over the moon at having them for myself, but being annoyed at the edits, and cuts made to the films. It happened all the time, but I was 12-13, and I wanted all the full action, swearing, and violence in there, like Sky Movies showed 'em!
I think with Commando for instance, some of the Knife Fight at the end is cut out. As Bennet charges at Matrix with his knife, the scene suddenly cuts to them falling over into the nxt area, and the punch up begins. Various little scenes of the Island shootdown was edited a bit aswell.
I remember Predator - the scene when Carl Weather's severed arm still firing the gun on the jungle ground was edited out.
When you mentioned the "Coca Cola" sponser, I instantly remembered the little "Movie Priemere' indent featuring CocaCola before and after the Ad breaks. 👍
@@kylereece1979 I was 8 or 9 around the time of the ITV broadcast and had no idea at the time it was cut it was only later in the early 2000s and the internet that I realised who much we in the UK had things censored. I do remember watching (Commando) and not understanding that the film was funny and had one liners. Being 8 or 9 all that wen over my head and I just thought it was a straight action film. Same with Ghostbusters it wasn't until I was in my twenty's that I realised how funny the film was and all the jokes in it aimed at adults.
@@Marvdogger2 Id seen Predator and Commando in friends houses before ITV showed them. I remember being 10 and we somehow got free Sky Movies for about 2 months, before it was scrambled and removed. But when we had it, it was absolutely glorious. My mates taped the uncencored Arnie films onto VHS and thats how I saw them. I didnt have a video player just yet.
ITVs cuts of Robocop and Lethal Weapon were comical! Stupidly obvious overdubbings of swearings, and snippets to the more violent scenes. In Robocop , I remember laughing at when Bob Morton looks into Robocops eyes and says- in a hilariously bad overdub- "You're gonna be a bad Mother Crusher!".
Brilliant. 😁
Im Irish, and thankfully when the TV stations showed movies here, they were surprisingly unedited. I remember rejoycing at having a full uncencored Lethal Weapon 2, as opposed to an ITV version.😁
If youve still got that Commando on VHS, fair play to you. Thats great. My cherished VHS movies taped from telly sadly were lost over the years of time since.🤔
Hey Oliver, another great review/documentary. This was one of the ones from Arnold that I was hoping that you'd get around to sooner rather than later, you must have read my mind. I'd like to see you do Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, Rambo: First Blood Part II, as well as Top Gun.
Class film, it’s the most 80’s of all the 80’s cheesy action films with all the tropes. Think I once watched it for the 3rd time in a week when I was 13 to count how many died in it.
Still one of my favorite Arnold films, I remember my father & I watching it on HBO the night it debuted. I was 12. That's one thing my old man and I had in common, our love of a good action movie!
Loved your Arnie impersonation. That'll keep me chuckling all day. Video was great too!
Arnold is the most underrated actor in history. You need serious charisma and presence and physical ability to make a movie like this and pull it off. And some of his more dramatic stuff in other films is actually quite good. He has a natural believability about him even with his often less-than-great delivery. Check out when he is giving orders to his team in Predator - I see a leader giving orders, not an actor playing a leader giving orders.
Dude arnie was like THE actor of the late 20th century... He is still probably the most well known actor in all of cinema history.
in the unedited version you see a scene where Matrix tells Cindy about how he was never there for jenny as he was always away i felt that it added so much to the film and also why she seems to all of a sudden help him more
I had two movies I would watch on repeat daily as a kid growing up in the early 80's. It was Conan the Barbarian and Commando. Both films have two phenomenal soundtracks that I still listen to today.
The editing is all over the place. I bought a version that kind of cleaned up some of the editing and honestly it just didn't work. Showing that original theatrical cut was perfect (warts and all).
This badly needs a 4K Blu-Ray Release..
I visited the locations used in the final act of the film last year and stood on the beach where the last scene takes place. I scooped up a water bottle full of sand from roughly the spot where Arnie had stood and then sold vials of it on eBay as ‘Schwarzenegger Sand’. I thought I might sell one or two but surprisingly sold dozens!
I haven't seen this entire movie before, but this really looks awesome. And I always love hearing Roger Ebert saying that something got blown up "real good". He did that on the Siskel and Ebert review for "On Deadly Ground".
I love all of your retrospective reviews :D
Love this film. a joy to watch every time and more than enough one-liners to go around...!
the steel drum in this is just perfect, makes for an iconic soundtrack. as a kid i thought it was intense and fascinating like the movie. and that was the most relevant time to have an opinion about all of this.
One of my favourite films. Wish we got more films like it to be honest.
I love how Vernon Wells comes off of this movie as a buff version of Freddy Mercury circa 1985. And the chainmail. Why was he wearing chainmail? That chainmail didn't stop him from being spit roasted by that pipe.
This feels like the unofficial prequel to the predator series, what an incredible film! :D
How does it feel like the unofficial prequel to Predator? They have two completely different tones. Arnold is a bit of a one dimensional actor but Dutch and Matrix are nothing alike ? I just don't see your connection ? But then again wasn't Predator made when somebody made a offhand comment about the next Rocky movie being Stallone fighting an Alien because his opponents kept getting bigger, stronger and badder and they had to up the anti lol... I could see you making a case for The Rock being a part of the James Bond franchise or Get the Gringo being a sequel to Payback but not Predator and Commando. Prove me wrong?
Plus I just remembered the same actor that plays part of Dutches team in Predator is one of the bad guys in this movie so how can it be set in the same universe? Unless Bill Dukes (I think its his name? the bald black guy. who never smiles that was also in Payback) has a twin
Bill Duke dies in both films so yes, would need to be a twin
the extended cut of this movie is awsome
Your Arnold laugh was GREAT! Had to rewind and hear a few times.
Yet another Arnold film I haven’t seen. I need to rectify that. It looks fun!
Love the movie, one of the best action films of the 80's, the spanish dub is so funny i can watch it over and over...
Wow! What an edit for the end of this! Best 22 minutes of my weekend...thanks!
I love how you always give detail on the soundtrack, can't believe you never went in depth with the plot for this. ;) No way is that Bill Duke's own scream, not enough bass. One of Arnie's best films for comedy one-liners. Your retrospective/review videos are great, cheers. When are we getting Red Heat? :D
18:31 Oh my god, that was spot on! Phenomenal video by the way, thank you.
I never had the toy figures but I remember having the toy tactical vest with grenade. I loved that thing.
I remember watching this as a kid, I was so amazed at the amount of backflips that were caused by explosions.
I can remember watching Commando for the first time as a young teen, nothing better than a movie running on action, cinema cheese, charisma and actors absolutely chewing the scenery.
I don't know if it's still available, but Arnold was on The Nerdest podcast to promote Sabotage a few years back, and he told an absolutely hilarious story about these horrible ideas he had for the climax of Commando. This movie, man. I love this movie. I saw it as a kid and was awestruck. It had two of the most bad ass moments I had ever seen. The "I lied" bit, and, much more subtle, the moment he jumped off the plane and set his watch for eleven hours. I don't know what it was about that, but I just struck me. It was so straight forward. He's like, I've got eleven hours to do this, and I'm gonna fucking do it. The music score, while not my favorite, I couldn't imagine anything else. It's just so unique and different. It and the movie are inseparable to me.
I remember being a kid watching this movie on tv for the first time. I was so young that Arnold was just Terminator to me and not Arnold. So I when I turned it on it was just the ending where he’s blasting through everyone and I remember thinking to myself “I need more of this!!!” I go to the TV guide channel to find the name of the movie (which in those days internet wasn’t a big thing to just search whatever you want.) and finally found the name Commando. I was like badass name. I kept a eye out for it on tv again and I never got to see it until I found out it was in my dads VHS collection. I went to watch it and absolutely hated it when nothing at all was like the climax. I wanted a “commando” blasting through guys like I did in video games and I wanted it to be the terminator. But it was completely different. After awhile I watched it more and more and became one of my overall favorite movies.
Wings Hauser was the original Bennet and he was on the film for one week before being replaced by Vernon Wells. He only shot one scene which was a prologue scene in Vietnam with Matrix's whole unit. Which was shot in Screenwriter Steve DeSouza's back garden.
Unfortunately with the Bennet character being recast it meant that the Vietnam prologue had to be dropped from the film as there was'nt the time or money to re-shoot it with Vernon Wells.