"Commando" (Blu-ray)

Synopsis

Retired Col. John Matrix (Schwarzenegger), who was notrious for getting the job done when he previously commanded a special forces group, is forced to deal with a Latin Dictator named Arius (Hedaya) who wants him to assassinate the new president there so he can retake power.

They kidnap his daughter Jenny (Milano) as incentive.

Unfortunately for them, Matrix is used to giving orders, not taking them, so he decides to do some assassinating alright, but not exactly the ones they wanted. Escaping from the jet that was supposed to take him to South America, he enlists the aid of a stewardess, and launches his own attack. He has eleven hours to get the job done, because that is how long it will be before the jet lands in South America, and they will know he is not on it.

Commentary

Not the same director as Predator, not the same enemy, but similar to all the Schwarzenegger stuff of the 1980's before he started getting out of shape. Plenty of great action, and of course, there is an innocent bystander who goes along for the ride. In this case, it is a flight attendant (Chong). Lots of good one liners too, just like in the Dirty Harry series. I was amused that the dictator's soldiers all had sideburns. It was like watching an R-rated version of the Charlie's Angels TV show.

Technical

At 24 Mbps, the image is pretty good, taking into account that the original is more than 20 years old. The high def soundtrack is useful for the horrendous explosions in terms of dynamics. If you like action movies and Schwarzenegger, this is probably a disc to purchase.

Extras

Very little in the way of extras. None are needed really. It's just a good action film. It could also have been entitled Mayhem, Inc.