Release Date: September 18, 2007. Film Rating:   / Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger (John Matrix), Rae Dawn Chong (Cindy), Dan Hedaya (Arius), Vernon Wells (Bennett), James Olson (Gen. Kirby), Alyssa Milano (Jenny Matrix) Screenplay by: Stephen E. de Souza Directed by: Mark L. Lester Somewhere…somehow…someone’s going to pay! Whether you like this movie or not, you must admit Commando is a bad movie. The skinny plot is strung along by weak characters and 'shake-your-head crying' puns. Its star, the newly-minted actor Arnold Schwarzenegger is John Matrix, the most dangerous ex-military agent alive. Because of his hurricane effect of wrecking anyone who gets in the way of his mission, many people want him dead. But when a vicious South American dictator tracks him down, he is in for a long hunt and fight to save his kidnapped daughter. When the major villain looks like Freddy Mercury on steroids and Arnold blasts away 85 “little brown men” (quote: Rae Dawn Chong) Mexicans for the grand finale, you know this movie is going to generate a few amusing laughs. The writer and director of this film would like you to think that you can’t take this film seriously. I believe in 1985 they did. Still, I have a sweet spot for Commando. I’ve worn out my Beta tape fifteen years ago so it’s nice to see this film get a bit of a treatment on DVD. Included on this disc is a director's cut available via seamless branching. Despite what press releases say, the new cut as envisioned by director Mark L. Lester is only about a minute and a half longer than the theatrical cut despite the five minutes indicated. The press release could be referring to the scene as a whole the disc accesses for seamless branching rather than the split second additional scene that is included within it. Or, if we are comparing this director’s cut to some international cuts of the film then yes, it’s about 5 minutes longer. When comparing it to the domestic release, additions include two scenes with line changes, some additional John Matrix character development, and a much more graphic assault on the villains when Arnold destroys them in the work shed. I noticed these changes while watching the film even though it’s been probably ten years since I’ve last seen it, but you can also access these additions independently if in the special features in the theatrical version menu.  VIDEO QUALITY: 3/5 Even though I’ve given this title a rating of only three, my reason is mostly due to the original photography. The film has a very soft and desaturated appearance that looks slightly out of focus in many shots. This is something that I believe probably will never change in any future standard definition release. The print, surprisingly, is very clean from grain and print artefacts. Those black dirt specs are rarely noticed and when they are, they are very small on my 110” screen and hardly distracting. Image contrast is fair but for the most part it feels very consistent in midrange brightness. Black levels aren’t that deep and white levels are slightly dimmer and occasionally feel slightly grey. Colours aren’t vibrant and there is no issue of artificial over saturation to give it a bit more pump. Lastly, compression artefacts are few and are good for DVD. The biggest screens can’t miss catching artefacts, and edge enhancement is non-intruding. Overally, this is a nice presentation that will satisfy all fans. AUDIO QUALITY: 3/5 The theatrical Dolby 2.0 Surround soundtrack is included alongside the 5.1 remix. Switching between the two will determine your preference. I listened mostly to the 5.1 surround version. This mix brought out some music elements forward in the soundstage where it was drowned out in the 2.0 surround mix. Surround and music effects are directional but the volume of the surrounds appeared slightly quieter than the fronts throughout the film never quite emphasized directionality to the listener. Effects, as expected, are limited in dynamic range for this mid-‘80s film. Gun shots are loud but always muffled and restrained from some real dynamic affect. Dialogue sounds ok, but is occasionally surrounded by some background hiss that sounds looped. This is noticed mostly when Matrix is first interrogated by his captors, and in fact the Dolby 2.0 Surround mix is preferred in this instance for it’s consistency in 'smooth' background noise. The 5.1 version has the background hiss sounding cut up. The James Horner score comes through well, although I’m not fond of its repetitiveness. The lack of LFE channel is balanced by more than adequate bass in the main channels and a non-abrasive top end. TACTILE FUN!! / TACTILE TRANSDUCER ON/OFF?: OFF A few gun shots are emphasized with the dedicated LFE channel. They are few and far between, so there isn’t much rumble even during the film’s climax. SPECIAL FEATURES: 2/5 The biggest special feature is the director’s cut via seamless branching. If watching the theatrical version, you can access these branched scenes separately in the special features menu. The disc also includes three minutes of deleted scenes that look as finished as the final film. It would seem these were almost considered to be included in the final cut but in the end were opted out. Thank goodness, because these scenes are weak (especially the one with General Kirby). An audio commentary from Director Mark L. Lester is included. He’s excited to be talking about his most favourite film and he offers some good information about the process, but disappointingly there are moments when he doesn’t say anything at all as the scene plays on. Two 4:3 featurettes, Pure Action (15.07) and Let Off Some Steam (7.18) feature a combination of new interview footage from the film’s creators as well as actors Chong, Wells, and Duke, mixed with hilarious old on-the-set interviews with Schwarzenegger. Even though these are your run of the mill featurettes that have too much movie footage inserted in them, they were enjoyable to view as everyone reminisces about the film. Oddly enough, the theatrical trailer isn’t found here but you do get four photo galleries that include over 150 images. Rather than selecting each still yourself, each of the four sub categories (Creating Commando, Domestic Bliss with John and Jenny, Kill Arnold, Kill! Trashing the Galleria) play on their own to music with a combined running time of about 7 minutes. I would have preferred to skip to each image on my own, but I guess I could hit the pause button if I wanted to look at one longer than the time allotted. IN THE END... Overall this is a nice transfer for this film. Audio and video quality is pleasing and watching the alternative/additional scenes in the director’s cut is what makes this release appealing. Michael Osadciw September 09, 2007. Review System |
9/8/07 at 11:55pm
Warner Bros. Blu-ray Reviewer
Anchor Bay/Starz Entertainment Blu-ray Reviewer
THX/ISF Professional Video Calibrator
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