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Afterthoughts
Man, this was a trip, wasn't it? I knew going into this one that the movie itself would be a tough one, but it was so completely hilarious that it made the journey worthwhile. I have seen some bad action movies, but this one ranks very high on the list. That is an achievement in and of itself, and should be recognized as such.
It was fun to see so many of the Disco Dancer crowd again, and in such a new context! My only major regret here was that we didn't see more of Kim as Zhum Zhum. Kim seems to give it her all in every scene, and that was something that I found I missed when she wasn't on screen. Ah well. Perhaps next time.
Mithun Chakraborty (Chander) was consistent here with the other performance I've seen of his. He seems earnest in his acting, hamming it up in the comedy parts, looking as tough as possible in the action or fighting parts, and smoldering (kind of, in his own disco-fu way) in the romantic moments. My only real complaint with him is in the fight choreography. It's just so clearly staged and doesn't flow smoothly at all. He can do some nice fighting moves, but it's just very clear that everyone is counting to three before falling down. So, other than the fights, he did a good job.
Mandakini (Asha) was a new face for me, so I don't have anything to compare her against. She did fine with what she was given, and there weren't any major drops in her performance that really stood out to me.
Hermant Berje (Dilher Singh) was good! I liked his performance and he was a likable character. He also has a good screen presence, and does a lot better in the action scenes. I'd have no problems watching another of his movies, and look forward to doing so.
Kim (Zhum Zhum) unfortunately doesn't turn up until the end of the movie, but she does her thing with energy and looks like she's having a great time. No issues with her here.
All of the villains were doing cookie-cutter roles, and had no major surprises. Amrish Puri was the megalomaniacal evil mastermind, Dalip Tahil was the greasy deceptive guy, and so on. The major standout here is of course, Danny Dezongpa as the aptly-named Ninja. He makes some great faces, looks like he knows how to fight, and never breaks character for a second. I've seen him in quite a few movies, but this one was unique. He never gets another chance to rock the red ninja outfit, and that's a shame.
My complaints with the movie all tie into the production values. There weren't any. The music was 90% stolen from Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back. I know that this kind of "licensing" of music turns up occasionally in films, but I would be hard pressed to think of a more recognizable and distinct score than that of Mr. Williams' for those films. Why not take a page or two from Jaws, guys? Was the score for Raiders of the Lost Ark not available? Someone must have scratched the album. The little action figures in all of the major "stunt" scenes, the painfully obvious rear-projections for the skiing and cable car scenes, the stolen plot elements from Where Eagles Dare... it just kept piling up.
Negatives:
The effects. None of them were good. Not one. The prop guns with the coffee-can sized grenade launchers, the overuse of toys for cars and dolls for the people, the optical effects, all bad. Really bad.
The music. Odd that I would knock that, as I love the Star Wars theme. It just had no business being here. Even the original numbers failed to impress. The only one that had any catchy parts to it was "Mera Naam Dhum Dhum," but that had the freaky guy jumping around in his boxers.
Stolen plot - Clint Eastwood and Richard Burton would like a word with the producers.
The whole scene with Satish Shah where they're borrowing the car. It went on forever.
Positives:
Indian Ninjas! Lots of them! These guys were great, and I'd love to see more ninjas in Bollywood. Please send me titles of others if you know of any.
The silliness of the whole thing. The effects, while terrible, and the action, also terrible, all came together to make an absolutely hilarious movie. This was not the intention of anyone involved I'm sure, but I chuckled through most of the movie, and laughed out loud many, many times.
The acting of the main cast was passable, and had no elements that were unexpected or unpleasant.
For the ratings icon, I have to go with the Face of Awesome, as demonstrated by the mighty Ninja. Behold! I rated this movie high on the Entertainment Value, but that must be taken with the note that one must appreciate the unintentional hilarity on display here. If you don't enjoy that kind of thing, go ahead and take off two points.
Commando (1988)
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