The Commander (1988)

What makes it different from others?

Some things I liked some I did not.

Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

This is the third entry in a loose trilogy of Euro action movies directed by Antonio Margheriti and starring Lewis Collins. I have yet to see the first instalment but have seen the second, Commando Leopard (1985), which I thought was quite good. This final entry, however, I didn't think so much of. The plot involved a group or mercenaries, lots of gun shooting, explosions and a top secret floppy disc. It was an entirely tiresome story-line quite honestly and a film in which you have to have a considerable interest in exploding helicopters and gun battles if you are going to get much out of it. I am somewhat ambivalent about action movies myself but I do enjoy some, such as the previous instalment in this series. But this one I essentially found to be a tedious series of action and dialogue scenes. Basically I have found that all films that focus on top secret floppy discs are awful.The cast is actually not bad though. We have b-movie legends such as Lee Van Cleef and Donald Pleasence and cult favourites such as Bobby Rhodes (the best cinematic pimp of all time from Demons (1985) and Demons 2 (1986)) and John Steiner (from Dario Argento's seminal giallo Tenebrae (1982). But the impressive cast can't save this one. It was also decidedly overlong for what it was and by the end I was just glad it was over.

Around Christmas I had watched COMMANDO LEOPARD (1985), a passable low-brow German-Italian war flick; that film was the middle part of a trilogy and, back then, I had expressed a wish to check out the remaining two entries – CODENAME: WILDGEESE (1984) and THE COMMANDER (1988). I now happened upon the latter, but the result was even less rewarding! Lewis Collins is once again the hero and, as ever, producer Erwin C. Dietrich manages to assemble a fair line-up of actors in support: Lee Van Cleef, Donald Pleasence, Manfred Lehmann and John Steiner (both from COMMANDO LEOPARD), Paul Muller (as Van Cleef’s smart butler!) and Brett Halsey.The convoluted plot involves an Asian dictator, a consignment of drugs and an all-important incriminating “floppy disk” (but which looks more like a CD!). The band of gung-ho mercenaries this time around also includes a native girl but, with much of the action being relegated to the second half, it’s mostly by-the-numbers stuff – until the explosive climax (which only Collins and Lehmann survive…though one member had expired early on from the bite of a cobra!). However, there’s a nice twist at the end regarding the characters of Van Cleef (fitted with a silly pirate-like earring throughout!) and Pleasence (alternating between hysteria and sarcasm and, finally, campily turning up as a tourist-photographer) – as they prove exact opposites to what they’d been played up to be!

OK, this is confusing. In 1984, the Italian director Anthony Dawson (AKA Antonio Margheriti) made "Codename:Wildgeese", an action film about a commando squad that goes to Southeast Asia to attack a drug lord's stronghold. It starred Lewis Collins, Lee Van Cleef, Klaus Kinski and Ernest Borgnine. In 1988, he made "The Commander", an action film about a commando squad that goes to Southeast Asia to attack a drug lord's stronghold. It starred Collins and Van Cleef again, but no Kinski and Borgnine this time; in their place, there was Donald Pleasence. To further confuse matters, the version of "The Commander" I saw was actually titled "Commando:Wildgeese"! It took me about 10 minutes to realize that I wasn't watching the 1984 film! Anyway, all you need to remember is that "The Commander" / "Commando:Wildgeese" is a low-grade action film, to be avoided at all costs. A low point in the careers of Van Cleef and Pleasence; all the others involved never had much of a career to begin with. The only character who piqued my interest was a beautiful female fighter, but she didn't get to do much. (*)

This film follows CODENAME WILDGEESE and COMMANDO LEOPARD. It is not as good as either of those films, due mainly to the fact that the action sequences lack the tight editing and loud sound effects of the two earlier films. The acting is good, and far better than your average B movie. Fans of these European films will get a kick out of the cast of B movie favourites Collins, Van Cleef, Pleasence, Halsey, Lehmann, Puppo, Monty and others. May director Margheriti continue to work, I for one will still watch his films.