Strike Commando

My review was written in November 1987 after watching the movie on International Video Entertainment video cassette.

"Strike Commando" is a run-of-the-mill Italian war picture imitating "Rambo". Made last year, pic was recently given a token release in Kansas City, ahead of its current home video availability.

Reb Brown fits the bill as brawny Michael Ransom, sole survivor of a deadly mission in Vietnam by the crack Strike Commando force. Befriended by local villages, he spots Russianofficers in action and is sent back in by his commander (Christopher Connelly) to get photographic evidence of he Russkies.

With dumb dialog (beefy Russian played by Alex Vitale insists on calling the hero "Americanski"), pic slavishly imitates the second "Rambo" film leading to a touch of "Rocky IV" (bare-knuckled fight between the two musclemen) as well. At least a reel or two overlong, film has an idiotic, padded coda set about 15 years later in Manila.

Some okay minor action scenes do not disguise the fact that the film lacks the large-scale set pieces that have become de rigueur for Vietnam war pics. Worst scene has Brown unsuccessfully (in an obvious stretch) simulating tears and pathos as he holds a dying little Vietnamese boy in his arms -cut to him with machine gun in hand bellowing a war cry, fully motivated.

While boasting production values somewhat higher than usual for Italian war movies shot in the Philippines (the modelwork is kept to a minimum, and there are plenty of big explosions), and there are plenty of genre it takes somewhat of an effort to get through the first half. It's slow, dumb, and pretty devoid of action for the most part.

However, things do brighten in the second half of the movie... though probably not in the way the filmmakers intended. Starting at the halfway mark, the movie suddenly starts being funny - *unintentionally* funny! Whether is incredibly inept enemy soldiers being easily gunned down... the hero's screaming and flapping his gun around... or how the movie incredibly and blatantly rips off scene after scene of "Rambo: First Blood Part 2", the movie keeps finding ways to make us laugh. It seems the filmmakers did realize how utterly stupid the movie was becoming, since the last few minutes are made to be *intentionally* funny.

Had the first half of the movie been as funny as the second, I would have recommended "Strike Commando" without hesitation. As it is now, it's up to you if you are willing to bear with that first half.

Reb Brown stars in an incredibly bad, yet still very entertaining popcorn action flick set in the jungles of Vietnam.

Brown plays Michael Ransom, a Green Beret sent on a risky mission which goes awry. He manages to get back to his own lines, only to wind up on another botched mission. While interred in an enemy POW camp, he discovers that his CO is actually working for the KGB, and escapes to seek revenge.

While the plot is rather contrived, the movie manages to deliver loads of cheesy entertainment - much more than you'll get from WHERE EAGLES DARE or any Hollywood action movie. The combat scenes basically consist of Brown firing his M-16, AK-47 or some other high-powered weapon in the general direction of the enemy, who all fall down. The VC are completely inept; none of them seem to know how to aim or fire a weapon or even turn around when fired upon. Brown manages to get away with just about anything - including sending radio messages to his own troops - while the VC just watch and appear helpless.

The acting is just as bad, especially from Brown. He manages to look strong and fearless, even after being beaten, burned and electrocuted by the enemy. He goes through every one of his scenes shouting at the top of his lungs - no matter what the scenario. Every time he fires a weapon he hollers "Whuaa" at the top of his lungs till your TV speakers will explode. In support, Alex Vitale is a scary-looking but never really frightening Russian bad guy, who's storming around the jungle helping the VC try to kick American butt. Luciano Pigozzi (TIGER JOE) is on hand in the first act as a witty French peasant. The supporting cast is pretty lame; one Vietnamese villager comes up to Ransom and says in fear: "We're, like, sitting ducks". Hmm, sounds a little on the side of American slang, doesn't it?

Add to the list of goof-ups and stupid stuff… one long, pointless scene involving Vitale and a snake; a real actor replaced in mid-scene with a child-sized dummy in a different position; some really bad-looking explosions; a man obviously clad in asbestos cloth as he's "burned" by a flamethrower; really, really badly edited Vietnam-era stock shots of helicopters flying around Vietnam … the list goes on and on.

On the plus side, the Luigi Ceccarelli score is crummy synthesizer material, but is pretty catchy and fast-moving. The jungle appears steamy and looks pretty lush and is very convincing (yet, none of the actors seem to be affected by the heat, bugs and such?). Mike Monty does a nice, appreciated turn as Ransom's commanding officer.

I saw STRIKE COMMANDO on a Brazilian videotape. The image was a little over-tinted, grainy and had occasional damage. The stock footage looks really worn out, too. The explosions are really, really bright - too bright - but this could be a fault of the film crew, not the video distributor. The cassette has slightly distracting Portuguese subtitles.

What the heck. It's a really bad movie - technically bad, badly written and badly acted - but it's an entertaining 2 hour trip into the world where the good guys always win despite insurmountable odds.

RATING: 5/10

Strike Commando was it seems one of Bruno Mattei's most successful films of the 80's, bringing in enough cash for an further assortment of action trash in the latter half of that decade, including a sequel. 'Tis easy to see why it was such a success, being swift paced, simple minded and action packed. Also the main characters name is Mike Ransom, which makes it immediately a more awesome film than any which doesn't have a main character called Mike Ransom. The plot has Ransom and his men taking down a Vietcong munitions store, only to run across an imperilled village which Ransom vows to return and liberate. He does return but rather fails on the liberation front, as villains have offed the lot. And so like any red blooded soldier would do in the face of atrocity and impossible odds, Ransom sets off for some vengeance time... Apparently Strike Commando is in large part a rip off of Rambo 2. This wouldn't surprise me in the least as a good half or more of Mattei's filmography consists of ripping of other peoples work, but I can't say for certain as I've never seen Rambo 2. Frankly after Strike Commando I have little intention of even bothering, as rather than a lightweight like Stallone Strike Commando has Reb Brown, a man so irrefutably badass that he makes Stallone look like your elderly maiden aunt who has a steel pin in her hip from the time she fell over while gardening. Not only that but he brings a tragic grace to emotional scenes worthy of a five tissue weepie, especially when telling a dying child about Disneyland (where apparently popcorn grows on trees). Yep, he's an all round hero, crack shot, knife flinging maestro, dead on with a crossbow and handy with fists and feet, all this and still man enough to show his emotions. Well matched is the main villain of the piece, Jakoda (or Jaaakodaaah!!!!), played by Alex Vitale, a big brawny slimeball played by Alex Vitale who enjoys killing and torture but even worse makes fun of the hero by calling him Americanski (a sure sign of utter villainy is someone who makes light of God's one nation!). And the various other baddies are fun too, including a turn from trash frequent flier Jim Gaines. Altogether Strike Commando is the epitome of a pig headed good time. Things get blown up, countless goons are shot or knifed and downtime is minimal. The action is even reasonably well staged, at least as good as any mid tier American action trash from the same era. I wouldn't in the world recommend this to anyone who looks to cinema for insight and the higher qualities of man and art, but trash hounds will almost certainly get their kicks. 7/10.

Yes, the movie is bad. Tragically so. But I can't deny that I am overcome by a natural charm that movies this bad exude. Imagine a movie that cheerfully includes the hackneyed scene where the hero looks over the carnage wreaked by the bad guy and dramatically shouts his name out really long.

Special note should be made of our lead man's character-building scene where he tearfully brags about the food and candy at Disneyland to a dying Vietnamese boy. Simply priceless. For this kind of badness there should be a medal. If you see it, go ahead and try it for a lot more laughs than you'd get from a genuinely good comedy. Look for Reb Brown's "performance".