Two 80s action favourites, with one film directly influencing the other.
We salute Schwarzenegger and Stallone in their action prime…
But which one is better?
If we are talking box office,Rambo IIsmokesCommandoseven ways to Sunday.
Lets start with our heroes.
On the one hand you have John Matrix (Commando).
A less complex character you could probably never find.
Against the comic book backdrop of its sequel, this character is rendered ridiculous and completely out of place.
In this context, Rambos pain rings hollow.
With an action movie, the script is generally treated like an excuse to string set pieces together.
In one case, this works for the film.
In the other case, it completely undermines the intent of the filmmakers.
Well get to which film is which shortly.
Even the screen-writing 101 of having a time limit works in the movies favour.
Rambo IIopens with a similar sense of drive.
Within the first 20 minutes, Rambo goes from prison to Thailand and then straight to Nam.
Whereas this economy works for a live action cartoon likeCommando, this has detrimental consequences forRambo II.
It is completely schizophrenic.
Action set pieces are bracketed by extended debates between Trainman and Murdock, or angst-filled emotional beats from Rambo.
The movie never settles on what the tone should be.
This is especially true of the showdown with Cos killer.
There is no real sense of tension, as there is never chance that Colonel Tay will kill Rambo.
He just runs away while Rambo readies bis bow, stops and gets blown up.
Even as a stooge, he is relegated behind Pudovskys right-hand man Yushin, a monosyllabic Russian strong man.
None of them have real personality, and do not have anything particularly memorable to do.
WhileRambo IIhas Steven Berkoff with a cartoonish accent,Commandohas Vernon Wells in a chain mail vest.
It helps that he is also backed up by some great henchmen.
Partly this is the script Co Bao is a cardboard cut-out.
When she is not talking like an anime character (No, I fight!
), she turns into an audience surrogate (You made it, Rambo!).
Ultimately, she is just a plot machine she gets fridged to provoke Rambo into going psycho.
He givesRambo IIa lush look that really sells the mayhem and his leading mans machined body.
Commandolooks more like a comic book, and the lighting resembles a TV show.
While less interesting than Cardiffs work, the comic book, boiler plate style ofCommandois more impactful.
Horners score is hilariously one note, but one note for longer than 3 minutes gets dull real fast.
This is after his brother has spent the last 95 minutes wiping out a bajillion nameless soldiers.
