Commando

## Movie Overview

***Commando*** is a 1985 American action film directed by Mark L. Lester and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Rae Dawn Chong, Alyssa Milano, Vernon Wells, Bill Duke and Dan Hedaya. The film was released in the United States on October 4, 1985.

*Commando* was the first movie to introduce the fictional country of the Republic of Val Verde and takes place in 1988vv. Predator (1987vv) acts as a prequel to **Commando** (1988vv) in the Val Verde Cinematic Universe. When we flip the moves order, we can watch **Commando** in a different light. John Matrix was retired in the mountains after his battle with the Predator and he is alerted to danger when "choppers" land on his property. Matrix was Colonel in Predator and was a higher ranking Major in Commando and Matrix had experience with Delta Force in Val Verde previous to his time in **Commando**. Finally, Mac's death in Predator gives Cooke's character in Commando more depth, if in fact Cooke put blame on Matrix for the death of his brother in Predator.

## Val Verde Cinematic Universe Connections

Commando takes place in 1988 in the Prime Timeline.

##### Definitive Connections

1. The Republic of Val Verde appears in Predator and Die Hard 2: Die Harder

##### Strong Connections

1. John "Dutch" Matrix played by Arnold Schwarzenegger also appears in Predator.
2. Bill Cooke's twin brother Mac Cooke played by Bill Duke appears in Predator.
3. Walter Cates appears in 48Hrs and Back to the Future
4. Commando is a sequel to Predator

##### Weal Connections

1. Luther "Sully" Sullivan played by David Patrick Kelly appears in The Warriors and 48 Hours.
2. Jerry Lambert played by Bill Paxton appears in Predator 2.

##### Conjecture

1. Jerry Lambert's distant ancestor William Hudson played by Bill Paxton appears in Aliens.
2. Arius Perez's distant ancestor General Perez played by Dan Hedaya appears in Alien: Resurrection

## Plot

Retired United States Special Forces Colonel John "Dutch" Matrix is informed by his former superior Major General Franklin Kirby that all the other members of his former unit have been killed by unknown mercenaries. The mercenaries, among them Bennett, an Australian ex-member of Matrix's Delta Force team discharged for excessive violence, attack Matrix's secluded mountain home in Mount Baldy, California and kidnap Matrix's young daughter Jenny. While trying to intercept them, Matrix is also overpowered and abducted by the mercenaries. He is taken before their commander, Arius Pérez, a Central American former dictator Matrix removed from power. Arius blackmails Matrix into carrying out a political assassination of the President of Val Verde, Raphael Velasquez, in his home country of Val Verde, where Arius wishes to lead a military coup. With Jenny's life on the line, Matrix reluctantly agrees to fulfill the demand.

After boarding a plane to Val Verde, Matrix manages to kill his guard, Henriques - by snapping his neck - and jumps from the plane just as it is taking off. With approximately 11 hours before the plane is scheduled to land, he sets out after another of Arius' men, Luther "Sully" Sullivan. He enlists the aid of an off-duty flight attendant, Cindy, and instructs her to follow Sully to a shopping mall. Cindy first assumes that Matrix is a madman, but after she sees Sully pull a gun on Matrix in the ensuing fight, she decides to assist him in his endeavor. After a lengthy car chase, Matrix catches up with Sully and drops him off a cliff to his death. Taking a motel key from Sully's jacket, Matrix tracks down and confronts Bill Cooke, a former Green Beret in Arius' employ who assassinated former Delta Force members Lawson and Forrestal in response to the death of his twin brother Mac Cook. Matrix impales Cooke on a table leg after a lengthy fight. Matrix tells Cindy that Arius was going to kill Jenny, regardless of whether or not he did the job. Afterwards, Matrix and Cindy break into a warehouse owned by Arius which supplies weapons for his army. Matrix learns where Jenny is being held after looking at a map of the island where Arius' villa is located.

Matrix breaks into a surplus store to equip himself with military weaponry, but is immediately arrested by the police. Cindy helps him escape by using a rocket launcher on the police car and, after commandeering a seaplane from a nearby marina controlled by Arius, Matrix and Cindy land the plane off the coast of Arius' island hideout off the coast of Santa Barbara. Matrix instructs Cindy to contact General Kirby and then proceeds to Arius' villa, killing Arius and his army. Jenny escapes to the villa's basement, but is captured by Bennett. Matrix tracks them, and after a lengthy fight, finally kills Bennett by impaling him with a steam pipe. Kirby arrives with a military detachment and asks Matrix to rejoin the unit, but Matrix declines and departs the island aboard the seaplane with Jenny and Cindy, telling Kirby "no chance."

## Cast

* Arnold Schwarzenegger as Colonel John "Dutch" Matrix
* Rae Dawn Chong as Cindy
* Alyssa Milano as Jenny Matrix
* Dan Hedaya as Arius Pérez
* Vernon Wells as Captain Bennett
* James Olson as Major General Franklin Kirby
* David Patrick Kelly as Luther "Sully" Sullivan
* Bill Duke as Bill Cooke
* Drew Snyder as Lawson
* Michael Delano as Forrestal
* Charles Meshack as Henriques
* Carlos Cervantes as Diaz
* Bill Paxton as Jerry Lambert
* Bob Minor as Jackson
* Michael Adams as Harris
* Walter Scott as Walter Cates