Bruno Mattei, may he rest in peace, undoubtedly was the uncrowned king of Italian exploitation cinema. Especially during the 1980's, he and his loyal buddy Claudio Fragasso fabricated nearly two dozen of hilariously incompetent, cheesy and most of all blatant imitations of famous Hollywood action/Sci-Fi blockbusters. "Predator" received a makeover called "Robowar", "Aliens" became "Shocking Dark" and this misunderstood masterpiece of cinema is a shamelessly flagrant "Rambo" knock-off. But still, even though the idea of a "Rambo" clone sounds totally uninteresting, you should definitely check out "Strike Commando" because this literally is a non-stop feast of dumb plotting, atrocious acting performances, grotesquely absurd action sequences and hilariously fake sentimentality.
Reb Brown – according to the VHS cover the newest world star – plays the deadly one man Vietnam commando squad Michael Ransom. He lost the rest of his elite buddies when the cowardly Colonel Radek aborted a mission too soon and obviously he wants retaliation. He ends up among Vietnamese villagers and learns that the biggest enemies in the area are actually Russian KGB troopers led by the sadist Jakoda. Russians! Russians in the Vietnam jungle! What are the odds? And apparently they really do address to Americans by yelling "Amerikanskiiiii"! This is obviously just a description of the plot in a nutshell. There's a lot more going on, one sub plot more ludicrous than the other, but the best bits of entertainment are to be found in the details. Our hero's wide variety of outrageous battle cries, for example, like when the Vietnamese boy he befriended dies in his arms or when he jumps off an exploding boat right after he executed the entire crew. Another massive highlight – one that nearly brought my mate and I close to crying with laughter – is the bare knuckle fighting showdown between our hero and the beefcake Russian, which includes quotes like "I'll break your back, Americanski" and ends with a dive from a cliff even though there wasn't a cliff in sight at the beginning of the fight. Ultimately priceless is the "friendship" that Michael Ransom develops with a Vietnamese boy. When asked about life in America, Ransom tells the kid that in Disneyland popcorn grows on trees and he will take him there one day. Obviously the kid's mom is mad at him. She probably doesn't like popcorn. Apart from all the unintentionally laughable moments, "Strike Commando" is actually a very violent film, with countless explosions and people dying from machine gun artillery and/or knives randomly flying around. The bloodshed and cruelty is never too shocking, however, not even during the infamous torture sequence compilation, and you'll be too busy laughing anyway.
Okay, once more and all together: Jaaaaaaaaakoooooooooooooodaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!
Reb Brown – according to the VHS cover the newest world star – plays the deadly one man Vietnam commando squad Michael Ransom. He lost the rest of his elite buddies when the cowardly Colonel Radek aborted a mission too soon and obviously he wants retaliation. He ends up among Vietnamese villagers and learns that the biggest enemies in the area are actually Russian KGB troopers led by the sadist Jakoda. Russians! Russians in the Vietnam jungle! What are the odds? And apparently they really do address to Americans by yelling "Amerikanskiiiii"! This is obviously just a description of the plot in a nutshell. There's a lot more going on, one sub plot more ludicrous than the other, but the best bits of entertainment are to be found in the details. Our hero's wide variety of outrageous battle cries, for example, like when the Vietnamese boy he befriended dies in his arms or when he jumps off an exploding boat right after he executed the entire crew. Another massive highlight – one that nearly brought my mate and I close to crying with laughter – is the bare knuckle fighting showdown between our hero and the beefcake Russian, which includes quotes like "I'll break your back, Americanski" and ends with a dive from a cliff even though there wasn't a cliff in sight at the beginning of the fight. Ultimately priceless is the "friendship" that Michael Ransom develops with a Vietnamese boy. When asked about life in America, Ransom tells the kid that in Disneyland popcorn grows on trees and he will take him there one day. Obviously the kid's mom is mad at him. She probably doesn't like popcorn. Apart from all the unintentionally laughable moments, "Strike Commando" is actually a very violent film, with countless explosions and people dying from machine gun artillery and/or knives randomly flying around. The bloodshed and cruelty is never too shocking, however, not even during the infamous torture sequence compilation, and you'll be too busy laughing anyway.
Okay, once more and all together: Jaaaaaaaaakoooooooooooooodaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!