In addition to the first “Terminator” film and “Predator”, “The Phantom Commando” (1985) is also one of the definitive Arnold Schwarzenegger classics from the 80s: in it Arnie embodies the former ex-elite soldier John Matrix, who is now living in retirement, but is soon confronted with his past in an extremely cruel way when the henchmen of a former Latin American dictator, whom he once brought down, kidnap his daughter…
The opening scene is already full of pleasant exaggerations and is in fact pure camp: director Mark L. Lester (“The Class of 1984”) illustrates the idyllic life of his protagonist with a soft-focus montage in which Arnold Schwarzenegger eats ice cream, among other things. other things Deer feeding shows.
The film’s humor did not go unnoticed by the star of “The Expendables” himself: “As soon as I carried a 1,000-pound tree trunk with one arm, I knew the movie was going to be funny.”the action star said during a question and answer session on the online platform .
But with an absurd scene that ultimately did not make it into the film, Schwarzenegger had exaggerated a bit in the eyes of the makers: “I wanted to cut off a man’s arm and then kill him with it.”the 76-year-old wrote . “That wasn’t in the script. He threw a knife at me, and after I missed him, I cut off his arm at the shoulder, killing him. Needless to say, the head of the studio, Larry Gordon, asked me to come to his office. He said, ‘What the hell is wrong with you? Do you want to make money with this film or do you want to make an adult film?’ I said, ‘You’re right,’ and he said, ‘Get out of my office!’
The action in ‘The Phantom Command’ was not entirely suitable for young people, as the film was on the index in Germany until 2010. But the action hit lacks such a bloodthirsty, over-the-top level of violence. We can only hope that the footage captured will one day be published again!