Der Commander

Average Euro-styled jungle action flick is the third of the trio that was borne of the Anthony Dawson- Lewis Collins mid-80's partnership, Der Kommander is essentially the same as its predecessors with a few plot tweaks.

Good use of miniatures again, lots (emphasis) of things blowing up, people of SE Asian appearance dressed in military fatigues being catapulted in the air doing somersaults, that sort of a spectacle which you either tolerate or fall asleep watching.

Collins is again wasted in a one dimensional role as the suave kick-ar$e mercenary with the eternal 5 o'clock shadow, whilst the supporting cast though lacking a principal female lead, does have some surprising depth with Lee Van Cleef, Donald Pleasance, Brett Halsey, Paul Muller, Romano Puppo, Bobby Rhodes, Mike Monty and John Steiner (as well as series regulars Manfred Lehmann & Thomas Danneberg). That's an impressive cast assembled for a very average jungle war pic, even by Euro-trash standards; had Klaus Kinski returned for this final instalment, the acting chops would've been in the cult movie stratosphere. Van Cleef sadly does not look well and so it's perhaps regrettably no surprise that he died shortly after this film's theatrical release.

If you've seen Codename Wildgeese or Kommando Leopard, then you've essentially seen Der Kommander (sans Klaus Kinski of course). Lots of old and borrowed, but nothing new. Would be nice to have these three movies as a box set for an evening of cheesy goodness, especially now that most of the cast have left the mortal coil, all much too soon.

British action star Lewis Collins stars in this action/adventure film about another group of mercenaries sent in to eliminate a drug lord in Southeast Asia. The problem is that they are working for a rival just as they were in Code Name: Wild Geese which starred Collins and Lee Van Cleef.

Van Cleef is at his sardonic best in this film as the one who puts together the mercenary team. There's also a CIA involvement in this. Spymaster Donald Pleasence puts a ringer into Collins's mercenaries with instructions to get a floppy disc to him or destroy it. It contains the names of all kinds big players in the international drug trade.

Nothing special here, fans of Van Cleef and Pleasence get to see both of them ham it up a bit. And if you saw Code Name: Wild Geese or the orginal Wild Geese the same general plot outline is followed.

Around Christmas I had watched COMMANDO LEOPARD (1985), a passable low-brow German-Italian war flick; that film was the middle part of a trilogy and, back then, I had expressed a wish to check out the remaining two entries – CODENAME: WILDGEESE (1984) and THE COMMANDER (1988). I now happened upon the latter, but the result was even less rewarding! Lewis Collins is once again the hero and, as ever, producer Erwin C. Dietrich manages to assemble a fair line-up of actors in support: Lee Van Cleef, Donald Pleasence, Manfred Lehmann and John Steiner (both from COMMANDO LEOPARD), Paul Muller (as Van Cleef’s smart butler!) and Brett Halsey.

The convoluted plot involves an Asian dictator, a consignment of drugs and an all-important incriminating “floppy disk” (but which looks more like a CD!). The band of gung-ho mercenaries this time around also includes a native girl but, with much of the action being relegated to the second half, it’s mostly by-the-numbers stuff – until the explosive climax (which only Collins and Lehmann survive…though one member had expired early on from the bite of a cobra!). However, there’s a nice twist at the end regarding the characters of Van Cleef (fitted with a silly pirate-like earring throughout!) and Pleasence (alternating between hysteria and sarcasm and, finally, campily turning up as a tourist-photographer) – as they prove exact opposites to what they’d been played up to be!

OK, this is confusing. In 1984, the Italian director Anthony Dawson (AKA Antonio Margheriti) made "Codename:Wildgeese", an action film about a commando squad that goes to Southeast Asia to attack a drug lord's stronghold. It starred Lewis Collins, Lee Van Cleef, Klaus Kinski and Ernest Borgnine. In 1988, he made "The Commander", an action film about a commando squad that goes to Southeast Asia to attack a drug lord's stronghold. It starred Collins and Van Cleef again, but no Kinski and Borgnine this time; in their place, there was Donald Pleasence. To further confuse matters, the version of "The Commander" I saw was actually titled "Commando:Wildgeese"! It took me about 10 minutes to realize that I wasn't watching the 1984 film! Anyway, all you need to remember is that "The Commander" / "Commando:Wildgeese" is a low-grade action film, to be avoided at all costs. A low point in the careers of Van Cleef and Pleasence; all the others involved never had much of a career to begin with. The only character who piqued my interest was a beautiful female fighter, but she didn't get to do much. (*)

This film follows CODENAME WILDGEESE and COMMANDO LEOPARD. It is not as good as either of those films, due mainly to the fact that the action sequences lack the tight editing and loud sound effects of the two earlier films. The acting is good, and far better than your average B movie. Fans of these European films will get a kick out of the cast of B movie favourites Collins, Van Cleef, Pleasence, Halsey, Lehmann, Puppo, Monty and others. May director Margheriti continue to work, I for one will still watch his films.