Puissance de feu

As the final film from Cannon Films to be released in the U. S., and as as a direct-to-video feature, I did not have a lot of expectations for 'Chain of Command', especially after looking at some of the very negative reviews about this film from other users here on IMDB.

So, it is really as terrible as all the other reviews say? Well, the story and plot, while slightly exotic since it is set in a fictional country in the Middle-East, is very convoluted with a lot of plot holes. But, then again, who expected the same narrative genius of 'The Rock', which was also released in 1996? The action is very mediocre and is unconvincing, but, then again, who expects the same quality of an action blockbuster when the budget for 'Chain of Command' is so obviously lower?

My point is, yes, the other reviews are right in that quality is obviously lacking in this film but I do not base my reviews based on quality alone because I understand some films have major budget constraints. I also base my reviews on the level on entertainment a film provides, and 'Chain of Command' does offer some mindless action in an exotic location, even if it is a 'B-Film' through and through.

The acting is hilariously abysmal here, besides Michael Dudikoff's performance as the essence of invincible action star masculinity of the 1990s. Karen Tishman's acting stands out, and it is not hard to guess that her selection for this film was based on her gorgeous looks and not her acting competences, but that is not unusual or unwelcome for a film of this sort. It was also interesting to learn that this was her first and only role in a film as with some acting classes, I am sure that she could have had a lot more opportunities.

Despite all its flaws, 'Chain of Command' does offer some mindless entertainment in the form of a direct-to-video, 'B-Film' style. If you know what to expect, you should not be disappointed after watching this film.

Action genre star Michael Dudikoff here gets a chance to stretch himself ever so slightly, playing a more potty mouthed character than usual. He's a former military man now working as an oil refinery inspector in the Middle East. He almost immediately gets caught up in a conspiracy to take over the oil rich country of "Qumir", and is thought to be an American operative gone bad. He works his way up the chain of command as he attempts to find out who is behind the plot, and in the meantime banters with a sexy American agent (Keren Tishman) whose name *might* be Maya.

The Cannon Group was making its last gasp with programmers such as this one. Directed by David Worth, it lacks distinction for the most part. The action scenes are passable, the opening credits sequence is stylish, and the photography is reasonably impressive. The story is absolutely nothing special. This doesn't mean, however, that the movie isn't without some pleasures. It's got a flamboyant villain in the form of Todd Curtis' mercenary Rawlings, who has a hilariously bad hair day throughout. The final fight between Dudikoff and Curtis is pretty fun. "Chain of Command" gets another shot in the arm thanks to reliable veteran R. Lee Ermey, who's a pleasure to watch as a slick oil company kingpin. Dudikoff himself delivers a fairly engaging performance, and has some mild chemistry with Tishman.

Mostly recommended just to die hard Cannon Group completists and Dudikoff fans.

Five out of 10.

Another bad straight to video action movie with Michael Dudikoff , whose career (well ,at least in the B-class action cinema) went downhill after the end of 80's. This is another low budget movie that only action junkies should enjoy. I like action movies , but they should have engaging story and interesting characters for me to work.

The story is so convoluted that I don't even think it makes sense. The plot is just so hard to follow that it's impossible to care about anything what's happening in the movie. I appreciate action movies with complex plots ( for example The Bourne movies) , but this is not the case here. This is just some nonsense.

There is very little action here and when it happens… Well , the action is VERY poor. There is lot of slow motion shootouts and unfortunately they aren't done with John Woo class. The bad guys have such bad aim that it is embarrassing. They are just as bad as Storm troopers from "Star wars" trilogy. Lot's of low budget shooting , explosions and stabbing. Nothing stands out , everything is generic.

Michael Dudikoff ("American ninja") gives an adequate performance here. R. Lee Ermey ("Full metal jacket") seems to be lost and doesn't do anything memorable. Todd Curtis is quite solid as the villain , but it's impossible to take him seriously because of his RIDICULOUS hairstyle. Karen Tishman is a obligatory love interest, This is her first and only movie and it's not hard to understand why. She is ABSOLUTELY HORRIBLE here , but she is so SMOKIN HOT that you can forgive her.

This is one boring film. Avoid it. It was made by Cannon , so it should tell how much quality is here. The best part of the movie are the opening credits which look and sound cool. Watch them and don't watch the rest of the movie. I give it 1/10.

My rating: 4 out of 10 (didn't care for it)

'Chain of Command' is a direct-to-video actioner, the last film and dying breath of The Cannon Group.

Well, for those who watch these kind of films regularly I hardly need to describe it. It's merely a variation on the same movie you've seen many times before, par for the course. The script doesn't make much sense a lot of the time and the acting is flimsy with very little if any character development, but that's okay because those things only exist to provide a framework for lots and lots of low budget shooting, stabbing, and exploding.

Watching the action sequences, I started feeling kind of nostalgic because they are sooo 70's and 80's in style – lots of slo-mo. Slo-mo of guys flying through the air when a grenade goes off, slo-mo of guys falling from ledges after getting shot, slo-mo of bombs exploding…so dramatic! Anyone who grew up watching television in that era knows the style I'm talking about; I guess at the time we all thought it was very theatrical. I suppose that technique hasn't been totally abandoned today, but still...the way it's done in films of that time has a look all its own.

Another element of the style that I got a kick out of was the way the main character can stand right out in the open in a gunfight without a care in the world. Despite there being a group of at least 10 guys blasting away at him he never gets a scratch, and, of course, manages to easily shoot every one them. Silly...oh well, you can't complain too much because even great movies like Star Wars pulled that kind of stuff.

Funny, too, are such wonderful scenes as when the villain has our weaponless hero on the run and forces him to take cover behind a hotel bar. Does the villain, emboldened by the fact that he has two submachine guns and our hero has nothing, walk behind the bar and shoot our hero at point blank range? No! He proceeds to use up every last bullet firing at the bar, the drinks, the stools, the mirror behind the bar, and the ceiling, finally stopping when he runs out of ammo so that our hero can make a run for it.

What we have here is a case of little boys who like to play with little firecrackers growing up into big boys who like to make movies where they play with big firecrackers. Films like this are really for one purpose...destruction porn. The thrill of watching all kinds of stuff get smashed or blown up. Now don't get me wrong, I'm no different than the next guy. I love a good action movie. But I also like an interesting script and engaging characters.

I said before that the acting's pretty flimsy but I guess I can't totally rip all of the performers in this movie. Michael Dudikoff, a legend of this genre, is really not all that bad at times. R. Lee Ermey is in this! Now there's an instantly recognizable character actor. Ermey's main henchman, Todd Curtis, has some surprisingly good acting chops; I actually found him to be the most natural and believable. Looking on IMDb I see that his resume ends not long after this movie, though. I wonder what happened.

Anyway, to sum up...movies like this are made for people who LIKE movies like this, and who am I to judge? It's not my cup of tea, but if you love tongue-in-cheek action flicks then you'll probably get a kick out of this. It has all the right ingredients: the unstoppable hero, the hot girl, the cheesy dialogue, and a healthy dose of mayhem and destruction.

While I had actually heard about this 1994 action thriller titled "Chain of Command" before, I never had the opportunity to watch it. At least not before now in 2025. And as the chance presented itself, of course I opted to check out what I had been missing out on and to see what director David Worth had to offer.

Writers Christopher Applegate and Ben Jonson Handy put together a fair enough script and storyline. I mean, it wasn't a particularly exciting or thrilling narrative, but it was a watchable enough action thriller, but there were far better movies of the same kind back in the day, so "Chain of Command" wasn't an outstanding movie.

Of the entire cast ensemble, I was only familiar with actors Michael Dudikoff and R. Lee Ermey. The acting performances in the movie were fair.

If you enjoy early 1990s action movies, then there are far better choices than "Chain of Command".

My rating of director David Worth's 1994 movie "Chain of Command" lands on a four out of ten stars.