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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.

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.

I have also watched this movie several times. Something tells me to watch it over and over again .

This shows that it was well planned and acted. Everything has room for improvement otherwise I would have awarded Michael 100%.

Ihave also watched most of Michael's movies and never at any time did I regret going to the movie house or buying the movies themselves. I do have a collection of his movies which shows how interesting they are.One thing I also like is that when he is supposed to be violent he does that and if he decides to be cool , he does not have a problem with adjusting.

But my question though is , why don't the movie stars combined just for one or two movies and see what they come up with. The may produce a gem.

Keep up the good work Mr Duddikoff

Praise Nleya Box 8112 Belmont Bulawayo Zimbabwe Africa

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.

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.