‘Commando’: The unexpected Arnold Schwarzenegger movie inspired by James Bond
When you think of Arnold Schwarzenegger, the image of clean-cut suits and dry martinis is not one that springs to mind. We associate his iconic performances in Predator and The Terminator with grime and gloriously extreme displays of masculinity, with flames, guns and men covered in dirt. Grunge and violence are certainly prioritised over discretion or elegance. Funnily enough, Schwarzenegger’s performance in the 1985 film Commando was inspired by Dr. No, the first film in Terence Young’s contribution towards the James Bond series.
Schwarzenegger rose to fame after his performance as a sweaty and unbothered assassin in James Cameron’s The Terminator. He quickly found his niche within the film industry and became a highly sought-after Hollywood action star. He went on to make three other Terminator sequels and also starred in Predator and Total Recall.
These films can be defined by their merging of fantasy and reality, creating this disturbing and other-world-like mood that’s exaggerated by Schwarzenegger’s physicality and calculated movements. They’re perhaps most famous for their heightened, testosterone-fuelled action sequences, to which Schwarzenegger bought a unique level of skill and iconicity due to his background in professional body-building, effortlessly realising these exaggerated and dangerous characters that almost seem like they were written for him.
Schwarzenegger later went on to work on Mark L Lester’s 1984 film Commando. While it contains many of the trademark moments that we associate with this style, the director approached the project in a completely different way, which was largely influenced by Schwarzenegger himself and the comedic style of Dr. No.
While Terminator and Predator focus on the physicality of Schwarzenegger and the tension that he brings to the pulpy action sequences, ‘Commando’ was largely influenced by his sense of humour and natural comedic timing. Lester stated, “I remembered seeing Dr. No when it came out when I was a kid, and I loved the one-liners in that”.
He added: “There were a couple of those in DeSouza’s script, and then we kept adding them throughout the movie as we went, partly because I got to know Arnold during the rehearsal period and learned how funny he was. We never stopped writing jokes for him and incorporating his own personality into the character.”
It’s this element that has perhaps been crucial in the shaping and evolution of Schwarzenegger’s career, pushing his range to the next level by working on a project that seamlessly moves between genres, rich with witty one-liners, cheesy emotional moments, high stakes and extreme stunts.
While the film is widely loved today, Lester was initially unsure about the project after producer Joel Silver told him that if he read the script, “He wouldn’t want to do it.” Schwarzenegger had already signed on to star in the film, and while Lester was intrigued by the story, he was sceptical about the script.
Without this combination of Lester’s scepticism and Schwarzenegger’s charisma, this cult classic film perhaps wouldn’t exist at all. This only speaks to the depth of Schwarzenegger’s talent and Lester’s ability to exploit a quality in Schwarzenegger that was overlooked by other directors. The biggest creative influence was a simple joke.
