In a new movie which is written, directed and stars Dolph Lundgren, he plays the part of 'Joe' a very loud rock drummer. The story is that of a modern Russian President and his two daughters visit a rock concert given for charity. Once the concert begins in high volume, a rouge band of revenge seeking militarists, invade the music hall and begin killing everyone and anyone trying to stop them. Taking hostages, they demand a huge ransom or they will begin killing off their prisoners. What the killers did not count on was a novice secret service presidential guard and an ex-biker, and extremely physically gifted street fighter. Together, they take on the militants and hold them till the Red Army can rescue their president. It's somewhat reminiscent of 'Die Hard' Russian style. The movie is filled with lots of dramatic action, good physical exciting scenes and lots of explosive mayhem. For Lundgren, he still packs a wallop and is good throughout the film, although one wonders if the audience can see the great man is showing his age. Still it's a good movie for his fans as they watch the real-life Drummer take on the bad guys. ****
23 Reviews
Bad at best...
stojko8827 November 2009
I don't wanna waste much of your time, so I'll just be quick.
This movie is full of glitches, bad camera work, bad effects, stupid dialogs, bad jokes, D-grade acting etc etc... I suggest you spend your time and money on something else. Better movie for example, unless of course, you're one of those people, who like bad movies for sheer laugh.
Anyway.. if you decide to watch this movie, make sure you power down your brain to the lowest possible state.. Preferably as low as the film crew had to have, if they thought they created anything better than complete rubbish..
I watched 41 minutes of this movie and I still cant believe I made it that far...
Shouldn't get more than 3-4/10 when more people vote..
This movie is full of glitches, bad camera work, bad effects, stupid dialogs, bad jokes, D-grade acting etc etc... I suggest you spend your time and money on something else. Better movie for example, unless of course, you're one of those people, who like bad movies for sheer laugh.
Anyway.. if you decide to watch this movie, make sure you power down your brain to the lowest possible state.. Preferably as low as the film crew had to have, if they thought they created anything better than complete rubbish..
I watched 41 minutes of this movie and I still cant believe I made it that far...
Shouldn't get more than 3-4/10 when more people vote..
Finally a good Lundgren movie
PeterPeterson119 January 2010
I really enjoyed watching movies like Dark Angel, Red Scorpion and even He-Man ^^, but there are a lot of his movies which suck bad, mainly the new ones. So i wasn't really sure if I wanted to watch another one.
After watching the latest Universal Soldier, i thought i give him a chance and watched his Command Performance.
And what should i say more? I liked it. You don't have a Hollywood blockbuster but you have a decent action movie, with some good jokes and lots of action. I really liked the way they were going with violent scenes. Nice use of cuttings and blending.
10 is far to much but 5 is to less, so i go with 7 points.
Watch it on TV with your male friends.
After watching the latest Universal Soldier, i thought i give him a chance and watched his Command Performance.
And what should i say more? I liked it. You don't have a Hollywood blockbuster but you have a decent action movie, with some good jokes and lots of action. I really liked the way they were going with violent scenes. Nice use of cuttings and blending.
10 is far to much but 5 is to less, so i go with 7 points.
Watch it on TV with your male friends.
A rip-off, but an entertaining rip-off
Wizard-816 March 2010
Lundgren won't win any originality awards for the script he wrote for "Command Performance". As you probably guessed by just reading the plot description of the movie, this movie is a rip-off of "Die Hard". But there are also elements of the "Die Hard" rip-offs "Under Siege" and "Sudden Death" - making this movie a rip-off of rip-offs! Also, the climatic action scene rips off the climax of "Commando".
So this story of this movie isn't very original. But I was entertained neverless. For starters, the production values are very good. Although this was a low budget movie, it looks very glossy and expensive at times. Lundgren's direction of the movie is good as well. He gives a lot of the movie a cinema-verite look, making it feel like we are seeing something that is "live" instead of staged and rehearsed. As for the action, Lundgren delivers the goods in these scenes as well. A lot of blood gets squirted, there are some exciting moments, and there are a couple of deaths done in ways I've never seen in a movie before.
There are a few minor quibbles I have with the movie. Lundgren's character is somewhat thin, speaking very little and not revealing too much of his past. The accents of some of the foreign actors are thick at times and make their dialogue sometimes hard to make out. (And some of the actors are obviously dubbed.) But overall, if you are wanting to see this formula again, this movie does the formula in an above average manner.
So this story of this movie isn't very original. But I was entertained neverless. For starters, the production values are very good. Although this was a low budget movie, it looks very glossy and expensive at times. Lundgren's direction of the movie is good as well. He gives a lot of the movie a cinema-verite look, making it feel like we are seeing something that is "live" instead of staged and rehearsed. As for the action, Lundgren delivers the goods in these scenes as well. A lot of blood gets squirted, there are some exciting moments, and there are a couple of deaths done in ways I've never seen in a movie before.
There are a few minor quibbles I have with the movie. Lundgren's character is somewhat thin, speaking very little and not revealing too much of his past. The accents of some of the foreign actors are thick at times and make their dialogue sometimes hard to make out. (And some of the actors are obviously dubbed.) But overall, if you are wanting to see this formula again, this movie does the formula in an above average manner.
Guilty pleasure
RandomNoob20 November 2009
Warning: Spoilers
This must be one of the worst films I have ever seen. But I must say I quite enjoyed it. The script and especially the dialogues are so bad that is just makes you laugh out loud. It has all sorts of clichés in fact this whole film is one big cliché except that the hero is like really old and looks like he had his best days. But of course since the star of the film, (that old guy I told you about) is also the director. So suddenly he is the hottest guy and every girl wants him really bad.
It seems like a big parody on the action film genre while actually this is supposed to be really serious. With lines like "What is the tactical situation?" "We have a tactical difficult situation" its really hard to take this film serious. Its fun to watch since its just that bad. But when your not humorous about that kind of film, don't watch this crap.
It seems like a big parody on the action film genre while actually this is supposed to be really serious. With lines like "What is the tactical situation?" "We have a tactical difficult situation" its really hard to take this film serious. Its fun to watch since its just that bad. But when your not humorous about that kind of film, don't watch this crap.
'Die Hard' at the concert!
stormy_gladiator26 September 2009
I really loved Dolph Lundgren's action flick from the late 80s & early 90s and i must admit that i stopped watching his last years's works because of the direction they took and their quality. I started missing him nowadays and i was happy when came across this title,wanted to watch a movie with him no matter if it's mediocre. What a great & pleasant surprise!He did put something on the table this time! The plot is simple,there aren't big twists - we have the classic 'die hard scenario' at a concert organized in Moscow by the Russian president who wants to satisfy his daughters's wish to see their idols sing live;as the party gets warmed,the theater gets stormed by terrorists starting to kill people and take hostages - and instead of John Mclane we get Joe,'the drummer',member of a rock-band who is forced by the situation...to 'have some fun'. It captures you from the first minutes because it has heart,a strange satirical style(sometimes it does give the feeling that it's a tribute to this genre) and a lead character with who Lungdren knows exactly what he wants(he writes,stars and directs it) making him multi-dimensional. In some places it's bloody as hell and violent,even gory - while remaining brutally real it manages to be funny on edges too and i think that's while it's working so good - we want Joe,'The Drummer' to take his time and 'clear the mess' with style and he doesn't disappoint. It's a fun ride!thanks,Dolphie.
Disappointment
Maziun20 June 2013
After watching the trailer for this movie I was expecting cheesy and silly B-class fun movie just like "Showdown in little Tokyo" . Considering quite high rating from IMDb users (for a Dolph Lundgren movie of course) and the use of "Die hard" formula (one hero , one place , many terrorists ) my expectations were quite high. Unfortunately "Command performance" is just another low budget , mindless straight-to-DVD movie from Dolph Lundgren.
Lundgren is both writer and director of "CP" . This is his forth (from five) movie as the director . Other movies – "The Mechanik" , "The Defender " , "Missionary Man" , "Diamond dogs" and "Icarus" were all bad movies taking themselves way too seriously. "Command performance" was supposed to be like an 80's action movie – unpretentious fun action movie . The movie is certainly less serious than the movies I've mentioned before , but still not as fun as it should be. There are some nice one-liners and jokes ("Don't touch the hair") and cool ideas (guitar as a weapon) . Too bad that screenplay is too painfully cliché and tries also to be serious . "Cp" uses almost every dialogue and plot twist that already has been used in movies of this type before (with much better result).
Lundgren also wastes a chance to create a memorable action hero . Johnny the drummer could be a really fun character. It's irritating that we barely get to know about his past . Even more irritating is Lundgren's acting. Instead of making Johnny a smart-ass lovely macho he makes his hero look like a retarded caveman. Not only Lundgren sucks , but other actors too. Neither the villain or other characters are interesting. Watch out for Hristo Shopov ("Passion of the Christ") as the president.
Lundgren's directing skill are just as poor as his acting skills . There are many moments when you barely can see anything . It's all so flashy and quick-cut. On the good side the pacing is rather good , so I wasn't dying from boredom like on DL earlier directed movies.
The movie is low budget , so expect poor CGI (explosions and blood) . A straight-to-DVD low budget movie doesn't have to look bad – watch "Men of war" ( It was even released theatrically in some countries !).
There are some nice one-liners and jokes. Some cool ideas . Good pacing. I liked the songs that appear in the movie . Lundgren proves he's quite good drummer . It doesn't change the fact that this is just a bad movie. I give it 1/10.
Lundgren is both writer and director of "CP" . This is his forth (from five) movie as the director . Other movies – "The Mechanik" , "The Defender " , "Missionary Man" , "Diamond dogs" and "Icarus" were all bad movies taking themselves way too seriously. "Command performance" was supposed to be like an 80's action movie – unpretentious fun action movie . The movie is certainly less serious than the movies I've mentioned before , but still not as fun as it should be. There are some nice one-liners and jokes ("Don't touch the hair") and cool ideas (guitar as a weapon) . Too bad that screenplay is too painfully cliché and tries also to be serious . "Cp" uses almost every dialogue and plot twist that already has been used in movies of this type before (with much better result).
Lundgren also wastes a chance to create a memorable action hero . Johnny the drummer could be a really fun character. It's irritating that we barely get to know about his past . Even more irritating is Lundgren's acting. Instead of making Johnny a smart-ass lovely macho he makes his hero look like a retarded caveman. Not only Lundgren sucks , but other actors too. Neither the villain or other characters are interesting. Watch out for Hristo Shopov ("Passion of the Christ") as the president.
Lundgren's directing skill are just as poor as his acting skills . There are many moments when you barely can see anything . It's all so flashy and quick-cut. On the good side the pacing is rather good , so I wasn't dying from boredom like on DL earlier directed movies.
The movie is low budget , so expect poor CGI (explosions and blood) . A straight-to-DVD low budget movie doesn't have to look bad – watch "Men of war" ( It was even released theatrically in some countries !).
There are some nice one-liners and jokes. Some cool ideas . Good pacing. I liked the songs that appear in the movie . Lundgren proves he's quite good drummer . It doesn't change the fact that this is just a bad movie. I give it 1/10.
Drummin' Dolph!
tarbosh2200011 October 2010
Warning: Spoilers
"Dying's easy, rock and roll is hard." Command Performance is a nice, entertaining Dolph Vehicle, perfect for people that are already fans of his going in.
At a special charity concert in Russia, many people are in attendance: a stadium of cheering fans, the Russian President, his two daughters, and even the American President. But also evil terrorists, led by Kasov (Legano) that hold the officials hostage, as well as the Britney Spears-like opening act Venus (Smith) and shoot up the place. But there's one thing those evildoers didn't count on - the mysterious Joe (Dolph) - just Joe - the drummer for hard rock band CMF. He would have been shot, but luckily he ducked into the bathroom to smoke a joint, so his life was spared. Great message for the kids. After teaming up with Mikhail, an FSB (Russian Counter-Intelligence) agent, it's time to do what Dolph does best: take down the bad guys! But will a dark secret from the past intervene? Is there anything Dolph Lundgren can't do? He stars in, co-wrote (with Steve Latshaw of all people, the man responsible for writing Scorpio One, and Extreme Limits, 2000), and directed the film - and did all his own drumming! The movie is definitely an 80's throwback, and that seems to be the area where Dolph is most comfortable. That's fine with us! Kind of in the Die Hard (1988), Sudden Death (1995) ("Die Hard in a hockey rink!") Under Siege (1992) ("Die Hard in a Submarine!"), Executive Decision (1996) ("Die Hard on a plane!") and Anna Nicole Smith's Skyscraper (1995) ("Die Hard in a building!"...oh wait) etc... school of "antagonists take over a place and one man must stop them", there's plenty to enjoy in Command Performance. Groaners of one –liners ("Watch The Hair, Dude!"), a good pace, and Dolph dispatching the terrorists in novel, creative and music-related (!) ways. He didn't expect a terrorist takeover and he didn't have a lot at his disposal to work with. He had to be creative and improvise. Just like a drummer.
Lundgren's young daughter Ida is on hand as one of the kidnapped Presidential daughters, and she does a good job. Can we expect a Lundgren acting dynasty someday? Only time will tell. But on the slightly negative side, the film quality was a bit video-ish and there is some unfortunate CG stuff floating around...it would have been cool to see better film stock and more emphasis on practical effects, but you can't have everything these days. We're just grateful they're (or should we say he's) still making movies like this. We can't complain.
In all, Command Performance probably won't win over any new recruits to the macho world of Dolph Lundgren or action cinema, but for his fans, it's a real treat.
For more insanity, please visit: comeuppancereviews.com
At a special charity concert in Russia, many people are in attendance: a stadium of cheering fans, the Russian President, his two daughters, and even the American President. But also evil terrorists, led by Kasov (Legano) that hold the officials hostage, as well as the Britney Spears-like opening act Venus (Smith) and shoot up the place. But there's one thing those evildoers didn't count on - the mysterious Joe (Dolph) - just Joe - the drummer for hard rock band CMF. He would have been shot, but luckily he ducked into the bathroom to smoke a joint, so his life was spared. Great message for the kids. After teaming up with Mikhail, an FSB (Russian Counter-Intelligence) agent, it's time to do what Dolph does best: take down the bad guys! But will a dark secret from the past intervene? Is there anything Dolph Lundgren can't do? He stars in, co-wrote (with Steve Latshaw of all people, the man responsible for writing Scorpio One, and Extreme Limits, 2000), and directed the film - and did all his own drumming! The movie is definitely an 80's throwback, and that seems to be the area where Dolph is most comfortable. That's fine with us! Kind of in the Die Hard (1988), Sudden Death (1995) ("Die Hard in a hockey rink!") Under Siege (1992) ("Die Hard in a Submarine!"), Executive Decision (1996) ("Die Hard on a plane!") and Anna Nicole Smith's Skyscraper (1995) ("Die Hard in a building!"...oh wait) etc... school of "antagonists take over a place and one man must stop them", there's plenty to enjoy in Command Performance. Groaners of one –liners ("Watch The Hair, Dude!"), a good pace, and Dolph dispatching the terrorists in novel, creative and music-related (!) ways. He didn't expect a terrorist takeover and he didn't have a lot at his disposal to work with. He had to be creative and improvise. Just like a drummer.
Lundgren's young daughter Ida is on hand as one of the kidnapped Presidential daughters, and she does a good job. Can we expect a Lundgren acting dynasty someday? Only time will tell. But on the slightly negative side, the film quality was a bit video-ish and there is some unfortunate CG stuff floating around...it would have been cool to see better film stock and more emphasis on practical effects, but you can't have everything these days. We're just grateful they're (or should we say he's) still making movies like this. We can't complain.
In all, Command Performance probably won't win over any new recruits to the macho world of Dolph Lundgren or action cinema, but for his fans, it's a real treat.
For more insanity, please visit: comeuppancereviews.com
Generic in just about every way...
paul_haakonsen22 September 2022
I had never heard about this 2009 action thriller titled "Command Performance" from writers Steve Latshaw and Dolph Lundgren before now in 2022, as I happened to stumble upon the movie. And of course I had to watch it, as I hadn't already seen it, plus there might just be a chance that this Dolph Lundgren movie would be worthwhile watching.
The storyline was pretty straight forward, although it was somewhat on the generic side of the scale. So you shouldn't be expecting the writers to invent the wheel all over again here with "Command Performance". But the movie does make for a semi-adequate viewing experience if you enjoy B-rated action thrillers.
The acting in the movie was fair enough. I mean, take it for what it is; not a top notch action thriller. And that way you won't be overly disappointed. Writer, director and leading actor Dolph Lundgren seemed to go through this movie on auto-pilot, as it was a fairly generic performance.
Visually then "Command Performance" is an okay movie. I mean, it is not making use of a heap of special effects or CGI, nor is it dependent on it, so go figure.
While I managed to sit through "Command Performance", I can't claim that I was particularly entertained or impressed. Nor is it a movie that I will ever return to watch a second, or even recommend to fans of the action thriller genre for that matter.
My rating of director Dolph Lundgren's 2009 action thriller "Command Performance" lands on a four out of ten stars.
The storyline was pretty straight forward, although it was somewhat on the generic side of the scale. So you shouldn't be expecting the writers to invent the wheel all over again here with "Command Performance". But the movie does make for a semi-adequate viewing experience if you enjoy B-rated action thrillers.
The acting in the movie was fair enough. I mean, take it for what it is; not a top notch action thriller. And that way you won't be overly disappointed. Writer, director and leading actor Dolph Lundgren seemed to go through this movie on auto-pilot, as it was a fairly generic performance.
Visually then "Command Performance" is an okay movie. I mean, it is not making use of a heap of special effects or CGI, nor is it dependent on it, so go figure.
While I managed to sit through "Command Performance", I can't claim that I was particularly entertained or impressed. Nor is it a movie that I will ever return to watch a second, or even recommend to fans of the action thriller genre for that matter.
My rating of director Dolph Lundgren's 2009 action thriller "Command Performance" lands on a four out of ten stars.
Wow Dolph's best movie ever (as the star)
fallguy_jack25 September 2009
I assume anything dolph does is going to be a cheesy 80's action flick, even though the 80's are history. But then, an 80's classic action style movie exactly what I want when I sit down to watch one of his films. And yes, it is impressive that he still somehow produces the same kind of movies, although now they are filmed in eastern europe not the states.
A movie like this is supposed to have implausible action, plot holes and weak dialogue. The selling point is guns, girls, battles and big explosions.
Amazingly this movie has everything we're looking for, and very little of the things we expect to put up with. Minor plot holes, mostly physically plausible action, and surprisingly some pretty good dialogue, including some actually funny stuff.
I thoroughly enjoyed this movie and applaud it as Dolph's best work in a long, long time. Let's hope the next one follows suit.
Good job dude!
A movie like this is supposed to have implausible action, plot holes and weak dialogue. The selling point is guns, girls, battles and big explosions.
Amazingly this movie has everything we're looking for, and very little of the things we expect to put up with. Minor plot holes, mostly physically plausible action, and surprisingly some pretty good dialogue, including some actually funny stuff.
I thoroughly enjoyed this movie and applaud it as Dolph's best work in a long, long time. Let's hope the next one follows suit.
Good job dude!
Not bad at all! One of Lundgren's best
BeneCumb3 October 2012
Although it is not the first (and probably not the last) political hostage movie, it has been capably created and carried out: characters are versatile, events and motives logical, deaths not predictable etc. And unlike Norris, for example, Lundgren is eager to show himself in new (and sometimes unexpected) roles and places. As usual, an international cast is involved and activities take place outside the U.S. - this time in Moscow, Russia.
Tensions are always there, but - compared to many of his earlier movies - Lundgren tries to avoid meaningless violence, he enters into fighting and killing only as a response and for the sake of saving people.
Well, sometimes does aging make a martial arts expert real good, provides additional value as an actor. This film is a must for all those taking at least kindly to him, if not more :)
Tensions are always there, but - compared to many of his earlier movies - Lundgren tries to avoid meaningless violence, he enters into fighting and killing only as a response and for the sake of saving people.
Well, sometimes does aging make a martial arts expert real good, provides additional value as an actor. This film is a must for all those taking at least kindly to him, if not more :)
Low budget equivalent of better action movies
jordondave-2808514 October 2023
(2009) Command Performance
ACTION
Co-written and directed and starring Dolph Lundgren as he plays Joe, a Russian drummer for a Russian band, until terrorists attempting to breaking through a full concert, kidnapping a high consulate or the official's young daughters of Anna Petrov (Ida Lundgren) and Yana Petrov (Robin Dobson) without at first suspecting that their is someone else who is also experienced still inside the building who can save them! Dolph who also wrote the script for this straight-to- rental may have seen many high budgeted superior action films to thought up this kind of a low brow, nonsense story line such as "The Rundown", "Die Hard", and "Under Siege"! Absolute waste of time full of bad acting- it is barely even an action film! Oh yeah! Little budget with little creative control equals to poor movie.
Co-written and directed and starring Dolph Lundgren as he plays Joe, a Russian drummer for a Russian band, until terrorists attempting to breaking through a full concert, kidnapping a high consulate or the official's young daughters of Anna Petrov (Ida Lundgren) and Yana Petrov (Robin Dobson) without at first suspecting that their is someone else who is also experienced still inside the building who can save them! Dolph who also wrote the script for this straight-to- rental may have seen many high budgeted superior action films to thought up this kind of a low brow, nonsense story line such as "The Rundown", "Die Hard", and "Under Siege"! Absolute waste of time full of bad acting- it is barely even an action film! Oh yeah! Little budget with little creative control equals to poor movie.
"I'm a rocker. I play the drums."
lost-in-limbo28 January 2012
Directed and co-written by Dolph Lundgren, the straight-to-DVD "Command Performance" which also starred Lundgren is a basic, run-of-the-mill siege / hostage outing similar in vein to "Die Hard". No surprises and quite clichéd in nearly every development (characters, story and script), but remained dependable when it came to the action stakes and a laconic Lundgren is in good form. During a stadium concert held for the Russian president, a group of mercenaries sneak in and take the president and his daughter's hostage while the army watches on. But they didn't count on a survivor; a drummer / ex-biker with a shady past to spoil their plans. Yep Lundgren plays an aging rock-star who just happened to be smoking some weed in the bathroom when the all excitement was going on. Lundgren goes up against these Russian mercenaries in redemption of sorts, handing out violence with violence but he doesn't use a gun. Well more like he doesn't like to use one due to past events. After a slow get-up, it kicks into gear with some meaty and frenetic action encounters that are shot on video. Melissa Molinaro shows up as a popular US singer and David Legeno is fitting as the ruthless head honcho of the mercenaries. A cheap, but diverting action thriller.
"Don't ever tell me to shut up!"
"Don't ever tell me to shut up!"
Commanding Performance
monsieurfairfax28 May 2020
'Command Performance' is not a very demanding movie, although saving the Russian President is a commanding act itself. No one expects some meaningful and profound movie when they sit down to watch a Dolph Lungren action movie. This movie is alright for a low budget straight to DVD action piece to spend an hour and a half with. Dolph is at his best, but the film itself is just not very original. Or anything special either. Only this time the savior of the day is a drummer with the combat skills of special ops soldier. The film is nicely paced and Dolph does a good job as a director. Some of the supporting actors seemed wooden, but that doesn't take away any attention from the main attraction - and that is Dolph Lundgren rocking and loading.
A ludicrous, but passable action flick that is quite enjoyable.
A ludicrous, but passable action flick that is quite enjoyable.
Command Performance
Scarecrow-881 January 2011
Warning: Spoilers
Dolph Lundgren is the star, writer, and director of COMMAND PERFORMANCE about the drummer of a rock band who must assist a green security agent in stopping Communist terrorists who have executed civilians attending a pop starlet's concert, as well as, kidnapping the Russian President, his two daughters, and some hostages, demanding a ransom to be made for several accounts. The leader of the terrorists is Oleg Kazov(Dave Legeno), whose father was to be arrested by President Petrov(Hristo Shopov), then a prosecutor, for his criminal coup against Gorbachev. Kazov's father killed his mother, then turned the gun on himself. Melissa Molinaro is Venus, a popular American pop starlet who is on tour in Moscow, beloved by Petrov's pre-teen daughters. Lundgren is drummer Joe, his band the opening act for Venus, their concert disrupted by Kazov and his gunmen who annihilate Petrov's many number of security personnel. Joe and Mikhail Kapista(Zahary Baharov), the lone security agent able to escape immediate death during the gun fire between parties must work their way through the building in order to rescue the surviving hostages who aren't made mincemeat by the bloodthirsty, sadistic Kazov. Meanwhile, outside the building, the Russian police and military are gathered to discuss a strategy to save their President. While there's plenty of bloody violence, Lundgren incorporates the tired jerky cam method during action scenes that has sure worn out its welcome. Also disappointing are instances when Lundgren destroys Kazov's goons in murky areas of the building where its hard to make out what's going on. Look, I want my violence visible, not out of frame or blurry, cameras or bad lighting ruining the experience. There's a lot of sound effects to inform us of how much the weapons hurt those damaged, and Lundgren doesn't go skimpy on the blood as it explodes when security guards or terrorists are hit with gunfire. I got to hand it to Lundgren, he looks good, has aged well despite being 53 years old and juicing when he was a young man pummeling Rocky Balboa. While there's lots of savagery, Lundgren does include some much needed humor, particularly nice jabs at rock-n-roll and pop, although the whole idea of teenage hottie Molinaro sexually drawn to Lundgren is a bit creepy. You know, I still believe Lundgren has the chops to remain a direct-to-DVD/cable action star.
This is not up to the standards of Dolph flicks I am accustomed to viewing.
ccunning-7358723 February 2021
Four stars is my best rating, and I normally like Dolph flicks. This is not up to the standards of Dolph flicks I am accustomed to viewing. The production is shaky at best. The movie jumps all over the place without proper scene development or transition between scenes. Completely unrealistic: His only 'history' of knowledge of close quarter combat, weapons, and explosives is as a petty criminal & a biker!?! The CIA shots should have been left on the cutting room floor. He hates weapons (At least at first. ~ This is a first for a Dolph movie but hollywood would love it!) but is going to go up against heavily armed, well trained, military mercenaries. Subplot: The merc leader is only after revenge and has no real plan to get the money or escape alive. He keeps the troops in line with the promise of a lot of money. Not terrible but not good.
It's a well made, well paced action flick.
roth819 October 2013
When the Russian Premier is taken hostage at a rock concert in Moscow, it's up to a drummer, an ex-biker, to save him.
This movie has everything a good action movie should have... Minor plot holes, mostly physically plausible action, and some pretty good dialog, including some actually funny stuff.
Dolph is not the greatest actor, but he did a pretty well Job.
The surroundings are tight, claustrophobic, making the action quick, rough, frantic. When Dolph takes someone on in a fight, he goes in fast and hard, using any weapons he can at hands.
Once the action kicks in, the pace of cutting picks up as well. But more-so, the tightly editing helps hide the small budget. The lighting is natural. It enhances the production value of the film. The opening of the film really establishes the style of it brilliantly. It's well shot, and very well edited.
A must see for fans of good action-cinema!
This movie has everything a good action movie should have... Minor plot holes, mostly physically plausible action, and some pretty good dialog, including some actually funny stuff.
Dolph is not the greatest actor, but he did a pretty well Job.
The surroundings are tight, claustrophobic, making the action quick, rough, frantic. When Dolph takes someone on in a fight, he goes in fast and hard, using any weapons he can at hands.
Once the action kicks in, the pace of cutting picks up as well. But more-so, the tightly editing helps hide the small budget. The lighting is natural. It enhances the production value of the film. The opening of the film really establishes the style of it brilliantly. It's well shot, and very well edited.
A must see for fans of good action-cinema!
Dolph's Commanding Performance! (tee-hee).
supertom-328 September 2009
Command Performance delivers! It's a well made, well paced action flick. Like Mechanik, it's better than a lot of the theatrically released rubbish of it's year. I've seen too many horrendous action flicks at the cinemas this year, that rely purely on big budgets, but have nothing else, no effort, no integrity. Like Fast and Furious, Wolverine, Terminator 4. There's a concerted effort here to do something good, that's not only fun, tense, but has a bit of drama thrown in as well. CP is an action fans film. It's 80's style action gold. It kicks ass!
Dolph stars as Joe, former bad ass biker, with a shady past, who's since turned drummer. The film opens on a rock concert in which Joe is playing in the band backing up star turn Venus (Melissa Smith), who's pretty much a Britney clone. The Russian president and American ambassador are in attendance, meaning that naturally, terrorists will come and start shooting, and hold Presi, hostage. Joe is the reluctant hero, who teams up with an FSB agent to try and bring Kasov (Dave Legano) down. We know from then on what'll happen. Dolph is gonna open a big old can of whoop-ass, and make the terrorists drink it down. Much like the Defender, D's first directing gig, once the terrorists show up, the pace never really lets up. And the film has scatterings of action until the finale. Joe himself is a different character to what Dolph normally plays. He's not straight laced. He's not driven by revenge, and he's not always been on the right side of the law.
The action itself is good. It's simple put it punches. It's tightly edited, giving it a good pace, and when someone gets shot or killed in close combat, there's a good delivery of blood to show that they ain't gonna be getting back up. The surroundings are tight, claustrophobic, making the action quick, rough, frantic. When Dolph takes someone on in a fight, he goes in fast and hard, using any weapons he can at hands. Dolph's gone for pretty grounded action. Everything needs a base in reality. Joe's tough, he can kick ass, but he kicks ass like a biker, so D doesn't whip out the martial arts moves. And his showdown with Dave Legano, is very much like the end fight in Men Of War. It's down and dirty. The only thing that lets this down, is the budget. After all, this is a Die Hard formula, and it lacks the one big set piece, or a good money shot stunt. Think Bruce jumping off the Nakatomi plaza, or Seagal jumping off a boat in Under Siege.
The film looks great. Dolph and his DP Marc Windon, have gone for a Bourne/docu kind of vibe. Once the action kicks in, the pace of cutting picks up as well. It gives everything a sense of kinetic energy, without resorting to mindless shaky cam. But more-so, the energy helps hide the small budget. Windon's lighting is naturalistically stylised I supposed you could say. He was going for part Bay, part music vid, part Bourne, and it works. It certainly enhances the production value of the film. As for Dolph, his direction gets better every film. The opening of the film really establishes the style of it brilliantly. It's well shot, and very well edited by veteran cutsman, Peter Hollywood (Adventures of Baron Von Munchhausen, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves). Most importantly, he's got a good sense of cutting action.
Dolph gives a good performance as Joe. He's laid back, cool, and a bit of a kid at heart. But he's got a bad streak in him, and he has to bring his dark side out when it comes to kicking some A-holes. I worry sometimes about Dolph directing himself, because he's not got the outside perspective on his performance. As Dolph's FSB tag along Mikhail, Zahary Baharov is good. It's an important role that demands not sucking, and Baharov is far from sucking. Melissa Smith does okay. She's not got much of a role at all. As is typical of action flicks, she's got a pretty wafer thin female role. There's little chemistry between Dolph and Smith, if only because the coupling looks pretty funny on screen, more than anything else. Lundgren the 2nd, Dolph's daughter Ida, also stars, and for her screen debut, at 12 years old, does pretty well. The biggest worry was also the bad guy. Die Hard formula flicks live or die by the bad guy. I worried that Legano could bring down the film single handed, but he's actually pretty good. In fact he's one of the best DL villains in a long time. He gives his role plenty of intensity. He's a different villain to Gruber (Die Hard), or Stranix (Under Siege), driven by a different goal. He doesn't wallow in smug, he just gets on with it.
Overall though, this does not disappoint. It delivers what you want in an action film. It's well made too. The film probably needs a bit more humour in it, though there are plenty of one-liners and sight gags, but could do with a bit more. All the scenes are well done, bar one, which features the three young women of the film. It briefly halts the film, and the dialogue is terrible. But it's the only scene in the film that isn't at least competently done. Mercifully it's short, and then returns back to the D-man. Still, CP is the best DTV actioner of the year by far, and one of the better action films in general. It's just about on a par with The Mechanik. ****
Dolph stars as Joe, former bad ass biker, with a shady past, who's since turned drummer. The film opens on a rock concert in which Joe is playing in the band backing up star turn Venus (Melissa Smith), who's pretty much a Britney clone. The Russian president and American ambassador are in attendance, meaning that naturally, terrorists will come and start shooting, and hold Presi, hostage. Joe is the reluctant hero, who teams up with an FSB agent to try and bring Kasov (Dave Legano) down. We know from then on what'll happen. Dolph is gonna open a big old can of whoop-ass, and make the terrorists drink it down. Much like the Defender, D's first directing gig, once the terrorists show up, the pace never really lets up. And the film has scatterings of action until the finale. Joe himself is a different character to what Dolph normally plays. He's not straight laced. He's not driven by revenge, and he's not always been on the right side of the law.
The action itself is good. It's simple put it punches. It's tightly edited, giving it a good pace, and when someone gets shot or killed in close combat, there's a good delivery of blood to show that they ain't gonna be getting back up. The surroundings are tight, claustrophobic, making the action quick, rough, frantic. When Dolph takes someone on in a fight, he goes in fast and hard, using any weapons he can at hands. Dolph's gone for pretty grounded action. Everything needs a base in reality. Joe's tough, he can kick ass, but he kicks ass like a biker, so D doesn't whip out the martial arts moves. And his showdown with Dave Legano, is very much like the end fight in Men Of War. It's down and dirty. The only thing that lets this down, is the budget. After all, this is a Die Hard formula, and it lacks the one big set piece, or a good money shot stunt. Think Bruce jumping off the Nakatomi plaza, or Seagal jumping off a boat in Under Siege.
The film looks great. Dolph and his DP Marc Windon, have gone for a Bourne/docu kind of vibe. Once the action kicks in, the pace of cutting picks up as well. It gives everything a sense of kinetic energy, without resorting to mindless shaky cam. But more-so, the energy helps hide the small budget. Windon's lighting is naturalistically stylised I supposed you could say. He was going for part Bay, part music vid, part Bourne, and it works. It certainly enhances the production value of the film. As for Dolph, his direction gets better every film. The opening of the film really establishes the style of it brilliantly. It's well shot, and very well edited by veteran cutsman, Peter Hollywood (Adventures of Baron Von Munchhausen, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves). Most importantly, he's got a good sense of cutting action.
Dolph gives a good performance as Joe. He's laid back, cool, and a bit of a kid at heart. But he's got a bad streak in him, and he has to bring his dark side out when it comes to kicking some A-holes. I worry sometimes about Dolph directing himself, because he's not got the outside perspective on his performance. As Dolph's FSB tag along Mikhail, Zahary Baharov is good. It's an important role that demands not sucking, and Baharov is far from sucking. Melissa Smith does okay. She's not got much of a role at all. As is typical of action flicks, she's got a pretty wafer thin female role. There's little chemistry between Dolph and Smith, if only because the coupling looks pretty funny on screen, more than anything else. Lundgren the 2nd, Dolph's daughter Ida, also stars, and for her screen debut, at 12 years old, does pretty well. The biggest worry was also the bad guy. Die Hard formula flicks live or die by the bad guy. I worried that Legano could bring down the film single handed, but he's actually pretty good. In fact he's one of the best DL villains in a long time. He gives his role plenty of intensity. He's a different villain to Gruber (Die Hard), or Stranix (Under Siege), driven by a different goal. He doesn't wallow in smug, he just gets on with it.
Overall though, this does not disappoint. It delivers what you want in an action film. It's well made too. The film probably needs a bit more humour in it, though there are plenty of one-liners and sight gags, but could do with a bit more. All the scenes are well done, bar one, which features the three young women of the film. It briefly halts the film, and the dialogue is terrible. But it's the only scene in the film that isn't at least competently done. Mercifully it's short, and then returns back to the D-man. Still, CP is the best DTV actioner of the year by far, and one of the better action films in general. It's just about on a par with The Mechanik. ****
Dolph finds some incredible magic.
Right-Wing-Man28 November 2009
I know you are probably thinking; what in the hell is this guy doing giving a Dolph Lundgren movie a "10" well simple really. Number one I was thinking this movie would be a 5 or 6 simply because "Drago" is showing up, but to my major surprise. I got a big-budget thriller; ala Die Hard flick. Dolph didn't have as many one liners as Bruce Willis had in his films, but Dolph had his own kind of nonchalant coolness at his delivery of lines. I was surprised he was a rock star to be in the movie. Dude must be a musician as a hobby, because he was awesome. Even my girlfriend who watched it with me was blown away at this story, acting and thrill-rid. What a pleasant surprise and Dolph my hats off to you; you acted your ass off a came up with a masterpiece of a movie!
an absolute must see
craig-emma28 October 2009
an absolute must see
one of if not the best dulph lundgren movies i have seen To put this in context, I am 25 years old and I have to say that this is the one of the best films I have seen without a doubt and I don't expect it will be beaten as far as I am concerned For as much action as there is in this movie,
it's the acting that makes it a great piece of work. Between all the punches, explosions and stunt-work is some great dialogue work. All the actors have their moments.
if you don't rate this as a 10 i want to know why????
one of if not the best dulph lundgren movies i have seen To put this in context, I am 25 years old and I have to say that this is the one of the best films I have seen without a doubt and I don't expect it will be beaten as far as I am concerned For as much action as there is in this movie,
it's the acting that makes it a great piece of work. Between all the punches, explosions and stunt-work is some great dialogue work. All the actors have their moments.
if you don't rate this as a 10 i want to know why????
Very nice!
wolskint10 April 2010
This is very nice Dolph Lundgren's movie that I really enjoined.
This movie is much better than Lundghren's previous movie (i.e. Direct Contact). Unlike the previous one, CP is well made. The biggest problem with DC was they they wanted to squize too much fancy action for the budget they had. As a result, almost everything in DC looked cheep and was of low quality. However, CP does not go this path. They wanted to get the best what they could with their budget. So it looks and feels much better than the DC. They stick with basic shooting and fighting.
There is nothing special about the story, its quite predictive.
To sum up, its very nice Lundghen's movie.
This movie is much better than Lundghren's previous movie (i.e. Direct Contact). Unlike the previous one, CP is well made. The biggest problem with DC was they they wanted to squize too much fancy action for the budget they had. As a result, almost everything in DC looked cheep and was of low quality. However, CP does not go this path. They wanted to get the best what they could with their budget. So it looks and feels much better than the DC. They stick with basic shooting and fighting.
There is nothing special about the story, its quite predictive.
To sum up, its very nice Lundghen's movie.
Durable action icon Dolph Lundgren quite literally sets the stage alight with his explosively hard-hitting 'Command Performance'.
Weirdling_Wolf2 November 2021
Dynamic actor Dolph Lundgren has not only frequently proved himself to be one of the more versatile, charismatic, physically competent action heroes of his generation, the handsome He-man is now rigorously fashioning for himself a more than credible reputation as a no less thrilling action director, and dreamboat Dolph's suitably rigorous command of film-making can be readily seen in his propulsive, hard-hitting action-thriller 'Command Performance'. Ex-outlaw biker Joe (Dolph Lundgren) has his hopes about finally escaping his dark past by drumming in an increasingly popular rock band shattered during a break-out presidential 'Command Performance', as a dissident group of paramilitary terrorists hijack the venue, forcibly take the president, and his young daughters hostage, and during this grisly, bullet-shredded siege, many music fans are slaughtered, and therefore juiced-up avenger Joe must down sticks, and reluctantly take up arms, and proceed to bloodily John McClane his whirlwind way through the ensuing carnage in a brave attempt to thwart the maniacal onslaught of these especially murderous mercenaries, and as an action director, the real-life powerhouse percussionist rarely misses a beat, rhythmically keeping the adrenalized action popping fast and furiously, additionally putting in in a demonstratively heavy-hitting performance as hard-rocking, head-knocking hero Joe! Durable action icon Dolph Lundgren quite literally sets the stage alight with his explosively hard-hitting 'Command Performance'.
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