Command Performance

Command Performance

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 :)

"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

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.

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.

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!

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.

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. ****

"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

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.