Commander

The Last American Soldier is another hilariously inept Italian war film made at the fag-end of the 1980s. The version I watched was renamed COMMANDER and has the main character's name as simply 'Commander' throughout in order to cash in on the success of COMMANDO. There are some superficial similarities between the two stories but this is much more of an open rip-off of RAMBO: FIRST BLOOD PART II, right down to the lone hero being captured and tortured by Russian forces. Other than that, I enjoyed it, but then I have a high tolerance for trashy gems. The hero goes after evil Russians and Vietcong in Vietnam, Thailand and Cambodia and kicks up a storm. You know the hero type: grenades hanging from chest, heavy weaponry in hand, a spare slung over the shoulder, a razor-sharp knife that would give Crocodile Dundee nightmares in the boot. Craig Alan has to be one of the most wooden actors of a decade not particularly requiring much of its action heroes, while the shooting in the Philippines means that regular stars from that part of the world show up, including Ken Watanabe and Mike Monty. If you're looking for cheesy and repetitive action then you've come to the right place. It's generally a mix of Alan taking down guards and sentries, usually with the break of a neck. Occasionally he'll infiltrate a base to set bombs and later blow it up. The big scenes have Alan and his buddies blowing the heck out of guard huts and watchtowers, particularly at the action-fuelled climax which is a violent delight. How much you enjoy this one depends on your predilection for low-brow action trash cinema.