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Visitors Review

Right-Wing-Man 2012-05-23 07:38:46

Dolph finds some incredible magic.

I know you are probably thinking; what in the hell is this guy doinggiving a Dolph Lundgren movie a "10" well simple really. Number one Iwas thinking this movie would be a 5 or 6 simply because "Drago" isshowing up, but to my major surprise. I got a big-budget thriller; alaDie Hard flick. Dolph didn't have as many one liners as Bruce Willishad in his films, but Dolph had his own kind of nonchalant coolness athis delivery of lines. I was surprised he was a rock star to be in themovie. Dude must be a musician as a hobby, because he was awesome. Evenmy girlfriend who watched it with me was blown away at this story,acting and thrill-rid. What a pleasant surprise and Dolph my hats offto you; you acted your ass off a came up with a masterpiece of a movie!

2012-05-22 20:54:03

Dolph drums up some decent action

Dolph has directed himself in a pretty good B-grade action movie. Would I buy it for more than the cost of renting it? No.Sure, it's Die-Hard-in-a-concert-arena, but the Russian locations and the aversion Dolph's character has to guns (though ridiculous and short-lived) add some novel touches. Oh, and apparently Dolph knows how to play the drums.The funniest part is Michelle Smith's smokin' hot young singer character constantly making eyes at the aging Dolph Lundgren. But, hey, he's the director!

2012-05-18 23:21:57

Average Blu, Dolph ok, but no features?

The last few Dolph films have not done as well here with both rentals and sales decreasing over his peak years, but I think this one has a fair shot at showcasing a mellower side to him. Not sure if I would call it acting his age or showing a calmer demeanor on screen (still very athletic and capable) but it made for a nice, not-over-the-top kind of performance. The story follows our lead (a drummer) opening for a Britney-like pop queen in Moscow. Bad guys take over and catch some attending political leaders and the singer. Dolph has to save the day and he soes so with few words but very competent skills. The writing never really alludes to how he can be so proficient with guns, knives, bombs, fighting - and playing the drums, but we do not watch these for the writing.The Blu was of average quality, and certain cameras showcase a great deal of grain more than others. The 5.1 sounds good, and your outer channels and sub will get plenty of work. Not a reference BD by any means, but adequate enough for a low cost that it should not disappoint in those categories. Now the issues - there are special features listed on the case including interviews, behind the scenes and extra fight footage. I tried every which way to find them (looked for hidden commands, menu icons, easter eggs, watched through the credits for return to menu, pop-up menu, etc.) and I could not find a thing. Have not had that happen before with any BD, so I tried both my PS3 and stand alone players to be sure, no luck.If you are a fan of Dolph I think this would be a good addition to the library, or if you are looking for a standard action film (and actually there are not too many of the yeah-right moments in this one) this could entertain for an evening. Three for the film and quality, zero for the missing features.

2012-05-18 14:49:57

Gives You Exactly What You Want and Expect

This review is from: Command Performance (DVD) Good, old school action. Some righteously cheesy one liners, delivered like only Dolph can, a bit of weed and a bunch of dead Communists. What else do you need to know?

2012-05-17 18:34:46

A less than commanding performance

Command Performance is a silly film that I wish would have played up the comedy a little more. Dolph is also just way too old for this kind of role. I am sure I would have loved this film if he did it 20 years ago. The movie was OK. I wouldn't watch it a second time though.

thinker1691 2012-05-16 21:26:45

" Men with guns killed my brother, so I killed them, that's why I hate guns "

In a new movie which is written, directed and stars Dolph Lundgren, heplays the part of 'Joe' a very loud rock drummer. The story is that ofa modern Russian President and his two daughters visit a rock concertgiven for charity. Once the concert begins in high volume, a rouge bandof revenge seeking militarists, invade the music hall and begin killingeveryone and anyone trying to stop them. Taking hostages, they demand ahuge ransom or they will begin killing off their prisoners. What thekillers did not count on was a novice secret service presidential guardand an ex-biker, and extremely physically gifted street fighter.Together, they take on the militants and hold them till the Red Armycan rescue their president. It's somewhat reminiscent of 'Die Hard'Russian style. The movie is filled with lots of dramatic action, goodphysical exciting scenes and lots of explosive mayhem. For Lundgren, hestill packs a wallop and is good throughout the film, although onewonders if the audience can see the great man is showing his age. Stillit's a good movie for his fans as they watch the real-life Drummer takeon the bad guys. ****

lost-in-limbo 2012-05-14 13:55:34

"I'm a rocker. I play the drums."

Directed and co-written by Dolph Lundgren, the straight-to-DVD "CommandPerformance" which also starred Lundgren is a basic, run-of-the-millsiege / hostage outing similar in vein to "Die Hard". No surprises andquite clichéd in nearly every development (characters, story andscript), but remained dependable when it came to the action stakes anda laconic Lundgren is in good form. During a stadium concert held forthe Russian president, a group of mercenaries sneak in and take thepresident and his daughter's hostage while the army watches on. Butthey didn't count on a survivor; a drummer / ex-biker with a shady pastto spoil their plans. Yep Lundgren plays an aging rock-star who justhappened to be smoking some weed in the bathroom when the allexcitement was going on. Lundgren goes up against these Russianmercenaries in redemption of sorts, handing out violence with violencebut he doesn't use a gun. Well more like he doesn't like to use one dueto past events. After a slow get-up, it kicks into gear with some meatyand frenetic action encounters that are shot on video. Melissa Molinaroshows up as a popular US singer and David Legeno is fitting as theruthless head honcho of the mercenaries. A cheap, but diverting actionthriller. "Don't ever tell me to shut up!"

wolskint 2012-05-14 03:20:53

Very nice!

This is very nice Dolph Lundgren's movie that I really enjoined. This movie is much better than Lundghren's previous movie (i.e. DirectContact). Unlike the previous one, CP is well made. The biggest problemwith DC was they they wanted to squize too much fancy action for thebudget they had. As a result, almost everything in DC looked cheep andwas of low quality. However, CP does not go this path. They wanted toget the best what they could with their budget. So it looks and feelsmuch 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.

2012-05-11 10:46:18

great flick as usual starring Dolph Lundgren

This review is from: Command Performance (DVD) Dolph's real daughter is Anna in the flick, she is none other than Ida S. Lundgren and she is listed in FACEBOOK & says she is married & looking for men & relationships, Ida was born 29 April 1995. She has her younger sister and Dad listed as her friends. A daughter getting married at 14 is unreal in this country. She has 13 ppg's under Google & Bing.He does play drums since High School.

Wizard-8 2012-05-10 23:51:42

A rip-off, but an entertaining rip-off

Lundgren won't win any originality awards for the script he wrote for"Command Performance". As you probably guessed by just reading the plotdescription of the movie, this movie is a rip-off of "Die Hard". Butthere are also elements of the "Die Hard" rip-offs "Under Siege" and"Sudden Death" - making this movie a rip-off of rip-offs! Also, theclimatic action scene rips off the climax of "Commando".So this story of this movie isn't very original. But I was entertainedneverless. For starters, the production values are very good. Althoughthis was a low budget movie, it looks very glossy and expensive attimes. Lundgren's direction of the movie is good as well. He gives alot of the movie a cinema-verite look, making it feel like we areseeing something that is "live" instead of staged and rehearsed. As forthe action, Lundgren delivers the goods in these scenes as well. A lotof blood gets squirted, there are some exciting moments, and there area 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'scharacter is somewhat thin, speaking very little and not revealing toomuch of his past. The accents of some of the foreign actors are thickat times and make their dialogue sometimes hard to make out. (And someof the actors are obviously dubbed.) But overall, if you are wanting tosee this formula again, this movie does the formula in an above averagemanner.

Comeuppance Reviews 2012-05-07 12:21:08

Drummin' Dolph!

"Dying's easy, rock and roll is hard." Command Performance is a nice,entertaining Dolph Vehicle, perfect for people that are already fans ofhis 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 BritneySpears-like opening act Venus (Smith) and shoot up the place. Butthere's one thing those evildoers didn't count on - the mysterious Joe(Dolph) - just Joe - the drummer for hard rock band CMF. He would havebeen shot, but luckily he ducked into the bathroom to smoke a joint, sohis life was spared. Great message for the kids. After teaming up withMikhail, an FSB (Russian Counter-Intelligence) agent, it's time to dowhat Dolph does best: take down the bad guys! But will a dark secretfrom the past intervene? Is there anything Dolph Lundgren can't do? Hestars in, co-wrote (with Steve Latshaw of all people, the manresponsible for writing Scorpio One, and Extreme Limits, 2000), anddirected the film - and did all his own drumming! The movie isdefinitely an 80's throwback, and that seems to be the area where Dolphis 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) ("DieHard on a plane!") and Anna Nicole Smith's Skyscraper (1995) ("Die Hardin a building!"...oh wait) etc... school of "antagonists take over aplace and one man must stop them", there's plenty to enjoy in CommandPerformance. Groaners of one –liners ("Watch The Hair, Dude!"), a goodpace, and Dolph dispatching the terrorists in novel, creative andmusic-related (!) ways. He didn't expect a terrorist takeover and hedidn't have a lot at his disposal to work with. He had to be creativeand improvise. Just like a drummer.Lundgren's young daughter Ida is on hand as one of the kidnappedPresidential daughters, and she does a good job. Can we expect aLundgren acting dynasty someday? Only time will tell. But on theslightly negative side, the film quality was a bit video-ish and thereis some unfortunate CG stuff floating around...it would have been coolto see better film stock and more emphasis on practical effects, butyou can't have everything these days. We're just grateful they're (orshould 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 tothe macho world of Dolph Lundgren or action cinema, but for his fans,it's a real treat.For more insanity, please visit: comeuppancereviews.com

filmman3000 2012-05-07 06:19:29

A drunken Photographer and the Mad editor

I was hopping good things out of this one. I loved the trailer toughtit was hilarious. I like "the defender" and "Missionary Man". I toughtby seeing the trailer I was going to see something on level of StevenSeagal "Urban Justice" or "Ruslan" but because of terrible photographyand editing it looks like "Kill Switch".I have to give credits to the script who isn't bad there is some welltought action scene and good jokes. But the terrible photography ruinsit.The photographer ruins the picture by shaking the camera all the time.It good in the Blair witch project or Cloverfield because the cameraman play a character, but it's not the case in this movie.Also this is supposed a music movie or a movie with music and the soundediting is terrible so sometime the sound is very loud and sometimevery low. Like someone is turning up the volume up and down at randommoments It's a real pity because you have a decent script that isruined by bad photography, and bad editing.

2012-04-29 09:02:36

Dying is easy, rock & roll is hard, and saving this movie is harder

This review is from: Command Performance (DVD) It's not very often that I eagerly anticipate a Dolph Lundgren film, but "Command Performance" was an exception. Granted, other than that it would feature Dolph exercising his little-known talent of drumming for the first time on film, the movie didn't promote itself as anything particularly out-of-the-ordinary (with the possible exception that it promised a showdown between Lundgren and Dave `Fenrir Greyback' Legeno of the later "Harry Potter" films), but the general expectations regarding this film were surprisingly high in the DTV realm. I expected director Dolph to deliver something unexpected and explosive - perhaps even something to redefine himself as an action hero - so I fully admit that the major disappointment I suffered while watching this film is solely my fault...but that doesn't make this film any less boring.The story: during a Moscow charity concert headlined by the rock back CMF and pop singer Venus ("Making the Band" alumnus Melissa Smith), a Soviet terrorist faction headed by self-styled patriot Oleg Kazov (Legeno) storms the theater and takes the Russian president (Hristo Shopov, "The Passion of the Christ") and his guests captive. Undetected by the attackers, the drummer of the rock band (Lundgren) must team up with a lone FSB agent (Zahary Baharov, Universal Soldier: Regeneration) to rescue the president and save the remaining hostages.Yes, Lundgren has chocked up another entry into the Die Hard-knockoff series, in addition to 1997's The Peacekeeper. While I take some pleasure in writing the words "Die Hard at a concert", the opportunities offered by this premise end after Lundgren shoves a drumstick through a man's face and later impales another fellow with a broken guitar neck; as neat as these depictions of instrumental brutality are, they are not enough to save a movie stuck in toothless mediocrity. The storyline unfolds (or, rather, unrolls like a ream of toilet paper) without any turns or character revelations to keep you very interested. The film was entirely shot via the `shaky camera technique', which was no doubt supposed to allude to the "Bourne" movies but failed to deter my thoughts beyond how cheap it looked. As far as the acting goes, Melissa Smith does her best to channel Britney Spears in her depiction of a ditzy pop princess while Dolph's attempts to act like a socially-awkward cool guy indeed come off as awkward...but not very cool. I suppose the rest of the cast is passable, but I was disappointed that the Russian characters didn't speak a lot of Russian; movies like Driven to Kill are proving that authentic Russian is cooler than bad accents, but this one hasn't caught on to that.And as for action? What action, I ask? "Command Performance" aims for a gritty, realistic approach to its gunplay and fisticuffs, but the result is but a bit of thoroughly uninspired punching and exactly one shootout (that isn't entirely one-sided). Everything else simply falls under plain violence - people being shot, executed, etc. What little fighting there is, however, is remarkably bloody for a Lundgren flick (stabbed in the head with a knife, anybody?), as though Dolph was trying to interest the current slasher market. Doesn't help that half of the blood if CGI, though. Even the climatic Lundgren vs. Legeno encounter is a plodding, disappointing affair that wouldn't even draw in MMA nuts who are used to a lot of rolling around on the ground.It's been a very long time since Dolph has actually managed to disappoint me, much less raise my expectations in the first place, but I'm afraid I've been reminded that even one of my favorite action suppliers is capable of outright failure. Later in the film, Lundgren's character remarks about his band "We don't rehearse - we just play", and that is what this movie feels like: it would have required a lot more preparation and brainstorming before it would be anything beyond a forgettable direct-to-video flick.

2012-04-28 18:59:11

One of Dolph's Best!

This review is from: Command Performance [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray) I would say this is easily on of Dolph's best movies. Its a decent although, predicable die hard clone, but for lovers of action movies, it gets the job done. Once the carnage starts up, it never really stops, and true, Dolph only dispatches 11 bad guys, most are quality and entertaining. If you hate 80's action, and tough guys, then find another movie. I though the film had a nice mix of humor and action. To all the Dolph naysayers out their, you just wish that you could go shirtless for a whole movie when your his age. The man has still got it.

F_Jenkins 2012-04-26 19:40:15

I don't like guns. They kill people.

There are lots of bad lines like that in this movie."Dying's easy. Rock and Roll is hard." Really? Wow, written anddirected by Dolph Lungren, there's lots of cheesy dialog and scenes tolaugh at. If he would have taken out all the shaky camera stuff andlearned how to direct fight scenes, it would have been a star better -anytime there's any kind of combat or fighting, the camera closes in(when he takes the gun from the security guy, all we see is him turnaround and suddenly he's got the gun - there's lots of stuff likethis).The "teen" lead singer "Venus" says to Dolph "you're kind of cute foran old guy" and Dolph's band members kid him "old guy - hehehe." Uh,yeah, by 25 years, even more if you consider the girl is supposed beyounger than she is in real life.And of course, as it clearly is in Russia, everyone speaks English withbad Russian accents. The worst of this of course was the two daughters(one of them is apparently Dolph's real life daughter). There's somepretty bad acting in this.With some script punching up and a better director, it might not havebeen too bad. Dolph is still perfect for action movies of this type (Ibelieve - someone needs to give him a good script to do, I think in theright movie he'd be great) and clearly this thing had a budget, it justneeded more competent people making it.

2012-04-26 15:18:47

WOW!!!

This review is from: Command Performance (DVD) Dolph can definitely act and direct.This is even better than Missionary Man.I like the idea that an old burn-out rocker can "get it together",take charge,kick butt and get the girl.Melissa Smith was SMOKING HOT!My Italian blood pressure was off the charts. My testosterone level was thru the roof for days!I liked the way she looked at him in the beginning-with admiration and sensual interest.It is never too late for old warriors(like me) to get the girl.My copy did not have any extras,and I would have liked to see how the film was produced,with interviews,etc.The music thruout the film was great and made the movie.I hummed Melissa's opening tune "Lost in Love"for days!The one liners Dolph had were great!Remember- "Watch the hair ,dude!"when he fought the first man in the restroom? Get this film ,you will love it and be surprised how far Dolph has come in the movie industry.

2012-04-23 03:36:11

ok movie

This was a decent movie, but could have been better. The plot is similar to so many other movies about terrorism in Russia, and the acting wasnt the best. If you have any type of law enforcment or military training you will laugh at a lot of this movie. Take it for entertainment purposes only. Probably one of the parts that annoyed me most, especially being a US Army veteran was the very end when they show the Russian agent receiving a medal. He is wearing a US Army Combat Infantry Badge, but yet he is in the Russian security service. I mean come on, really? The scene was shot in Moscow, and you could of bought Russian medals anywhere, but to make such a stupid mistake just annoyed me so badly.

2012-04-22 13:37:09

Convincing acting and action sequences!

This review is from: Command Performance (DVD) This movie has a very interesting plot with realistic fight scenes that are fast and gritty. Dolph Lungren has updated his acting and action sequences to look less polished and rehearsed. His more recent fight scenes do not have the "Hollywood" choreography influence. This is a five star movie!

Scarecrow-88 2012-04-16 08:08:40

Command Performance

Dolph Lundgren is the star, writer, and director of COMMAND PERFORMANCEabout the drummer of a rock band who must assist a green security agentin stopping Communist terrorists who have executed civilians attendinga pop starlet's concert, as well as, kidnapping the Russian President,his two daughters, and some hostages, demanding a ransom to be made forseveral accounts. The leader of the terrorists is Oleg Kazov(DaveLegeno), whose father was to be arrested by President Petrov(HristoShopov), 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 ontour in Moscow, beloved by Petrov's pre-teen daughters. Lundgren isdrummer Joe, his band the opening act for Venus, their concertdisrupted by Kazov and his gunmen who annihilate Petrov's many numberof security personnel. Joe and Mikhail Kapista(Zahary Baharov), thelone security agent able to escape immediate death during the gun firebetween parties must work their way through the building in order torescue the surviving hostages who aren't made mincemeat by thebloodthirsty, sadistic Kazov. Meanwhile, outside the building, theRussian police and military are gathered to discuss a strategy to savetheir President. While there's plenty of bloody violence, Lundgrenincorporates the tired jerky cam method during action scenes that hassure worn out its welcome. Also disappointing are instances whenLundgren destroys Kazov's goons in murky areas of the building whereits 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 theexperience. There's a lot of sound effects to inform us of how much theweapons hurt those damaged, and Lundgren doesn't go skimpy on the bloodas it explodes when security guards or terrorists are hit with gunfire.I got to hand it to Lundgren, he looks good, has aged well despitebeing 53 years old and juicing when he was a young man pummeling RockyBalboa. While there's lots of savagery, Lundgren does include some muchneeded humor, particularly nice jabs at rock-n-roll and pop, althoughthe whole idea of teenage hottie Molinaro sexually drawn to Lundgren isa bit creepy. You know, I still believe Lundgren has the chops toremain a direct-to-DVD/cable action star.

2012-04-16 06:44:40

Not bad at all

I've seen just about all of Dolph's movies and this one is definitely one of his best. The action is great and for once he isn't a cop or some kind of ex secret agent. Oh and checking out Melissa Smith alone is well worth the movie!