Bullet Points: Chain of Command
There are many accomplishments over the past couple of years that we are proud of here at Bulletproof Action. Speaking for myself, the one that I’m most proud of is probably our thoroughness when it comes to the filmography of Michael Dudikoff. Sure, he doesn’t have the star power of a Sly Stallone or Arnold, but I dare you to try and find an actor as charismatic or as likeable as Dudikoff. In celebration of the birthday of the American Ninja, I’d like to take a look at a film that I would and did rank as one of Dudi’s best; Chain of Command.
Synopsis: Former Green Beret Merrill Ross (Dudikoff) is now an employee of a very powerful oil company in the Middle Eastern nation of Qumiri. When his compound is attacked and his colleagues are taken hostage, Ross finds himself in the middle of C.I.A. operatives, Qumiri rebels, and Lord knows who else, in an attempt to rescue his buddies and get himself out of the line of fire.
- Intro to Dudi: Merrill Ross is certainly no saint. When we first meet him onscreen he is drinking, smoking, and cursing like a sailor. I can’t say that I was mad…just disappointed.
- How you know it’s a Cannon Film: When a guy pulls out a bazooka and starts blowing shit up within the first six minutes, you know you’re watching a Cannon Production.
- Todd Curtis has the hair of an Angel: The villain of the movie, who goes by the name of Rawlings, is second to none when it comes to his unbelievable hairdo. I can’t say that I’ve ever seen such a tough guy with such a pansy haircut. It looks like he came straight to the set from getting glamour shots done.
- Killing Practice: Ross finds himself battling against dudes all decked out in black. Sure, these dudes are Middle Eastern fellas who are wearing head wraps or whatever but they could have easily been mistaken for ninjas and no one kills ninjas better than Michael Dudikoff!
- Get this man a leather jacket: Most action movies would have taken the easy way out and made this more of a revenge tale. The bad guys do kill Ross’s best friend. It would have been too easy for him to buy a knockoff leather jacket at a Qumiri market and go on a vengeance-fueled quest that would make Tarantino cream his pants.
- From the hip: I’m not talking about shooting from the hip. That happens in every action movie and I don’t think Arnold has ever look down the sights of a rifle. I’m talking about the Qumiri Liberation Initiative’s plan to rescue the hostages. They said they had a plan but what they really had was one grenade and the rest of left to fate. Thank God Merrill Ross was there.
- Ermey Appearance: The great R. Lee Ermey appears late in the movie as the rich stereotypical Texan who is seemingly pulling all the strings. He makes some very strange comments that Chris the Brain pointed out and then tells Ross (and the audience) his entire plan. Don’t you just love when that happens?
- Action finale: There is definitely an overuse of slow motion as Ross battles the man with the hair of gold. Todd Curtis and Dudikoff go toe to toe while the lovely Keren Tishman lay strapped down to a pool table. There isn’t much flair to the fight but it does its job in the end. Speaking of the end….before our heroes SPOILER ride off into the sunset, Dudi mows down at least 20 security guards without changing magazines or taking cover like some chump. It is a marvelous scene that could easily have been from any number of Chuck Norris movies.
The Verdict: If you had read my earlier entry about my favorite Michael Dudikoff movies of all time then you would know that I rank Chain of Command as his 7th best film. I certainly liked it better than the similarly themed The Human Shield and it is a slight departure for Dudikoff in that his character drops F bombs like he’s in a Joe Pesci movie. He gets plenty of guys to kill, though, and that is always a good idea for an action movie. My biggest worry is that we’ll run out of Dudikoff movies to review each year. C’mon Mike! Make some new flicks!
