Fox Sets David Ayer To Write And Direct The Remake Of Schwarzenegger’s Commando
We’ve heard before that Fox wants to remakeCommando, which was directed byMark L. Lesterin 1985 and famously starredArnold Schwarzeneggeras a retired elite soldier attempting to rescue his daughter (Alyssa Milano) from an exiled dictator (Dan Hedaya). It wasrumoredto be a project for Dwayne Johnson at one point, but we don’t know who might star now. We do know who will write and direct, however:Training DayscreenwriterDavid Ayer.
Deadlinedescribes Ayer’s take on the film: “He will put his own real-world spin on [the story]…Ayer’s protagonist will be less brawny, but more skilled in covert tactics and weaponry.”
Facepalm. OK, an action movie based on this basic premise: fine. Even one with a realistic bent, no big deal. But why trade on theCommandoname?
Here’s the thing aboutCommando: it is utterly ridiculous. Arguably a terrible film from many angles, it manages to be totally earnest and wildly silly at the same time. That is, it’s campy as all hell. The mixture of way over the top action and attempts at deadpan humor is fun, pure and simple.
With Schwarzenegger working towards the height of his one-liner delivery, there’s nothing else quite like it. (I’m using the word ‘height’ very loosely — “he’s dead tired” is a terrible line reading. Which is why it’s so great.) There are a lot of films that want to be just like it, but there’s only oneCommando.
How do you replicate that? At what point does this more realistic version just becomeTaken? And most important:who will be the new Rae Dawn Chong?
Who knows — maybe Ayer really has killer ideas. He’s got the military background, and his directorial efforts (Street KingsandHarsh Times) weren’t great, but showed enough promise that maybe he’s got something up his sleeve. Then again, this is the guy that was going to push forward a remake ofThe Wild Bunch, and that’s pretty hard to stomach. I’m at square one on this idea.
