I
don’t know why exactly, but Antonio Margheriti decided somewhere in the
mid-80’s to stop working with David Warbeck, choosing the other British
actor (Lewis Collins)
who looks exactly like Warbeck and also failed to
make the James Bond cut. Anyway, here is basically another movie with
Collins leading a ragtag group of mercenaries through the jungle in an
effort to overthrow the dictator of a third world country. Also in his
group are John Steiner (Salon
Kitty, Yor The Hunter from
the Future), Manfred Lehman (Cobra
Mission, Casablanca
Express), and much of the same crew from Code
Name: Wildgeese. Needless to say, the film wastes no time in getting
straight to the numerous action scenes, quite widely varied but all pretty
good, involving a dam, bridge, jetliner, and oil refinery all getting
destroyed. Oh yes, Klaus Kinski (Aguirre:
The Wrath of God) turns in a small role as the main villain, though he
doesn’t show up much until near the end where he kills more good guys
than his entire army managed to before-hand.
What distinguishes this from most mercenary-in-the-jungle action flicks is
that Commando Leopard has a good deal of strategy and organization
involved. It’s not about a crew of tough guys wandering around aimlessly
killing bad guys. It’s instead very well thought out and mildly
realistic in its depiction of a fictional civil war. The action scenes are
fast and furious with lots and lots of Margheriti’s trademark
Godzilla-movie-ish miniature special effects.
While the plot is pretty all over the place and the storyline isn’t too
interesting, this film has some of the best, most amazing action scenes
I’ve seen. The most amazing sequence comes about halfway through when
the rebels blow a landing 747 out of the sky with a rocket launcher. The
plane bursts into flames and slides across the runway cutting a massive
trail of destruction at the airport. Equally as amazing is the later
explosion scene in an oil refinery where a train gets blown off the tracks
one car at a time.
While Peter Baumgartner’s photography isn’t anything special, it’s
all put together by Margheriti in a very fun and lightweight way. Every
action scene is extended to the point of maximizing entertainment value.
Ennio Morricone tosses in some fun lightweight jungle music to keep things
moving fast, and the casting is great. Kinski is underused but fun as the
villain, and Collins and Lehman look natural as ruthless and professional
commandos. Mike Monty and Luciano Pigozzi have small roles as well.
Commando Leopard is excessively hard to find, but it’s easily one of
Margheriti’s best action films, sorely in need of a DVD release. The
gunfire sound effects don’t get any louder and the explosions don’t
get any more spectacular than in this movie.
Reviews by: Mike
Martinez (courtesy
of his website www.insane.nu)
