Commando Leopard (1985)

Nice effects though.

Lack of good storyline.

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

This film was made after the success of the first film directed by Antonio Margheriti CODENAME WILDGEESE which also starred Lewis Collins and Klaus Kinski .This film has a much larger budget than the first film and it is much better, the special effects coordinated by Margheritis son Edoardo are very good.I would have to say some of the action set pieces are spectacular and well executed and would stand up in any Hollywood action production and i would highly recommend this film to action and fans of cult film it is produced by swiss producer Erwin c Dietrich.Also the cast includes John Steiner a usual face in many euro films and Alaln Collins ,Hans Leutenegger.

A cruel tyrant named Homoza( Somoza ?) imposes his rules and tyranny in a South American country.The corruption, brutality and exploitation are usual practice but some people begin organize the resistance. A little group of guerrilla fight against the government. As a commando led by Carrasco (Lewis Collins), a tough, two-fisted rebel helped by a foreigner mercenary (John Steiner) and a veteran rebellious (Alan Collins or Luciano Pigozzi , the Italian Peter Lorre, customary in B series), among others . The adventure starts when the veteran band of mercenaries land deep inside the jungle to destroy a giant dam. Later on, they help out the jungle's inhabitants against the nasty Silveira(Klaus Kinski). Meanwhile they find a Catholic priest(Manfred Lhemamn) ruling a mission in middle of jungle and another (Mike Monty) as back-up.This exciting film packs large-scale blow-up, routine plot, and lots of noisy action for the most part. Some cheesy scenes but contains a better scenario on the bridge blowing up , the burning installations and a spectacular Boeing plane explosion . This fast-paced movie blends adventures, thrills, and mindless agitation . Screenplay by usual Tito Carpi but some moving action scenes cannot a silly script save. Stirring final full of explosions, shootouts and including helicopters with fire-thrower ; furthermore some plot twists and turns. Cinematography is quite well, capturing the atmosphere of everywhere, in addition some moving images shot with camera above the shoulder. Embarrassment musical score composed by synthesizer isn't composed by Ennio Morricone. The picture is produced in average budget by Erwin C. Dietrich, ordinary producer and director of soft-core genre and Jess Frank's habitual financier. The motion picture is regularly directed by Antonio Margheriti or Anthony M. Dawson.These jungle-setting exploitation films from the 80s will like to action lovers and euro-trash enthusiasts.The film belongs a trilogy directed by Anthony M Dawson(Margheriti) formed by ¨Wild Geese¨(1984)¨, ¨Commando Leopard(1985)¨ and ¨Der Commander(1988)¨ repeating similar actors, as Collins, Kinski,Manfred Lehmann , technicians and screenwriter, Tito Carpi.

Commando Leopard is cheesy but enthusiastic action trash for the most part. It's not extremely different from any other jungle-set, exploitation war movie from the 1980's. However, it does have 3 notable elements: First, the photography shows occasional flourishes of style that you wouldn't expect in a cheap 80s action b-movie. It's shot in 2.35:1 widescreen and every so often you get an artfully composed shot, a low angle "hero pose" image (which are far more common to big budget post-1990 action movies!), or a visceral over-the-shoulder camera angle on the gun play. The photography is nothing spectacular as a whole, but it does give the film an intermittent visual slickness that sets it apart from the bland coverage common to 1980's B-movie cinematography. Second, legendary actor Klaus Kinski is in the movie. Third, Commando Leopard is quite ambitious with at least 3 large-scale destruction/explosion scenes. There's a sense of enthusiasm to the affair that makes it easy to watch. Overall, it's one of the better examples of low-budget, exploitation film-making in the genre and era.

Italian B movies don't get better than this. Great cast, fantastic action sequences, great score and top notch direction from old hand Antonio Margheriti. If there was a trio of movies that should be released on DVD it is CODENAME WILDGEESE, this and THE COMMANDER. Maybe Anchor Bay will do the right thing and get it out on disc.