Commando

As far as 80's action films go, Commando is probably the stupidest. Big explosions, IMPOSSIBLE stunts, and some of the worst dialogue ever written for a film, make up this Arnold schlock-fest. Despite that, it also served as one of the earlier projects in James Horner's career, alongside with Aliens (released in 1985 as well). Unlike Aliens, which boasted impressive action music and a bombastic orchestral score, Commando is the polar opposite. It relies on the stereotypical 80's sound, electronic keyboards, wailing guitars, and pounding percussion.

As far as the music goes in Commando, it's really nothing special. Listen to almost any action score from the 80's and compare it with this. There really isn't much difference. Occasionally Horner does exhibit some interesting technique which he employs in a few of his later scores. The jazzy saxophone motifs (specifically in 'Ambush and kidnapping') are also a nice touch. The action music is pretty standard, though. The final track, 'Infiltration, Showdown, and Finale' (a whopping 14 minutes) is about as interesting as it gets.

There have been many action scores throughout the 80's, and Commando is about as generic as they come. Despite having a short time to work on Aliens, Horner provided a much better score for that film. It really isn't his fault though. The film is pretty bad (not too mention corny). If you really like James Horner and need to have all of his scores, Commando certainly isn't his worst. If you don't really enjoy 80's synthesizer music, skip it.