TeenzTen An action-packed slog

Invaderbank The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

Sameer Callahan It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

Ezmae Chang This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

Scott LeBrun Action genre star Michael Dudikoff here gets a chance to stretch himself ever so slightly, playing a more potty mouthed character than usual. He's a former military man now working as an oil refinery inspector in the Middle East. He almost immediately gets caught up in a conspiracy to take over the oil rich country of "Qumir", and is thought to be an American operative gone bad. He works his way up the chain of command as he attempts to find out who is behind the plot, and in the meantime banters with a sexy American agent (Keren Tishman) whose name *might* be Maya.The Cannon Group was making its last gasp with programmers such as this one. Directed by David Worth, it lacks distinction for the most part. The action scenes are passable, the opening credits sequence is stylish, and the photography is reasonably impressive. The story is absolutely nothing special. This doesn't mean, however, that the movie isn't without some pleasures. It's got a flamboyant villain in the form of Todd Curtis' mercenary Rawlings, who has a hilariously bad hair day throughout. The final fight between Dudikoff and Curtis is pretty fun. "Chain of Command" gets another shot in the arm thanks to reliable veteran R. Lee Ermey, who's a pleasure to watch as a slick oil company kingpin. Dudikoff himself delivers a fairly engaging performance, and has some mild chemistry with Tishman.Mostly recommended just to die hard Cannon Group completists and Dudikoff fans.Five out of 10.

briantrash My rating: 4 out of 10 (didn't care for it) 'Chain of Command' is a direct-to-video actioner, the last film and dying breath of The Cannon Group.Well, for those who watch these kind of films regularly I hardly need to describe it. It's merely a variation on the same movie you've seen many times before, par for the course. The script doesn't make much sense a lot of the time and the acting is flimsy with very little if any character development, but that's okay because those things only exist to provide a framework for lots and lots of low budget shooting, stabbing, and exploding.Watching the action sequences, I started feeling kind of nostalgic because they are sooo 70's and 80's in style – lots of slo-mo. Slo-mo of guys flying through the air when a grenade goes off, slo-mo of guys falling from ledges after getting shot, slo-mo of bombs exploding…so dramatic! Anyone who grew up watching television in that era knows the style I'm talking about; I guess at the time we all thought it was very theatrical. I suppose that technique hasn't been totally abandoned today, but still...the way it's done in films of that time has a look all its own.Another element of the style that I got a kick out of was the way the main character can stand right out in the open in a gunfight without a care in the world. Despite there being a group of at least 10 guys blasting away at him he never gets a scratch, and, of course, manages to easily shoot every one them. Silly...oh well, you can't complain too much because even great movies like Star Wars pulled that kind of stuff.Funny, too, are such wonderful scenes as when the villain has our weaponless hero on the run and forces him to take cover behind a hotel bar. Does the villain, emboldened by the fact that he has two submachine guns and our hero has nothing, walk behind the bar and shoot our hero at point blank range? No! He proceeds to use up every last bullet firing at the bar, the drinks, the stools, the mirror behind the bar, and the ceiling, finally stopping when he runs out of ammo so that our hero can make a run for it.What we have here is a case of little boys who like to play with little firecrackers growing up into big boys who like to make movies where they play with big firecrackers. Films like this are really for one purpose...destruction porn. The thrill of watching all kinds of stuff get smashed or blown up. Now don't get me wrong, I'm no different than the next guy. I love a good action movie. But I also like an interesting script and engaging characters.I said before that the acting's pretty flimsy but I guess I can't totally rip all of the performers in this movie. Michael Dudikoff, a legend of this genre, is really not all that bad at times. R. Lee Ermey is in this! Now there's an instantly recognizable character actor. Ermey's main henchman, Todd Curtis, has some surprisingly good acting chops; I actually found him to be the most natural and believable. Looking on IMDb I see that his resume ends not long after this movie, though. I wonder what happened.Anyway, to sum up...movies like this are made for people who LIKE movies like this, and who am I to judge? It's not my cup of tea, but if you love tongue-in-cheek action flicks then you'll probably get a kick out of this. It has all the right ingredients: the unstoppable hero, the hot girl, the cheesy dialogue, and a healthy dose of mayhem and destruction.

callanvass This is a fairly entertaining time waster,with a decent enough story and an amazing performance from Michael Dudikoff!. Most of the characters were good, and it had some cool action scenes, plus Michael Dudikoff is simply amazing in this!.Dudikoff carries this film, in my opinion, and he plays a really cool foul mouthed bad ass character, plus R Lee. Emery was great in his role!. The opening is somewhat disturbing, and the main fight at the end between Dudikoff and Todd Curtis is pretty decent, plus i thought Dudikoff's acting was fantastic!. However while Keren Tishman is stunningly gorgeous, she can't act, and her character was extremely grating, plus her and Dudikoff did not have any chemistry together what so ever in my opinion!. One scene that was unintentionally hilarious is when Rawlings (Tony Vurtis, main villain), ties up Maya (Keren Tishman), to a pool table, and some of the dialog was pretty bad however i kind of enjoyed it. This is a fairly entertaining time waster, with a decent enough story and an amazing performance from Michael Dudikoff!, worth the watch. The Direction is decent. David Worth does a decent job here, with some good camera work, good angles and keeping the film watchable throughout!. There is a tiny bit of blood and gore. We get quite a few bloody gunshot wounds, minor wounds and a very bloody impaling!. The Acting is pretty good. Michael Dudikoff is AMAZING as always, and is amazing here, he is very funny, played a really cool character, was fantastic in the acting department, was clearly enjoying himself, had some cool lines, and just did an amazing job overall! (Dudikoff Rules!!). Todd Curtis plays a bland villain here, and over acted, he wasn't that menacing, however he did seem to be enjoying himself. Keren Tishman is absolutely terrible here, she is stunningly gorgeous, but didn't convince me and had no chemistry with Duikoff, she also annoying, however she is very sexy!. R. Lee Ermey is great in his role, he had a cool character, however i wished he had more screen time, he's awesome!. Rest of the cast do okay. Overall worth the watch. **1/2 out of 5

MichaelM24 Unusual for Michael Dudikoff, he plays a foul-mouthed character, an ex-Green Beret who now works for an American oil company in a foreign country. The "F" word flies left and right from the Dudemeister's mouth as he winds up the only survivor of a massacre at the refinery he's there to inspect. He ultimately learns that his superiors are up to no good, lead by Lee Ermey. Not one of my favorite Dudikoff films, but there's some good moments throughout. The opening titles are pretty cool, with the credits set against a montage of oil fields with some cool music playing, Keren Tishman is gorgeous in her (to date) one and only film role, and the long climactic fight between Dudikoff and Todd Curtis is well-executed. But, it doesn't make the list as one of my favorite Dudikoff films.