American Commando 6 Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		0.5
Overall		3.0

American Commando 6 Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Stephen Larson January 17, 2024

American Commando 6 (1987) is being released as part of Neon Eagle Video/Cauldron Films' two-disc set.

American Commando 6 was an attempt by Hong Kong distribution firm I.F.D. Film Arts to take footage from a prior film and integrate it with new footage that was shot for an additional plot. Writer/director Godfrey Ho, who used different pseudonyms for American Commando 6 just as he did for other films for I.F.D., sets the action in urban and forest areas in Hong Kong. The "new" plot is about special agent Aaron Nolan (Mark Miller), who broke up the Garvino gang three years before the action of this film commences. But Garvino (Mike Abbott) is loose and has resumed running his drug operation. Aaron and his partner Rick Hammet (Mike Abbott) unite to thwart Garvino and his goons. The narrative takes bits and pieces from Kill Butterfly Kill (1982). It makes Donna, the nightclub entrepreneur from the earlier film, an ally to Aaron as he (actually both) try to take down drug kingpin Garvino.

Partners.

American Commando 6 weaves together the two plot threads in an attempt to make them seamless. But the hairstyles, lighting, and filming locations are starkly different. The dingy interiors and camera flares in the previous feature are contrasted with ultra-bright sunshine and '80s suits, shades, and summer apparel. Ho tries to convey that Aaron communicates with Donna either over the phone or filming behind the actor so it makes it seem there are shot/reverse-shot exchanges between the two. While American Commando 6 has a more straightforward plot than the film it's reworking, it works better than its predecessor because it's the leaner and more focused of the two. AC6 is a byproduct of a lot of American action/buddy films that saturated the global market in this era. There are some high-octane battles with Uzis on foot that generate some tangible suspense. Ho skillfully bookends the picture with two original chase scenes. It would have been better had American Commando 6 been its own film because there's more to explore in these characters, even if they are just generic archetypes for undercover agents and a drug kingpin.

American Commando 6 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The 1080p transfer of American Commando 6 has been restored from a 4K scan of the original camera negative. The picture appears in its assumed exhibition ratio of 2.40:1 on this MPEG-4 AVC-encoded BD-50, which is region free. (The preexisting footage from Kill Butterfly Kill looks about the same as it did on the other disc in this set.) While there's a little smattering of yellow dye in the opening credits, the image is largely free of any stains throughout. As I mentioned in the main part of the review, the image is often extremely bright and may have been shot in some sultry conditions. Look at how good the greens appear on the train and leaves in Screenshot #20. Ditto for the trees around Garvino's hideaway in capture #s 6 and 16-17, as well as the first forest scene. I noticed more coarse grain in a later forest scene (see #15). Skin tones don't appear like they've been tinkered with at all. Neon Eagle has encoded the feature at a rough average video bitrate of 34717 kbps.

Neon includes eleven chapters for the 90-minute feature.

American Commando 6 Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Neon Eagle has supplied an English DTS-HD Master Audio Dual Mono mix (1582 kbps, 16-bit). I can't determine with certainty if the actors dubbed their own lines or how much dubbing was recorded in post, but it seems that most of the actors actually spoke their lines on location. Delivery sounds more natural than the dub done for Kill Butterfly Kill. The audio master is also in substantially better shape than KBK. There are far fewer defects and anomalies on the track. Electronic music accompanies the film. Godfrey Ho stated in an interview with HKCinemagic that he'd frequently insert "can music" into his films that supposedly was in the public domain and not subject to any' copyright restrictions. Other times, I.F.D. would ask composers if they could incorporate their music into the sound track. Viewers who have seen American Commando 6 repeatedly have recognized the ballads "Arca" by Richard Norris, "Divine Particles" by Takkra, and "Oxygene Part 1" by Jean-Michael Jarre, Maurice's son.

The film can also be played with optional English SDH.

American Commando 6 Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• American Commando 6: Kill Butterfly Kill Trailer (2:14, 1080p) - this trailer was produced ca. 1987 and includes footage from both American Commando 6 and the original 1982 production. It's presented in about 2:40:1 with an English DTS-HD Master Audio Dual Mono mix (1609 kbps, 16-bit). This film-sourced trailer hasn't been completely restored. The American Commando 6 footage is in better condition than Underground Wife's archival footage.

• IFD Trailer Compilation (31:28, upconverted to 1080p) - this reel comprises about thirteen trailers. Before playback begins, the following text (in white) appears on a black screen: "IFD trailers sourced from standard definition masters; The film elements for these trailers are lost. Use the chapter buttons on your remote to navigate through the trailer reel."

American Commando 6 Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

American Commando 6 carries nostalgic value for the adventurous escapades and Uzi battles that it amusingly borrows from '80s US action films. I don't know how popular AC6 was on video or cable then but I.F.D. Film Arts' strategy was wise: increase the "exportability" of its feature catalog by not only combining footage from different films to form hybrids, but also to borrow cinematic tropes outside of Hong Kong to make its films attractive to different market sectors and niche audiences. The 4K restoration undertaken by Neon Eagle Video looks remarkably clean with vibrant colors. I wish the boutique label had recorded a commentary track here as it did for Kill Butterfly Kill. Still, a RECOMMENDED title. I hope to see Neon release more ninja and kickboxing films helmed by Godfrey Ho.