Commando, Part 18
[00:29:28–00:31:12]
Synopsis
Matrix tosses the convertible’s passenger seat aside and hops into the car. Meanwhile, Sully is nearby getting into a yellow Porsche. Matrix tells the flight attendant to do what he says. She responds that she has “a 7:30 advanced karate class and I can’t help you.” Matrix: “You’re not gonna make it.” Behind them, Sully peels out of his parking spot and accelerates away. Matrix tells the flight attendant to follow him. She responds, “I knew you were going to say that.” As they drive away, we see that Matrix is sitting low on the floor of the seat-less passenger side—presumably he removed the seat so that Sully wouldn’t see him.
Out on the highway, they tail Sully, but he doesn’t seem to notice. Matrix and the flight attendant have a brief exchange. “Don’t get offended by this question, but are you gonna kill me or something?” Matrix: “No.” The flight attendant: “I suppose you wouldn’t tell me if you were.” Matrix: “Sure I would.” “Really?” she asks. Matrix turns to look at her. “Trust me.”
They continue following Sully. Matrix says to stay close to him, and to speed up, and the red convertible zooms through an intersection, barely missing another car. The flight attendant asks Matrix to tell her what’s going on. Matrix sums it up: “Yeah. A guy I trusted for years wants me dead.” The flight attendant: “That’s understandable, I’ve only known you for five minutes and I want you dead, too.” Sully, just a few moments ahead of them, is still oblivious to their presence. He throws on his blinker and drives into another parking structure, and the red convertible follows.
Analysis
Much of this segment is dedicated to building the relationship between Matrix and the flight attendant (whose name we don’t know yet). We see already that she has a sense of humor, even in a perilous situation. Like Matrix, she’s willing to break out a one-liner even when in danger, telling him to his face that she wishes he was dead, while in the midst of basically being held hostage by him. This contributes to a pattern in the movie—the good guys have humor on their side, while for the most part the bad guys (particularly the would-be dictator) are pretty humorless. (With the notable exception of Bill Duke’s as-yet-unnamed goon, who got in a few nefarious japes in the opening assassination sequence.) Of course, that could partially be a matter of giving the heroes the best lines. But I do think there’s some intentionality in ensuring that whenever the audience is with the good guys, we’re having a good time.
The exchanges between Matrix and the flight attendant also introduce us to the excellent chemistry between Arnold Schwarzenegger and Rae Dawn Chong. He’s generally stone-faced, and she’s extremely animated, and the film uses that contrast to comedic advantage in this segment. In particular, after she gives her “I suppose you wouldn’t tell me if you were” line, he continues watching the road and delivers an almost offhanded “Sure I would.” Her “Really?” response, delivered with a tinge of hope, seems like she might actually believe him. When Matrix slowly turns toward her, he seems stunned that she responded to his jokey answer with that level of trust. His expression suggests a realization she’s a kindhearted, if perhaps a little naïve, person, and he says, “Trust me.”
“Sure I would.”
“Really?”
“Trust me.”
All this character development is done during what is essentially a low-key car chase, which is an indicator of the movie’s quick pace. Much of it is shot in simple close-ups of the characters in the cars, with a few wider driving shots serving basically as connective tissue between the dialogue exchanges. The one moment of vehicular excitement, when they narrowly miss hitting another car in the intersection, comes out of nowhere and almost feels like an interruption—a tribute to how entertaining it is to watch Matrix and the flight attendant get to know each other.
