''Command Performance'' is a 2009 American

action film Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include life ...

starring and directed by

Dolph Lundgren Hans Lundgren (, ; born 3 November 1957), better known as Dolph Lundgren, is a Swedish actor, filmmaker and martial artist. His breakthrough came in 1985, when he starred in ''Rocky IV'' as the imposing Soviet boxer Ivan Drago. Since then, Lu ...

, also written with

Steve Latshaw Steve Latshaw (b 1959) is an American screenwriter, producer and director. He has written a number of films for Jim Wynorski and Fred Olen Ray. He began his career working in television. He started making films with Fred Olen Ray in Florida. He m ...

. The film co-stars

Melissa Smith Melissa Smith (born June 4, 1982), better known by her stage name Melissa Molinaro, is a Canadian-American pop singer, actress, dancer, choreographer and model. She is perhaps best known for her reality TV appearances on '' Making the Band 3'' a ...

Hristo Shopov Hristo Naumov Shopov ( bg, Христо Наумов Шопов; born 4 January 1964) is a Bulgarian actor. Shopov's father, Naum Shopov, was a famous Bulgarian actor as well. He is most noted for his 2004 portrayal of Pontius Pilate in Mel Gi ...

Dave Legeno David Legeno (12 October 1963 – 2 or 3 July 2014) was a British actor and mixed martial artist. Life and career Legeno was born David Steven Murray in Marylebone, London, England. Legeno's first major film role was in Guy Ritchie's '' ...

and Lundgren's real life daughter Ida Lundgren in her first feature film debut. The film was released on

direct-to-DVD Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, TV series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strategy was p ...

in the United States on November 3, 2009. The film was premiered at the Ischia Global Film & Music Festival on July 18, 2009. Filming took place between August and September 2008 in

Sofia, Bulgaria Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and ha ...

and

Moscow, Russia Moscow ( , American English, US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia. The city stands on t ...

wanted to use his drumming skills on-screen, and the story was inspired by a concert

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

did for Russian President

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...

Plot

In August 1991, Communist military hard-liners attempted a coup against Soviet President

Mikhail Gorbachev Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (2 March 1931 – 30 August 2022) was a Soviet politician who served as the 8th and final leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 to dissolution of the Soviet Union, the country's dissolution in 1991. He served a ...

. The coup failed, and all its members were arrested; from the ashes of the old Soviet Union, the modern Russian Federation was born. At the request of

Russian president The president of the Russian Federation ( rus, Президент Российской Федерации, Prezident Rossiyskoy Federatsii) is the head of state of the Russian Federation. The president leads the executive branch of the federal ...

Alexei Petrov, whose daughters Anna and Yana are fans, pop sensation Venus performs a concert in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

. The concert turns bloody when armed men led by Oleg Kazov take the concertgoers hostage. It seems that Oleg has a personal vendetta against Petrov. Former biker gang member Joe, the drummer of CMF, the opening rock band, decides to fight the criminals. Back in the US, when Joe was still in the biker gang, Colombian drug dealers wanting to collect a debt went to Joe's apartment and fatally shot his brother. Joe hunted the men down and killed them, and ever since has tried to stay away from guns, because they remind him of his brother's murder. Most of the civilians and staff, including Venus's manager and brother Enzo, are killed by Oleg's men. The sole survivors are Joe, Venus, news reporter Ali Connor, American ambassador Jim Bradley, Presidential Security Service agent Mikhail Kapista, President Petrov, and his two daughters. It turns out that Oleg's father was Marshal Dmitri Kazov, a WWII hero in

Stalingrad Volgograd ( rus, Волгогра́д, a=ru-Volgograd.ogg, p=vəɫɡɐˈɡrat), geographical renaming, formerly Tsaritsyn (russian: Цари́цын, Tsarítsyn, label=none; ) (1589–1925), and Stalingrad (russian: Сталингра́д, Stal ...

, and former Soviet Minister of Defence, who led the failed coup against Gorbachev in 1991. Oleg was part of the coup as well. After the coup failed, special forces raided the Kazov house; in the chaos, Dmitri killed Oleg's mother and then himself. Oleg, then a captain in the Russian army, immigrated to the United States, where he got arrested for petty crimes, and ended up returning to Russia three weeks prior to the concert. The prosecutor of Marshal Dmitri Kazov, Oleg, and other coup members in 1991 was a young Alexei Petrov, before he became the president of Russia. Oleg thus organised the attack to seek revenge on Petrov, because he blames Petrov for the special forces raid that ended in his parents' deaths; Petrov ordered the raid and followed the troops into the Kazov house. It is up to Joe and Mikhail make their way through the arena, and bring down Oleg and his men.

Cast

as Joe Reynolds *

as Venus *

as President Alexei Petrov *

as Oleg Kazov *

Clement von Franckenstein Clement George Freiherr von und zu Franckenstein (28 May 1944 – 9 May 2019) was an English actor. He was best known for portraying President D'Astier in ''The American President'' (1995), the English Investor in '' Lionheart'' (1990), the Open ...

as Ambassador Jim Bradley * James Chalke as Vladimir *

Zahary Baharov Zahari Emilov Baharov ( bg, Захари Емилов Бахаров; born August 12, 1980) is a Bulgarian actor, best known for portraying the roles of Moth in ''Zift'' (2008), Ivo Andonov in the BNT series ''Undercover'' (2011–2016), and Lo ...

as Mikhail Kapista * Ivaylo Geraskov as Leonid Gordov * Shelly Varod as Ali Connor * Katarzyna Wolejnio as Maj. Pavlikova * Ida Lundgren as Anna Petrova * Robin Dobson as Yana Petrova * Raicho Vasilev as Anton * Slavi Slavov as Capt. Simenov * Naum Shopov as Peter * Atanas Srebrev as Enzo * Vladimir Kolev as Nikolai * Harry Anichkin as Gen. Voroshilov * Nikolai Iliev as Aide * Anna Kulinova as Bartender * Darin Angelov as Cameraman * Dejan Kamenov as Vasily * Rene Shindarov as Young Oleg Kazov * Nadejda Ivanova as Pretty Woman * Nikolai Stanoev as Ali's Soundman *

Yulian Vergov Julian Emilianov Vergov ( bg, Юлиан Емилиянов Вергов; born 15 July 1970) is a Bulgarian actor. He is best known for starring in the drama series ''Glass Home'' (2010–2012), and the medical drama '' Stolen Life'' (2017–201 ...

as Command Aide * Krasimir Todorov as D-2 Cmf * Yavor Alexandrov as D-2 Cmf * Alexander Obretenov as D-2 Cmf * Desislav Semerdjiev as D-2 Cmf * Dimitar Karnev as D-2 Cmf * Velislav Pavlov as Merc # 1 * Rosen Kovachev as Merc # 2 * Dimo Dimov as Merc # 3 * Tihomir Tenev as Merc # 4 * Lazar Nikolov as Merc # 5 * Goran Ganchev as Merc # 6 * Pasha as Suit # 1 * Mark Coolidge Johnson as Suit # 2 * Les Weldon as Suit # 3 * Ivaylo Spasimirov as Young President Petrov (uncredited) * Dimiter Doichinov as Terrorist (uncredited) *

Valentin Ganev Valentin Atanassov Ganev ( bg, Валентин Атанасов Ганев; born April 7, 1956) is a Bulgarian theatre and film actor and theatre director. Career Born in Ruse, Bulgaria, Ganev graduated from the All Russian State Institute for ...

as Secretary (uncredited) * Niki Iliev as Aide (uncredited) * Andrey Kovalev as 'Pilgrim' lead singer (uncredited) * Kathryn Le as Stage Manager (uncredited) * Roselbel Rafferr as Rock Girl (uncredited) *

Irson Kudikova Irina Igorevna Nusinova (russian: link=no, Ирина Игоревна Нусинова; born 17 September 1982), better known by her stage name Irson Kudikova (russian: link=no, Ирсон Кудикова), is a Russian pop singer, model, saxop ...

as Irson (uncredited)

Music

This movie features the songs "Breakdown" and "Girl" ("6" on the album version) from the band D2, ''Lost In Love'' from

, "Ne Gasite Svechu / Keep The Candle Burning" from Andrey Kovalev''Command Performance'' Soundtracks
''IMDb''. Retrieved June 10, 2015. and "September Rain" from

References

External links

* * *
First Look Studios

{{DEFAULTSORT:Command Performance 2009 films 2009 direct-to-video films 2009 action films American films about revenge American action films Films about singers Films about terrorism in Europe Films directed by Dolph Lundgren Films set in 1991 Films set in Moscow Films shot in Bulgaria Films shot in Moscow 2000s English-language films 2000s American films Films with screenplays by Dolph Lundgren