Gene Simmons and Nick Nolte were in the mix before Arnold got the movie.
Bennett was supposed to be played by Wings Hauser ('Wingshouser' in the transcript), who was fired on the first day and replaced by Vernon Wells.
The director wanted Raul Julia as Arias, which would have made sense, but they went with Dan Hedaya.
John McTiernan ('John McTurne' in the transcript) was offered the chance to direct, turned it down and went on to direct Predator.

Recasting Couch

Gary Carlos Cervantes in Dan Hedaya's role; Esai Morales as a younger dictator

In the discussion (4)

Approx. transcript time · 01:04:38Read transcript

The question is which Latino actor should have had Dan Hedaya's role, without defaulting to Jimmy Smits; Edward James Olmos ('Edward James almost' in the transcript) is considered but judged too good an actor.
Move Gary Cervantes, already in the film as the man with the 'I love you' note who explains the plan to Arnold, into the dictator role for his slimeball energy. — Shea Serrano
Esai Morales ('SI Morales' in the transcript) could have been shoehorned in as a younger deposed dictator or the dictator's son.
That actor owns the room against a fully furious Arnold ('mellow out, man').

Half-Assed Internet Research

Filming locations; the dangling-stunt refusal; the cut love scene; Sunbeam Alpine; body count of 109

In the discussion (8)

Approx. transcript time · 01:06:15Read transcript

The mall was the Sherman Oaks mall, which still exists; the Val Verde island is San Nicolas Island ('Nicholas' in the transcript) off Santa Barbara; the climax compound is the Harold Lloyd Estate in Beverly Hills.
The same house hosted Beverly Hills Cop's final shootout a year earlier.
Mark Lester wanted Arnold to dangle David Patrick Kelly over the edge unaided; Arnold refused and a crane was used.
One account says the love scene was shot and cut; it was reportedly meant for the amphibious plane, which makes no sense with a knife at his daughter's throat.
Rae Dawn Chong's wrecked red car is a Sunbeam Alpine, a 1960s British sports car.
The body-count guess is 206. — Shea Serrano
Other guesses are 185 and 85; the official count is 109, with 102 killed by Arnold and seven by others.
It is likely the most deaths in an Arnold movie; 300 is cited as a film where about 300 die.

Picking Nits

Healed shoulder wound; Jenny's schooling; uncomfortable father-daughter scenes; unfazed car crash; convenient seaplane pilot; flight attendant flying a seaplane; barefoot hike

In the discussion (9)

Approx. transcript time · 01:14:03Read transcript

Arnold is shot in the shoulder, offers to fight one-armed, and two minutes later uses both arms as if the wound healed.
The wound was needed to make the Bennett fight plausible at all, like the end of Gladiator, where Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix) will not fight Russell Crowe's character unless he is wounded.
It is unclear whether Jenny goes to school or whether they are in hiding while still getting ice cream; the house was easy for the killers to find.
The father-daughter opening is uncomfortable, shot like a harlequin romance with kisses on the lips and an 'I love you' sign; he carries her like a small child at the end.
Rae Dawn Chong's character is not upset enough when her British sports car is wrecked, and nobody is hurt in the crash.
They conveniently find a seaplane she can fly, and she seemingly naps through the shootout.
The seaplane base guarded by Uzi fire is in L.A., and a flight attendant trained only on a Cessna flying a seaplane is doubted.
Why the villains did not kill the daughter once Arnold escaped is raised, then withdrawn after it is explained that they learn of the escape late; the host likens missing it to Tom Brady missing a read.
In the opening, Arnold carries his barefoot daughter across rocks on a hike.

Probably Unanswerable Questions

Why no Commando 2; what happened to Val Verde; life after the plane lands; the most indefensible non-sequel

In the discussion (6)

Approx. transcript time · 01:20:22Read transcript

Why no Commando 2, when sequels such as Rambo 2, Lethal Weapon 2, Rocky IV and a long-planned Terminator 2 were working? Maybe Arnold was uninterested or annoyed he only got a thumbs up instead of a full review.
Arnold's schedule (Raw Deal in 86, Predator and Running Man in 87, Red Heat in 88) left room if Raw Deal or Red Heat were swapped out.
Val Verde was reused in more than one movie by the same producer, so why did it not become the go-to fictional country like Wakanda or Zamunda?
After landing, do they face charges, since she might have killed two cops with the rocket launcher, and what becomes of Ray Dawn and Arnold? One view says she is falling for him; another says she stayed only to see the girl.
Of Commando 2, Roadhouse 2 with Swayze and Point Break 2 with Reeves, Point Break 2 is the bigger miss; Bodhi should return only in Point Break 4, and Fast and Furious shows the formula works.
A Commando sequel with Danny Glover replacing Arnold is not the formula.