 Lester entered the mainstream in 1984 with the Stephen King adaptation "Firestarter", and had his biggest hit the following year with "Commando", a big-budget Joel Silver-produced Arnold Schwarzenegger action film that grossed over $57 million worldwide.He also directed and produced his sole comedy, "Armed and Dangerous" starring John Candy, Eugene Levy and Meg Ryan in 1986.In 1990, he directed "Class of 1999", a semi-sequel to "Class of 1984" starring Malcolm McDowell, Pam Grier, and Stacy Keach.