Blue Thunder

Rating:
Summary: Blue Thunder: One Well-Oiled Machine
Review: "Blue Thunder" is about as perfect as a B-grade thriller can get. It has all the right clichés: the tortured Vietnam vet, the inexperienced sidekick, the grumpy boss, the slimy and smart villain. And, of course, there's the "MacGuffin", an old Alfred Hitchcock term for a particular object in a movie that everyone pursues. In this case, the MacGuffin is a prototype helicopter, presumably being loaned to the LAPD to head off potential terrorist [movements] during the Olympic Games (this movie was made in 1983, a year before the games in Los Angeles. At one point in the film, a police dispatcher describes a robbery suspect as a "male negro". Gives you sort of an idea of how long ago 1983 really was).

Murphy (Roy Scheider) is an LAPD helicopter pilot suffering from a pesky case of post-traumatic-stress disorder. His delicate psychological condition has Murphy one step away from forced retirement, and nobody really wants to fly with him. Luckily, his new partner, Lymangood (Daniel Stern), is too young and naive to know about Murphy's problems. He clearly experienced some pretty horrible things over in the Nam, and one night, while attempting to rescue a city councilwoman from two thugs, he has a flashback to when he witnessed the murder of an enemy soldier.

Later, after the councilwoman dies from her injuries, Murphy suspects that her murder wasn't the result of a crude rape attempt, as the brass are trying to imply. It may have something to do with the new police helicopter they're trying out. Blue Thunder is essentially a tank with propellers. It's heavily armored and has a wicked-looking machine gun mounted on the nose. It also has surveillance equipment that can "see" people through walls via their body heat and hear any words that are spoken above a bedroom murmur. The technology, particularly the computer gear, seem archaic nowadays, of course, but it looked pretty impressive back in the days of New Wave and the Evil Empire.

Murphy has his misgivings about the chopper, particularly when, during a demonstration, it mows down not only a bunch of cardboard dummies representing terrorists but a few of the ones that represent innocent bystanders.

"One [dead] civilian for every ten terrorists is an acceptable ratio," one of the shady government men manages to tell Murphy with a straight face.

"Not if you're the civilian," Murphy responds.

Another federal rep involved in the project is a pilot from Murphy's Vietnam days, a snobby British fellow named F.E. Cochran (Malcom McDowell). Try to figure out what those initials stand for. There is no love lost between these two.

While taking the chopper on a test ride, Murphy and Lymangood inadvertently record Cochran and his associates discussing their real motives behind the Blue Thunder project, which may include killing Murphy. What follows is a mad dash for the incriminating tape; Murphy hijacks the copter and enlists the aid of his girlfriend, Kate (who is possibly the most reckless driver in movie history) to get the info to the public. Director John Badham deftly handles a great climax in which Cochran and Murphy chase each other in the L.A. skies. My personal favorite moment is a comical sequence involving heat-seeking missiles and a barbecue chicken shack. Nearly the entire film is shot with a hand-held camera, giving it a rough, documentarian feel that I liked a lot.

The cast is pretty much top drawer, but the late great Warren Oates steals the whole picture as Murphy's commander, Captain Braddock. Oates continually spews venom and offers paternal advice to Murphy, occasionally doing both at the same time. He also gets all the best one-liners. My favorite:

Shady government guy: "Did you know Murphy checks his sanity with a wristwatch?"

Braddock: "What do you check yours with, a dipstick?"

Badham has a few good movies under his belt ("Saturday Night Fever", "Stakeout") and quite a few bad ones ("Point of No Return", "Short Circuit"). "Blue Thunder" is basic good Badham: it's no classic, but it gets the job done.

Rating:
Summary: Still revelant 20 years later...
Review: "Blue Thunder" is an experimental police helicopter planned to keep LA safe by the time the Olympics come to town (this flick came out a year or two before the '84 Summer games). Clothed in armour plating, boosted by powerul, turbo-charged engines, and carrying a 20MM rotary cannon in her nose, Blue Thunder is a two-man, flying SWAT team. Muscle aside, the chopper also bristles with sophisticated surveillance gear centered around a computer that can hook into any other mainframe in America. Though Thunder has been evaluated throroughly by the US Army, the authorities want one of LAPD's own pilots to test-fly the chopper across LA's skies.

The pilot, however, is Murphy (Scheider), a burnt-out flier who drove gunships for the army in Vietnam. After catching a dazzling demonstration of Blue Thunder's power (on a mockup town full of white and red dummies symbolizing by-standers and terrorists), Murphy learns that the army's chief test-pilot is FE Cochrane (McDowell, keeping a lot of his accent despite playing an army colonel), his commander in Vietnam, and a brutal sadist. Cochrane aside, Murphy has other problems - mostly involving unfavorable psych evals, and a suspension resulting from their failure to support cops in the ground in a botched attempt to save the life of a controversial city politician. Nevertheless cleared to fly the chopper, Murphy and LAPD flight observer Lymangood (Daniel Stern) fly outside their assigned plan and, using the chopper's electronic gear against its developers, learn of their darker intentions for the super chopper (without giving away anything, let's just say that this flick has some strangely prophetic ideas on the "Homeland Security" issue). Recording proof against Blue Thunder's developers, and hoping to hold out long enough for his girlfriend to contact the media with proof that will ground Blue Thunder for good, Murphy hijacks the chopper and finds himself targeted by everybody. Other cops and the USAF soon find their hardware isn't enough against Murphy, meaning that Cochrane himself will have to finish the job, setting the stage for an epic low-level chopper-dogfight among the city streets of LA, looking sort of like a car chase from one of those 70's cop shows, only using helicopters instead of that "Gran Torino".

"Blue Thunder" is an excellent movie. The flight scenes are fantastic, the special effects are great and everything is held together by an edgy electronic score and cinematography taht highlights the story's paranoia (if you saw "The Insider", you've got the idea). More than that is how much fun the characters have with their roles - the light banter between Stern and Scheider and Warren Oates (as Murphy's boss) keeps things going until we actually get to see the super-chopper in action. Even then, the script builds up to Cochrane and Murphy's battle-royale, straps you in and never lets go.

Rating:
Summary: Crosses "X-Files", "Top Gun" and "Starsky & Hutch"
Review: "Blue Thunder" is an experimental police helicopter planned to keep LA safe by the time the Olympics come to town (this flick came out a year or two before the '84 Summer games). Clothed in armour plating, boosted by powerul, turbo-charged engines, and carrying a 20MM rotary cannon in her nose, Blue Thunder is a two-man, flying SWAT team. Muscle aside, the chopper also bristles with sophisticated surveillance gear centered around a computer that can hook into any other mainframe in America. Though Thunder has been evaluated throroughly by the US Army, the authorities want one of LAPD's own pilots to test-fly the chopper across LA's skies.

The pilot, however, is Murphy (Scheider), a burnt-out flier who drove gunships for the army in Vietnam. After catching a dazzling demonstration of Blue Thunder's power (on a mockup town full of white and red dummies symbolizing by-standers and terrorists), Murphy learns that the army's chief test-pilot is FE Cochrane (McDowell, keeping a lot of his accent despite playing an army colonel), his commander in Vietnam, and a brutal sadist. Cochrane aside, Murphy has other problems - mostly involving unfavorable psych evals, and a suspension resulting from their failure to support cops in the ground in a botched attempt to save the life of a controversial city politician. Nevertheless cleared to fly the chopper, Murphy and LAPD flight observer Lymangood (Daniel Stern) fly outside their assigned plan and, using the chopper's electronic gear against its developers, learn of their darker intentions for the super chopper (without giving away anything, let's just say that this flick has some strangely prophetic ideas on the "Homeland Security" issue). Recording proof against Blue Thunder's developers, and hoping to hold out long enough for his girlfriend to contact the media with proof that will ground Blue Thunder for good, Murphy hijacks the chopper and finds himself targeted by everybody. Other cops and the USAF soon find their hardware isn't enough against Murphy, meaning that Cochrane himself will have to finish the job, setting the stage for an epic low-level chopper-dogfight among the city streets of LA, looking sort of like a car chase from one of those 70's cop shows, only using helicopters instead of that "Gran Torino".

"Blue Thunder" is an excellent movie. The flight scenes are fantastic, the special effects are great and everything is held together by an edgy electronic score and cinematography taht highlights the story's paranoia (if you saw "The Insider", you've got the idea). More than that is how much fun the characters have with their roles - the light banter between Stern and Scheider and Warren Oates (as Murphy's boss) keeps things going until we actually get to see the super-chopper in action. Even then, the script builds up to Cochrane and Murphy's battle-royale, straps you in and never lets go.

Rating:
Summary: One of the best high flying action films ever, A must see
Review:

As a boy growing up in the 80's, this was just about as cool as it got this side of Star Wars. Although my tastes have become somewhat more sophisticated over the years, I still enjoy a well-crafted action movie, and this certainly qualifies. Although the movie at times becomes campy due to overacting or poorly choreographed action sequences (hey, Badham didn't have $150M to work with, OK?) the movie's themes regarding the dangers of advanced technology as a tool of repression and protection of the homeland against terrorists still ring true. And besides, the helicopter is still really cool, even if the cockpit is reminiscent of Knight Rider's KITT (another 80's must).

Technically, the film is quite good overall. Especially in the chase scenes, one gets the feeling that Badham and his crew spent hundreds of hours in the air to get the quality and quantity of footage necessary to pull this movie off. The editing, however, leaves something to be desired at times, particularly the ADR, which on numerous occasions does not appear to match the actors' mouth movements. Otherwise, however, the film is masterful, especially considering the technology used to edit it at the time.

If you are looking for high art, look elsewhere. If you are looking for Matrix-like special effects, look elsewhere. If you are looking for an entertaining action movie from the Reagan era, you're in the right place.

Rating:
Summary: Still Cool After All These Years
Review:

As a boy growing up in the 80's, this was just about as cool as it got this side of Star Wars. Although my tastes have become somewhat more sophisticated over the years, I still enjoy a well-crafted action movie, and this certainly qualifies. Although the movie at times becomes campy due to overacting or poorly choreographed action sequences (hey, Badham didn't have $150M to work with, OK?) the movie's themes regarding the dangers of advanced technology as a tool of repression and protection of the homeland against terrorists still ring true. And besides, the helicopter is still really cool, even if the cockpit is reminiscent of Knight Rider's KITT (another 80's must).

Technically, the film is quite good overall. Especially in the chase scenes, one gets the feeling that Badham and his crew spent hundreds of hours in the air to get the quality and quantity of footage necessary to pull this movie off. The editing, however, leaves something to be desired at times, particularly the ADR, which on numerous occasions does not appear to match the actors' mouth movements. Otherwise, however, the film is masterful, especially considering the technology used to edit it at the time.

If you are looking for high art, look elsewhere. If you are looking for Matrix-like special effects, look elsewhere. If you are looking for an entertaining action movie from the Reagan era, you're in the right place.

Rating:
Summary: Still revelant 20 years later...
Review: After seeing reviews on this flick, I decided to pick it up at the local Media Play. I remembered loving the t.v. show as a kid, but I never got a chance to see the film on which it was based. Let me just say it's a great 80's action movie. Roy Scheider gives an impassioned performance as an L.A.P.D. chopper pilot on the edge. When he signs up to test a new, powerful military helicopter (for use in urban warfare-here!), he soon realizes the potential danger it poses to the general public. I'll leave it at that. For anyone who feels just a little uneasy about the encroachment on civil liberties since 9/11, this movie hits home. If you haven't thought about it, you will after seeing this. I thought silent, black helicopters didn't exist? Maybe they're blue...

Rating:
Summary: Blue Thunder Bowl ...
Review: An iron-plated Huey gunship with duel-mounted .50 caliber machine guns threatens to destroy the world. Only Roy Sheider can save the day by hanging off a flagpole on the side of a building and firing a rifle at Blue Thunder's gas tank, causing the shark to explode and then Sheriff Brody has to swim back to shore with a guy who has been "counting money all [his] life". Something like that. Blue Thunder had slightly less appeal than the hit tv series "Airwolf" (starring critically acclaimed alcoholic wife-beater, Jan Michael Vincent). As the film moves toward the end, you will look back and realize that the woman getting naked in the first 15 minutes of the movie was the best part ... and you will want to rewind it and watch that part again. If Popeye, Iron Eagle, and Red Dawn are in your movie collection, you may as well round it off and purchase Blue Thunder as well.

Rating:
Summary: Blue Thunder Bowl ...
Review: An iron-plated Huey gunship with duel-mounted .50 caliber machine guns threatens to destroy the world. Only Roy Sheider can save the day by hanging off a flagpole on the side of a building and firing a rifle at Blue Thunder's gas tank, causing the shark to explode and then Sheriff Brody has to swim back to shore with a guy who has been "counting money all [his] life". Something like that. Blue Thunder had slightly less appeal than the hit tv series "Airwolf" (starring critically acclaimed alcoholic wife-beater, Jan Michael Vincent). As the film moves toward the end, you will look back and realize that the woman getting naked in the first 15 minutes of the movie was the best part ... and you will want to rewind it and watch that part again. If Popeye, Iron Eagle, and Red Dawn are in your movie collection, you may as well round it off and purchase Blue Thunder as well.

Rating:
Summary: Blue Thunder
Review: Blue Thunder is a good film. Not great, but good. It's biggest boost comes from actors Roy Scheider (Jaws) and the late Warren Oats (The Wild Bunch, Stripes). Warren Oats gives his captain role enough witty sarcasm to make other actors in kind take note. This was his last film performance. If your a fan of either actor that of it's self is reason to own the film. The Arthur Rubinstein music score also helps give the film a pulse (note: to give the music a haunting effect, Rubinstein placed a microphone in a water cooler bottle and set it underneath a Grand Piano while recording some tracks).

As for the story, it tends to lose the pace of the film at a point but that pales in comparison to other, more obvious flaws. Things like a boom mic in a shot, or continuity mistakes like that found in Lymangood's death (note: watch his hands).

The herald of Blue Thunder coming forward with the Pinkville sunrise in the background is just as menacing now as it was for a certain nineteen year old who saw it in '82. The climactic duel between Murphy and Cochrane (Malcolm McDowell) is also one of the films best moments even if it was imposible. There are little features to be had on this DVD, this might hurt any must-have-it-all collectors like myself, but for me one reason was all I needed to purchase Blue Thunder, ...memories.

Rating:
Summary: Great action epic...holds up even better today
Review: BLUE THUNDER is an outstanding action film that holds its own, and even surpasses some of today's Hollywood escapists fare.

The futuristic premise concerning the ominous prospect of the L.A. police experimenting with military hardware in preparation for the Olympics is even more profound in this day and age then it was twenty years ago.

The hero, played by veteran actor Roy Scheider of Jaws fame, is an L.A. police helicopter pilot assigned to test pilot an experimental attack helicopter. Later he becomes disturbed by the implications of the department using such a monstrous attack vehicle in an urban setting. Which puts him at odds with the projects secret sponsors.

Blue Thunder does an excellent job of combining elements of the action genre with the police thriller. Famed N.Y. film critic Pauline Kael described the film as "elegantly kicky" and that John Alonzo's night time cinematography gave the film's night shots "a psychedelic, futuristic quality like (the film) Alphaville." Alonzo's hard photography does give the night scenes on the DVD a particularly radiant and atmospheric mood.

The film's only few setbacks are mainly in the first half. After a great, documentary like opener, the plot shifts into low gear. And only glosses over the intrigue and socio-political implications when it would've fared much better had it delved deeper into them. Like in one clever scene at a military demonstration site.

Fortunately, by the middle of the film things take a turbo charged turn as the hero and his side-kick uncover the sinister goings on and are forced to take drastic action. The aerial combat scenes are exhilirating. While the car chases on the ground provide an amusing counterpoint to an action convention.

All in all, a great DVD. Providing great acting, an intriguing premise and thrilling action.