BLUE THUNDER (1983) - Movie Review

Director: John Badham
Starring: Roy Scheider, Daniel Stern, Malcolm McDowell, Candy Clark, Warren Oates
Genre: Action, Thriller, Crime
Writer: Dan O'Bannon, Don Jakoby, Dean Riesner
Runtime: 109 min
Rated: R
Buy This Movie: Blu-ray (Amazon), DVD (Amazon), Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV

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Synopsis:

Roy Scheider stars in this intense action thriller as a courageous police officer pilot battling government fanatics planning to misuse an experimental attack helicopter. Chosen to test BLUE THUNDER,Frank Murphy (Scheider) is amazed by the high-speed, high-tech chopper. It can see through walls, record a whisper or level a city block. Distrusting the military mentality behind BLUE THUNDER, Murphy and his partner Lymangood (Daniel Stern) soon discover that the remarkable craft is slated for useas the ultimate weapon in surveillance and crowd control. Jeopardized after being discovered by sinister Colonel Cochrane (Malcolm McDowell), Murphy flies BLUE THUNDER against military aircraft in a spellbinding contest over Los Angeles.

Review:

Ah, the good old '80s ! It's funny how these days filmmakers are so eager to cash in on the '80s craze. There were some fun movies in those days for sure, but it's really just the nostalgia that Hollywood is baiting us with. Reviving the sounds and look of '80s movies is nice and all, but people also forget that there were a lot of bad '80s movies, as well.

"Blue Thunder" is not a bad movie, but it's not really a good one, either. The plot is just a set-up for big and loud helicopter action. They do attempt to make some commentary about the dangers of authoritarian police state, and there are some creepy moments of unjustifiable invasion of privacy (from our protagonist, no less), but underneath the meandering plot this is just a silly conspiracy thriller without much tension or intelligence. Not to mention that all the tech and worse-case scenarios in the movie are all badly dated by today's standards, since modern day surveillance is 1000% worse, and don't even get me started on the Internet.

The acting is okay. Nobody phones it in, but they don't bring their "A" game, either. Scheider is as cool as a cucumber, Stern is fun as his sidekick, and McDowell is loathsome as the dastardly villain (moustache twirling and all). Candy Clark delivers a spirited, lively performance as our hero's girlfriend, who also gets to do some daredevil driving in the third act.

Now, the third act is what it's all about. For about 30 minutes, the movie goes all out with an impressive number of set pieces involving the titular helicopter and targets both in the air, and on the ground, civillian casualties be damned. There are some very impressive aerial stunts, and to my surprise, very few visual effects were used. A few of the miniatures and optical effects look a bit dated, but don't detract from the experience. I can't stress enough how good the real stunts look, and the Oscar-nominated editing creates a sense of excitement and urgency. Top-notch stuff, especially for 1983.

As a techno-thriller, it's pretty weak sauce, but it makes up for it with some impressive set pieces and incredible stunts, so it's worth checking out if you like that sort of stuff, or if you suffer from '80s nostalgia.

SCORE: 6/10