Blue Thunder (1983)

Still scary after all these years

Blue Thunder

I first saw this movie over a decade ago (maybe two). Yes, it's a bit outdated by our standards and the music is really cheesy, but the story itself is still dramatic.

It starts with a night shift air patrol by policeman Frank Murphy and his new partner, Lymangood. They see a suspicious abandoned car and call it in. A few minutes later, that car disappears just as a female city commissioner is assaulted and shot on the same private dead-end street. She ends up in dying and the police blame it on an attempted rape, although it was something completely different. And she's the Chairman of the Committee on Urban Violence so she's not just any city commissioner.

You sense a cover-up from the beginning, but the real intrigue begins when Murphy is set up to test a new military surveillance helicopter called Blue Thunder. Then things get really scary. This was filmed back before the government used satellites to watch everyone, so the idea that the government could see right into your home was really creepy. Of course, that's changed with time and you would think the movie would be less frightening, but it's not. Supposedly, the Blue Thunder is the latest thing in crowd control since the Olympics are scheduled to be held in Los Angeles. At least, that's the official excuse for creating such a weapon-clad stealth vehicle for urban use.

I won't spoil the story, but one of the good guys does die, and the commissioner's death is related. Malcolm McDowell plays the bad guy, an army colonel determined to see his pet project used in every city (and funded by tax payers). Roy Scheider plays Murphy and since his own personal life is so screwed up, he makes an interesting character, plus he has a background relationship with the Colonel (Murphy tried to get the Colonel court-martialed during the Vietnam War). Warren Oates plays Murphy's police captain and has some funny lines. There are a few moments that are really chilling, like when the army personnel are testing the Blue Thunder and keep shooting the civilian targets "by accident" and when Lymangood is run down by the bad guys. This is one of those movies that's still scary years after its original release.

I had to dock one star just because the music drove me batty and the production is more movie-of-the-week than theatre-quality. Worth renting, not necessarily worth buying. Certainly entertaining to watch the helicopter scenes and see how they're used by the police. I had to dock another star for some very inplausible, and disturbing, scenes. Like the Colonel tampering with a police helicopter, causing it to crash into the Watts area of LA. Or Murphy's girlfriend (a policeman's girlfriend) doing a u-turn at forty miles per hour on a one-way road with an unbuckled child in the front seat. Things like that may have made it past the editing stage back then, but just make it unbelievable these days.

July 1, 2008

Little known movie

I do not even remember when I saw this movie for the first time. I do know that outside of Jaws and All that Jazz, this is one of Roy Scheider's best movies. I am not a movie critic, I just know what I like. This has plenty of action and a good plot to it. Also it is one of the first movies in which I saw Daniel Stern. March 14, 2008

R.I.P. Roy Scheider - Long Live Blue Thunder

Roy Scheider passed away on February 10, 2008. He was an actor who's presence always added greatly to any production. This is certainly the case with Blue Thunder, which would have had less of an impact without his performance.

The 80's were a great time for big "B-MOVIES". Blue Thunder plays like an episode of the A-Team or Knight Rider on steroids. If you like your action films with an 80's "escapist" style, then Blue Thunder will deliver the goods.

Those who are put off by nudity or strong language may be surprised by some of the content. So be warned if you have only seen the edited TV version.

If you enjoy this film, seek out the short lived TV series, also available on DVD. The character of Frank Murphy (Scheider) is replaced by Frank Chaney (James Farentino). The Character of Richard Lymangood (Daniel Stern) was changed to Clinton Wonderlove (Dana Carvey, in an early starring role).

Make sure you get this "special edition" and not the older DVD version. Lots of good special features!

JM February 15, 2008

Special Aircraft

This helicopter is able to listen outsife a building, show a video of people. That is very special. February 2, 2008

old school movie

this is a classic movie back in the days when it stood out as a movie about a chopper when the photography wasn't as good as it is todays,great action short and to the point.
July 8, 2007

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