Brock Landers
07-26-2001, 02:21 AM
"Blue Thunder" - A Brock Landers Review of A John Badham Film (7/10)
First off I gotta tell ya' this is not a very realistic or great movie, but if you are
willing to suspend disbelief than this is a kick-ass "vehicle" flick...(when I say
"vehicle" I mean a story based on a suped-up ultra-cool machine, for example
"Knight Rider" or "The Dukes Of Hazzard")...
Directed by John Badham ("Point Of No Return", "Saturday Night Fever", "War
Games", "Stakeout", "Short Circuit", "The Hard Way", "Nick Of Time", on and
on and on...) and starring Roy Scheider as Frank Murphy, a burned-out veteran
(of vietnam and the police department), this film has lots to offer in the way of
thrills. I believe it to be a smartly-written, tensely-executed and
frenetically-paced high-tech thriller...although a little dated...but what can you
expect from an 80's film?
I hadn't seen this for a while and all I remembered, as most of you who have
seen it will, was the helicopter hovering while watching the naked contortionist at
night...great scene...but upon watching it last night, I noticed that this film has
lots of great scenes, mainly because of two people, Warren Oates (Police Capt.
Jack Braddock) and Malcolm McDowell (Colonel F.E. Cochrane). It also stars
Daniel Stern as a rookie cop assigned to be Scheider's partner, Joe Santos,
Candy Clark, Paul Roebling and lots of other background people...
The story revolves around Blue Thunder, a prototype surveillance helicopter that
is armed to the teeth and full of all kinds of cool computer gadgets. Their is the
usual trouble between cops and their superiors, Frank's past with Colonel
Cochrane, flashbacks, chases and a pretty boring story that is there only to
showcase the helicopter...remember, the helicopter is the star...
Overall, a great performance by Oates, decent performances from the rest of the
cast, cool "vehicle", awesome naked contortionist, great photography and some
fun dialogue...
Here's some cool quotes:
-Jack Braddock: Son, I had twenty years in this outfit, when your idea of a good
time was sittin' in front of the TV tube, watchin' Bugs Bunny and gnawing on
your fudgcicle.
-Jack Braddock: Oh, for God's sake, Lymangood, you've got a right to be stupid.
Don't abuse the privilege.
-Jack Braddock: But there's a bright side to this, and a moral. I think morals are
good for you, I love morals, and the moral of this
story is: If you're walkin' on eggs, don't hop.
-Sgt. Short: This ship is equipped with a forward-mounted, twenty-millimeter
electric cannon. Its six barrels are capable of firing four thousand rounds of
ammunition per minute. And that, gentlemen, is one hell of a shitstorm in
anybody's language!
-Frank Murphy: That's Cochrane, F.E., US Army.
Lymangood: Cochrane, F.E. What's the "F.E." stand for?
Frank Murphy: "Fuck Everybody."...
First off I gotta tell ya' this is not a very realistic or great movie, but if you are
willing to suspend disbelief than this is a kick-ass "vehicle" flick...(when I say
"vehicle" I mean a story based on a suped-up ultra-cool machine, for example
"Knight Rider" or "The Dukes Of Hazzard")...
Directed by John Badham ("Point Of No Return", "Saturday Night Fever", "War
Games", "Stakeout", "Short Circuit", "The Hard Way", "Nick Of Time", on and
on and on...) and starring Roy Scheider as Frank Murphy, a burned-out veteran
(of vietnam and the police department), this film has lots to offer in the way of
thrills. I believe it to be a smartly-written, tensely-executed and
frenetically-paced high-tech thriller...although a little dated...but what can you
expect from an 80's film?
I hadn't seen this for a while and all I remembered, as most of you who have
seen it will, was the helicopter hovering while watching the naked contortionist at
night...great scene...but upon watching it last night, I noticed that this film has
lots of great scenes, mainly because of two people, Warren Oates (Police Capt.
Jack Braddock) and Malcolm McDowell (Colonel F.E. Cochrane). It also stars
Daniel Stern as a rookie cop assigned to be Scheider's partner, Joe Santos,
Candy Clark, Paul Roebling and lots of other background people...
The story revolves around Blue Thunder, a prototype surveillance helicopter that
is armed to the teeth and full of all kinds of cool computer gadgets. Their is the
usual trouble between cops and their superiors, Frank's past with Colonel
Cochrane, flashbacks, chases and a pretty boring story that is there only to
showcase the helicopter...remember, the helicopter is the star...
Overall, a great performance by Oates, decent performances from the rest of the
cast, cool "vehicle", awesome naked contortionist, great photography and some
fun dialogue...
Here's some cool quotes:
-Jack Braddock: Son, I had twenty years in this outfit, when your idea of a good
time was sittin' in front of the TV tube, watchin' Bugs Bunny and gnawing on
your fudgcicle.
-Jack Braddock: Oh, for God's sake, Lymangood, you've got a right to be stupid.
Don't abuse the privilege.
-Jack Braddock: But there's a bright side to this, and a moral. I think morals are
good for you, I love morals, and the moral of this
story is: If you're walkin' on eggs, don't hop.
-Sgt. Short: This ship is equipped with a forward-mounted, twenty-millimeter
electric cannon. Its six barrels are capable of firing four thousand rounds of
ammunition per minute. And that, gentlemen, is one hell of a shitstorm in
anybody's language!
-Frank Murphy: That's Cochrane, F.E., US Army.
Lymangood: Cochrane, F.E. What's the "F.E." stand for?
Frank Murphy: "Fuck Everybody."...