Blue Thunder

BLUE THUNDER (15)

D: John Badham

Columbia/Rastar (Gordon Carroll, Phil Feldman & Andrew Fogelson)

USA 🇺🇸 1983

110 mins

Action/Thriller

W: Dan O'Bannon & Don Jakoby

DP: John A. Alonzo (& Frank Holgate)

Ed: Frank Morriss & Edward Abroms

Mus: Arthur Rubinstein

Roy Scheider (Officer Frank Murphy), Warren Oates (Capt. Jack Braddock), Candy Clark (Kate), Daniel Stern (Officer Richard Lymangood), Malcolm McDowell (Col. F.E. Cochrane)

Impressive for the 1980's, but dated very badly now, Blue Thunder is an action thriller about a prototype armed helicopter, to be used for law enforcement, but on one of its maiden flights, a cop helicopter pilot and his partner uncover the true reason for its creation.

For 1983, the special effects, stunt work, editing and aerial photography are hugely impressive, but the story is still full of clichés and if you were to remove the helicopter from the scenario, it's the same cops & villains face off you've seen in countless movies before and since.

A short-lived television series followed a year later, before the formula was improved for a longer-running TV series (Airwolf).

6/10