Movie Type: Action Thriller, Police Detective Film
Themes: Rogue Cops, Terrorism
Main Cast: Roy Scheider, Malcolm McDowell, Warren Oates, Candy Clark, Daniel Stern
Release Year: 1983
Country: US
Run Time: 110 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
Ex-Vietnam chopper pilot Roy Scheider is now in charge of Blue Thunder, a high-tech copter designed to quell possible terrorism during the 1984 LA Olympics. His onetime comrade-in-arms Malcolm McDowell, now his bitter enemy, will stop at nothing to neutralize Blue Thunder and expedite an armed takeover of the United States. Well, there's the plot: now sit back and enjoy those eye-popping aerial scenes. Blue Thunder was later adapted into a weekly TV series. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
This 1983 production gets an A for its rousing action and an F for its farfetched plot and shallow characters. The film is really a rip-off of Steven Spielberg's 1975 classic, Jaws (whether witting or unwitting), with Roy Scheider again portraying a likeable Irish-American policeman. In the opening scenes, an innocent female dies in an attack, just as in Jaws, and Scheider discovers the perpetrator: a cabal of government conspirators operating in the undercurrents of Los Angeles after dark. But after the mayor brands him a troublemaking meddler (as in Jaws), Scheider -- this time in the role of helicopter cop Frank Murphy in lieu of Amity Island police chief Martin Brody -- decides to take on the conspirators himself with the help of a callow sidekick (also as in Jaws). Instead of a shark-tracking boat, Scheider uses a menacing helicopter (Blue Thunder) -- the conspirators' own weapon, which he commandeers -- in an attempt to vanquish the villains. The action sequences are impressive. After helicopters duel in skyscraper canyons, planes, trains, and automobiles get in on the action. Buildings collapse, a restaurant explodes, and a duct-taped captive kickboxes his way to freedom. Meanwhile, a car carrying a secret audio disk races toward a TV studio with incriminating evidence. But, alas, the dialogue and character development are as moving as a slow lane. ~ Mike Cummings, All Movie Guide
Paul Roebling - Icelan; David Sheiner - Fletcher; Joe Santos - Montoya; Ed Bernard - Sgt. Short; Jason Bernard - Mayor; Mario Machado - Himself; John Ashby - Thief; Tony Brubaker - Thief; Lucinda Crosby - Bel-Air Woman; Reid Cruickshanks - Chief of Police; Tom Friedkin - Helicopter Pilot; John Garber - Tough Mechanic; James W. Gavin - Helicopter Pilot; Ernest Harada - John; Bill Lake - Policeman; Paul Lambert - Holmes; Jack Murdock - Kress; James Murtaugh - Alf Hewitt; Clifford A. Pellow - Allen; James Read - Policeman at Bridge; Bill M. Ryusaki - Vietcong Soldier; Ray Sharkey - Air Controller; Karl Wickman - Helicopter Pilot; Jerry Ziesmer - Pilot; Phil Feldman - Colonel Coe; Mickey Gilbert - Policeman; Anthony James - Grundeltus; Mike McGaughy - Observer; John Gladstein - Fighter Pilot; Patti Clifton - Hooker; Norman Alexander Gibbs - Man in Beanie; Pat McNamara - Matusek; Frances E. Nealy - Mayor's Aide; Larry Randles - Thug; Tom Rosales - Thug
Credit
Cate Bangs - Art Director, Sydney Z. Litwack - Art Director, Gregg Champion - Associate Producer, Dianne Crittenden - Casting, Marianna Elliott - Costume Designer, Jerry Ziesmer - First Assistant Director, John Badham - Director, Frank Morriss - Editor, Edward M. Abroms - Editor, Phil Feldman - Executive Producer, Andrew Fogelson - Executive Producer, Arthur B. Rubinstein - Composer (Music Score), Philip Harrison - Production Designer, Sydney Z. Litwack - Production Designer, John A. Alonzo - Cinematographer, Gordon Carroll - Producer, Mickey Michaels - Set Designer, Peter Albiez - Special Effects, Charles Gaspar - Special Effects, Jeff Jarvis - Special Effects, Tim Cooney - Sound/Sound Designer, Terry J. Leonard - Stunts, Chuck Gaspar - Special Effects Supervisor, Don Jakoby - Screenwriter, Dan O'Bannon - Screenwriter, Dean Riesner - Screenwriter
