For me this movie was always a matter of "Airwolf is better"; although its not really that bad.

This film is about a super helicopter.

From today's point of view, I have mixed feelings about "Blue Thunder". One can definitely praise the fact that the whole "surveillance state" theme is still contemporary today. The handmade effects and stunts have also aged very well. And with Roy Scheider, the film has a competent actor as its lead as well. Furthermore, director John Badham manages to build up suspense occasionally, which makes the film entertaining overall.

However, there are many points that are annoying. For example, all the characters are one-dimensional and unsympathetic to the max. This is also true of the main character, Murphy, who displays an almost laughable disregard for other people's lives. And don't even get me started on the one and only female role. I'm really glad that we're a little further along these days in this regard. Finally, the film is a bit too long, in my opinion. Especially the scenes inside the helicopter drag on a bit and are unspectacular in contrast to the exterior shots. Combined with the rather implausible plot, this makes for a mixed bag of a film. It's still quite watchable today, but you really don't have to.

Showing its age now in terms of plot, acting talent, etc... But the fact that they used real helicopters (practical effects) means this still holds up.

Some excellent footage of downtown LA.

(For real cinema geeks, there is a shot of the road with Hotel Huntington and Hotel Cecil on it... This is the same road that is in Purple Rain where Apollonia stays at Huntington and Morris Day chats to Billy as they walk away from Hotel Cecil. 1983 must have had this as one its major locations for shooting films.)

The director of this also made WarGames that same year. Astonishing that two movies foresaw much of the advancement in tech - or perhaps they merely inspired it.


7/10