Blue Thunder

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Blu B It reminds me of Firefox not because they both have flying in them or even because there both thrillers (Different types though) but because they are the first of there kind. You can see in this the building blocks for the Modern Era of popcorn style/Michael Bay/80's action. The problem in both those films is I'm reminded of the early 30's where they didn't exactly know how to make it work well yet. The best things here are the solid cinematography, Roy Schieder, and the really good special effects/stunt work. It makes sense enough also. Everything else is half decent here and a significant step above Firefox in that regard fundamentally where it's entertaining mostly. The direction isn't bad here also. What holds this back from being consistnently good? A big chunk of this film is at night and lots of times it's so dark you can't see much going on inn the background. The starting plot line of the woman officer killed feels almost forgotten about. And the plot in general is just very farfetched. The first half feels like a hard crime thriller about eyes in the sky. Than it feels like a popcorn action movie plot that feels like two completely different films. Than it can get a little unfocused times. The woman officer killed, solving crimes around LA, uncovering the conspiracy, his partner hiding the tapes, the romance with Schieders girlfriend all gets muddled a bit. Than the action drags at times and doesn' know how to make it tight at times. It's relying on the stuntwork to carry things which works most of the time. Some of the stuntwork is better than others though. Also most of the other characters in this are very forgettable too. Anyone who is a fan of Schieder, 80's action flicks, or the director may want to check this out. It's a interesting stepping stone on the way to movies like Die Hard & Lethal Weapon and away from 70's hard crime movies. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 12/25/24 Full Review Shay W The movie has many excellent sequences of the helicopter flying, especially as it is filmed flying towards us with the sun behind it. The sound and how the dialogue is recorded during the flying scenes adds to the technical proficiency of the movie. Roy Scheider was great in the lead role. The story doesn't always quite make sense, but like many movies starring Roy, or directed by John Badham from that time period, it's well worth watching. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 10/17/24 Full Review William F An example of a sort of sub-genre of '80s movies and TV where a high-tech vehicle is one of the main "stars" of the work, 'Blue Thunder' stands out from the rest due to having a great cast, a stellar performance from the always great Roy Scheider, and an actually interesting plot, as opposed to an excuse to showcase the "gee whiz bang" vehicle. Yes, the helicopter gets a lot of screen time and there's a lot of "ooh ahh" at the tech, but there's also an actual story that gets better as the movie progresses. Scheider's cop Murphy is an example of the '80s trope of the functional-but-troubled Vietnam vet, but it's not overdone here. Action movie characters are rarely particularly three dimensional, but they're more fleshed out here than in most movies like this. And speaking of action, there are some just fantastic pre-CGI flight action sequences that are just super fun to watch. I admit it's nostalgic for me, I owned the VHS of this as a kid and watched it many times, but it's actually a good flick that holds up well. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 09/01/24 Full Review Will S I enjoyed Blue Thunder a lot. Roy Scheider is great and the helicopter itself is pretty awesome. The storyline is original and entertaining. The only part I found myself bored with is the storyline with his girlfriend, but luckily, it's not that long. Plus, she's a necessary character in the story, so it's cool, I guess. I totally recommend this movie. Rated 4.5/5 Stars •  Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 06/27/24 Full Review Andrew W Great childhood memories watching this movie. Could watch it over and over again. The acting is fantastic and the special effects for the time without CGI is what makes the scenes more believable RIP Roy Scheider. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 06/12/24 Full Review Steve D Only of note if you love flying machines. Rated 2/5 Stars •  Rated 2 out of 5 stars 08/23/23 Full Review Read all reviews

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