Nighthawks

Exciting picture with plenty of action about two-fisted police detectives hunting a brutal , ruthless terrorist . The meaning and relevance of the title is that 'Nighthawks' refer to the men and women street cops of the New York City Crime Unit who patrol the city at night-time . Intriguing story of two N.Y.C. (Sylvester Stallone sports a beard throughout the whole of this picture and African-American Billy Dee Williams) street cops reassigned to chase Wulfgar (Dutchman Rutger Hauer's first American feature film) , an international terrorist holds the City of New York hostage, but Deke DaSilva (Stallone did all his stunts on this movie) , the most dangerous cop known to man, can take him down . But DaSilva's "at-home" tactics are very much put to the challenge , as he is assigned to special unit led by the British Peter Hartman (Nigel Davenport) that's tracking a psychopath as well as wily killer .

The film is combined of unstopped action ,shootouts , violence , fighting , adequate characterization and breathtakingly suspenseful denouement .It's a run-of-the-mill action movie because from start with its explosive first scene to finish the action packed is continued ,in fact ,the final confrontation is impressive and extremely violent , including plot twists . Prior to it's theatrical release, Nighthawks was severely cut for violence by both Universal studio and MPAA. Amongst the scenes that were cut are disco shootout which originally had Wufgar shooting and killing more people, and Wufgar's death scene in the ending which was almost completely cut out . Amongst the scenes which were deleted from original cut of the movie are almost all scenes between Sylvester Stallone and Lindsey Wagner, Rutger Hauer and Persis Khambatta, more scenes explaining the plot better, and many other scenes because Universal wanted fast paced action movie . They also cut most of the graphic and gory scenes due to the concern that movie will get X rating . In preparation for their roles as New York street cops, actors Billy Dee Williams and Sylvester Stallone spent a number of weeks working at night with the New York Street Crime Unit . Nice acting by Sylvester Stallone as conservative street cop DaSilva reluctantly agrees to terminate an international terrorist who has demanded media attention , but is Rutger Hauer who steals the show as a cruel terrorist . The film is from Sylvester's first period after his secondary interpretations in Mandingo , Bananas , Farewell my lovely , Capone, Death race 2000 , and during his successful Rocky I , II , Paradise alley and Fist acting.

This supercharged action motion picture was well directed by Bruce Malmuth , including hair-raising moments along the way . When the original director, Gary Nelson, left the project, Bruce Malmuth took over production. When he couldn't make it on his first day to shoot the train chase, Sylvester Stallone directed the chase himself to not miss a day of shooting. Malmuth made his film directorial debut with Sylvester Stallone in this classic thriller Nighthawks (1981), followed by Mary Higgins Clark's best seller, Where Are the Children? (1986) with Jill Clayburgh, and the popular action film dealing with political corruption, Hard to kill (1990) with Steven Seagal and Pentathlon (1994) with Dolph Lundgren, as well a number of other feature films and documentaries until his early death.

This is a very good slick action thriller. Well written, well acted and very realistic to boot. It has nary a dull moment and Rutger Hauers' Wulfgar makes you shiver with fear. The international flavor of the film adds a nice quality to it and Nigel Daveports character(terrorist expert)is a treat. The pace is fantastic and even though it is an action film, we get to find out enough about the characters in it that we care about them as people. The conflict that Stallone has with his wife as well as being torn as to how to deal with a terrorist who does subscribe to the same set of rules as the ordinary New York street scum he is used to dealing with is genuinely affecting. The chase scene in the subway is thrilling, well shot and engrossing. This film, as far as I am concerned also benefits immeasurably from its New York location. It really could not have been shot anywhere else in the US except maybe Chicago. I am a native New Yorker so I am obviously partial to New York, but after you see enough movies, you arrive at the conclusion that New York is the best place to shoot a film, generally speaking and depending on what kind of film is being made. Thinking about this movie being shot in L.A. for example makes me cringe.

Remember a day when Rutger Hauer starred in good movies that actually saw wide theatrical release? No. Hmmmm. Hauer is one of my favorite actors and stars in two of my top ten favorite movies (Blade Runner and The Osterman Weekend), so it's hard not to already be slightly biased about the movie. I remember first hearing about Nighthawks on the Headliners and Legends biography of Stallone and how it was not as well received as his Rocky and First Blood movies. For shame, because Nighthawks does manage to be a top notch thriller most of the time. I could go into the plot, but I believe in telling people what I liked and disliked instead of parroting the plot details like almost every other review. (See, a movie to me is more fun when I only know a little about the story, instead of the first hour or so, because someone felt that they had to readers digest the entire film.)

Anyway, now that I've ranted, I have to admit that I enjoyed it for the most part, with the exception of the initial pacing. It continues to drag in places towards the middle, and takes a little over an hour to set up the crucial players backgrounds. The only real problem is that every time the film stops to focus on DeSilva (Stallone) and Fox (Williams), it spends twice as much time focusing on Wulfgar. Wulfgar is certainly a well crafted maniac, but when the movie is over we know almost nothing about Fox and only a little about Dee DeSilva. Still, the movie does succeed in making you care about our two main characters, by thrusting them into danger and having them do what is morally right (i.e. Towards the beginning of the film the two are in a drug raid, and refuse to take bribes from the perps who had apparently already paid off the cops from the first raid on their operation.

They're good cops, and it's their good guy image that endears them). I guess it would have been nice also to see a little more of Stallones relation to what's her name. (sorry, I haven't seen this in a about a month now.) I was interested in the prospect of a hero who was torn between the relation with his ex (who he was trying to re-ignite the flame with), and his duty. But, alas, she was just a narrative device who the writers have decided is only important in the last 15 minutes or so.

With all these cons, why did I still like it? Sudden scenes of high impact, good cast and acting all around, a villain who wasn't just a cardboard cutout, and Stallone's bitchin' beard, and a wholly convincing scenario.

The bottom line: This film is more akin to The French Connection than it is to Rocky. Methodical and often stylish, NightHawks deserves to at least be rented and watched with an open mind.

8 Stars out of 10

Finally, Sly Stallone stars in a film that he really deserves to appear in! He and Billy Dee Williams make a great team as two no-nonsense New York cops who chase Rutger Hauer, who has a great role as a remorseless terrorist (then again, no terrorist has a heart of gold!) Though he's totally unrecognizable with a long beard, Stallone does an exceptionally good performance because unlike his other cop roles, such as Ray Tango from "Tango and Cash", Sly doesn't portray a cocky character, which makes it very realistic. However, our hero doesn't show his muscles in this flick, but, it proves that you don't have to be brawny to be a tough guy.



Hauer is also perfect, playing what he does best, an oily villian. He might look very suave at first in this film, but when he shows his true colors, you better watch out. Last but not least is Billy Dee Williams, who does a cool Roger Murtaughesque cop who relies on his partner Sly to do the job.

If you're in the mood for suspense and good chase scenes, "Nighthawks" is your gameplan. Look out for the great conclusion. It might cause you a great deal of shock!

Nighthawks was a gritty, violent, down and dirty thriller which brought out the best in Sylvester Stallone and Rutger Hauer as the two charismatic leads. Underrated on release, it's still well worth the time.

Detective Sergeant Deke DaSilva (Sylvester Stallone) and Detective Sergeant Matthew Fox (Billy Dee Williams) are part of NYPD's undercover Street Crime Unit. Their boss Lieutenant Munafo (Joe Spinell) later notifies them that DaSilva and Fox have been handpicked to join the newly-formed ATAC (Anti Terrorist Action Command) squad spearheaded by INTERPOL British Counter-terrorist specialist Peter Hartman (Nigel Davenport). Their primary task is to take down international terrorist Heymar Reinhardt, also known as Wulfgar (Rutger Hauer) who after bombing a department store in London, has managed to slip through the fingers of authorities and has made his way to New York City. Teaming up with a mysterious woman named Shakka (Persis Khambatta), Wulfgar continues his campaign of terror and vows to bring New York City to its knees and it's up to DaSilva and Fox to take him down.

Sylvester Stallone's career continued to climb following the success of the Academy Award winning Rocky (1976) and it's sequel Rocky II (1979). In Nightwawks, Stallone is excellent as Deke DaSilva who doesn't rely on brawn to get him by but also his brains. Stallone's character shows more of a sensitive side where he is less ruthless and trigger happy compared to many of his previous characters where he has played a policeman in movies such as Cobra (1986) and Tango & Cash (1989). Following a bloody confrontation, DaSilva rethinks his tactics and vows to match Wulfgar on even ground. Billy Dee Williams who is well known for his role as Lando Calrissian in The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return of the Jedi (1983), is perfectly paired up with Stallone as DaSilva's partner Fox who have been tasked to take down Wulfgar. Dutch actor Rutger Hauer made audiences sit up and take notice by putting in a chilling performance as international terrorist Wulfgar in his U.S. debut where he establishes himself as an actor well known for playing villains in such classics as Blade Runner (1982) and The Hitcher (1986). Director Bruce Malmuth makes his directorial debut with Nighthawks and here he has done a fine job bringing this gritty film to life on screen.

It's hard to believe that today the fear of terrorism is widespread given that the events of September 11 2001 changed the world forever. Nighthawks was certainly ahead of its time.

Though not a box office smash in 1981, it still netted positive reviews and acclaim, with Stallone earning his share of the praise but the standout was Rutger Hauer. Despite how dated it is, Nighthawks is still good viewing.

7/10.