Nighthawks (1981)

Too much of everything

This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

(Originally reviewed: 11/04/2017) Stallone is no stranger to being involved with bad movies, and Nighthawks is no exception that suffers hugely from a boring antagonist that has no personality and is practically a cliché, going through the motions without bringing anything inventive to the table. My main comparison would be this, take Dirty Harry for example, a classic cop picture with a great protagonist and antagonist, the villain there was original, impressive and very good, now take Rutger Hauer who plays the villain here, he's boring, routine and never shines, which is disappointing, much like the film but I'll get to that in a minute. Sylvester Stallone play's DaSilva, a devoted street cop with little to no background, and as for development, don't bother looking as all you'll know is that he doesn't like killers, but then again, who does. Now Stallone is not very good here, merely passable, but I'm guessing this is due to the dreadful script which Is riddled with clichéd, dull dialogue and that has but one good particular scene where a cop is stabbed and he shouts at the top of his voice your f**king dead" and many more words along those lines in a menacing way towards the villain who is seen fleeing, now this was his one and only good scene because I could believe the anger in DaSilva's voice, and it's perhaps one of few moments that are decent. The story is uninspired even for one of the earlier 'routine cop picture's', two street cops played by Stallone and Billy Dee Williams are after an international terrorist who kills tons of innocent people, some people get shot to keep the audience awake and character development, depth and originality all take a detour into a black hole, that for me is pretty much Nighthawks, but then again I'm being to kind, this is trash, and a really underwhelming bore of a film. The performances are really forgettable, including Billy Dee Williams who play's Sergeant Fox, DaSilva's dedicated partner, who overacts and made me laugh at one point, and who disappears later on after getting injured, that's how careless the makers of this picture were. Other uninspired supporting performances include Lindsay Wagner who plays Irene, a thrown in love interest for Stallone character, now she has one or two scenes, and half way through DaSilva tells her the will go to dinner, she agrees, the story keeps running, and yet I never saw them speak again, maybe she evaporated, or perhaps the screenwriters couldn't be bothered to continue with that romance. Either way it sucked, quite possibly the worst written, dull romance ever seen within a cop film, and later on there is a real nerve, to use Irene's character as a plot device, which ended up so damn predictable, and yet the real Irene was seen walking along the street moments before, did they tell her not to go back to the apartment? No, screenwriter David Shaber just assumes the cops told her and that she is aware of DaSilva's plan, I'm guessing he felt it was unnecessary to provide explanations and coherence. Truth be told, this is a real jumble of sorts, where crappy writing and questionable plotting take centre stage. Another howler is the humour, if there was any, because I didn't laugh, including one pathetic scene where Stallone's character is insulted by his commanding officer who makes a joke about his previous divorce; DaSilva slowly leaves the room in silence, only later on they are like best buddies, telling each other "want to go for Chinese food later, sure, but you're paying", for which there was a joke that was pointless remembering. The film also drags, it's only an hour and a half, and it got even more tedious as it progressed, and despite some well shot cinematography, realistic nightclubs and decent costume designs, the film is still a mess. Bruce Malmuth's direction is unimpressive, and I can't even remember the soundtrack and the final hostage situation in a heightened passenger car is yet again forgettable and predictable. All in all the picture has a routine story that's told badly, and the ridiculous, uneven plotting, lack of depth and unconvincing performances only sink it even more, Nighthawks is dull, forgettable trash.

Nighthawks finds both Sylvester Stallone and Billy Dee Williams cast as a pair of undercover street cops who are picked for an anti- terrorism task force much against their will. It's a task force put together by Interpol and it's target is Rutger Hauer an international terrorist who has found Europe to hot for him and has fled to America with his associate Persis Khambatta.Hauer is really something to see, a stone cold killer who disguises his taste for sick violence by making himself an appointed liberator of the downtrodden people. The film actually opens with him bombing an English department store saying he was protesting British colonialism. By 1981 the British had divested themselves pretty much of their colonies, but Hauer needed an excuse.The finale takes place as Hauer and Khambatta take hostages aboard a Roosevelt Island shuttle tram car. It's nicely staged and the climax worth it. Some of Stallone's undercover skills are employed.Nighhawks is a good action thriller, Stallone fans will be pleased.

Nighthawks (1981)** (out of 4)Average thriller has a psychotic terrorist (Rutger Hauer) arriving in New York City where he plans on spreading terror. It's up to a couple New York cops (Sylvester Stallone, Billy Dee Williams) to try and stop him.NIGHTHAWKS isn't an awful movie but at the same time it's far from being a good one. The film will appeal to fans of the 80's action movies where there was a lot of sleaze and violence. Apparently this film was trimmed by the studio before it went to the MPAA and then it had to be trimmed again when it got a X-rating. One really has to wonder what was actually cut because the film isn't all that violent and especially when compared to several other action films from this period.With that said, the best thing about the picture is certainly the cast who at least keep the film mildly entertaining. Stallone is in good form as the cop with baggage and Billy Dee Williams makes for a good partner. The two of them are fun to watch and I also enjoyed Nigel Davenport and Joe Spinell in their roles. Hauer was a genius when it came to playing cold-blooded bad guys and he does a nice job with the role of the terrorist. Again, rumor has it that he was stealing the picture so Stallone had a lot of his scenes trimmed and cut as well.The biggest problem with NIGHTHAWKS is the direction, which is all over the place and the fact that there's never any tension. Again, who knows how much was actually cut but what remains in the film is just not that stylish and I'd argue it's certainly not intense. It's really too bad the film plays out as bland as it does because the cast and locations are so good that one wishes the story and direction were better.

Going to watch this again tonight for the second day in a row, this time with the wife who hasn't seen it. Who could not like an early 80's pre-MTV thriller with a fresh off of EMPIRE STRIKES BACK Billy Dee Williams and a young cool looking Stallone? Plus throw in Rutger Haeur as a deranged (yet handsome) Euro-Villain terrorist and you've got yourself a winner! There's a great scene where they aforementioned duo are looking for Hauer in a NYC nightclub while the Rolling Stones' "Brown Sugar" is blasting, ultra cool! This film is never a bore and it's before Stallone fully sold out so do yourself a favor and watch it ASAP if you haven't seen it yet!