Synopsis
Los Angeles, California. Officer Murphy, a veteran Metropolitan Police helicopter pilot suffering from severe trauma due to his harsh experiences during the Vietnam War, and Lymangood, his resourceful new partner, are tasked with testing an advanced and heavily armed experimental chopper known as Blue Thunder.
Your Movie Library
Cast
- Roy ScheiderMurphy
- Warren OatesBraddock
- Candy ClarkKate
- Daniel SternLymangood
- Paul RoeblingIcelan
- David SheinerFletcher
- Joe SantosMontoya
- Malcolm McDowellCochrane
- Ed BernardSgt. Short
- Jason BernardMayor
Recommendations
- 88
Chicago Tribune
John Badham's exciting thriller about an L.A. detective (Roy Scheider) who battles against the government creeps who have created a monstrous helicopter to be used for 1984-style crowd control. Great action in a David-versus-Goliath story. [22 July 1983, p.10] - 80
The New York Times
The action sequences are what the film is all about, and these are remarkably well done, including a climactic, largely bloodless shootout among helicopters and jet fighters over Los Angeles. - 75
TV Guide Magazine
Expertly executed action flick that starts out fast and winds up faster. We've seen it all before, but the execution here supersedes the concept. - 70
Variety
Blue Thunder is a ripsnorting live-action cartoon, utterly implausible but no less enjoyable for that. - 70
Washington Post
Blue Thunder hovers just this side of trash and the other side of credibility, but it propels a willing audience into adrenaline heaven. - 60
Time Out London
The opposition of good and evil is devoid of any subtle shading, so just sit back and enjoy the spectacular dogfight over downtown Los Angeles. - 60
Empire
The script self-destructs, but the performances — including Daniel Stern as an expendable sidekick — are fun, and John Badham stages some super stunts with the insectile title machine. - 60
Washington Post
The most coherent thing about the new action thriller Blue Thunder is its eagerness to succeed and its rabble-rousing spectacle of stunt flying and aerial combat. Blue Thunder, a chase melodrama with police helicopter pilots as the good guys, transposes the salty tone of The French Connection and Dirty Harry to a chopper squadron in Los Angeles. [13 May 1983, p.B1]
