Nachtfalken

It was 1981 and the world had just gone through a decade of terrorism. Casting Rutger Hauer and Persis Khambatta (she was the bald woman in the original Star Trek movie) as heartlessly cold terrorists was great casting! Billy Dee Williams and Stallone as street cops suddenly transferred to a terrorist unit do a good job. Stallone had not become a parody of himself yet and his diction is better here than it had ever been up to then. The movie's pace is unrelenting. This is a movie that I almost always have to stop and watch, easily getting swiped up into the story again and again, when I see it on television. Excellent twist ending and monorail scene. Recommended highly.

Two dedicated albeit crackerjack cops (Sylvester "Sly" Stallone and Billy Dee Williams) are on a new case: They must apprehend a slick, nefarious international terrorist and not to mention notorious criminal mastermind, Wulfgar (Rutger Hauer). Wulfgar's schemes thrive on the destruction of World Order and democracy. The two detectives, whose beat have always been the petty criminals of the street, have at first expressed animadversion when they are forced to nail the wily villain, Wulfgar. They have never encountered such an eluding antagonist before. No longer can the cops use conventional tactics, but they must resort to new, fresh methods...

For Wulfgar dissembles his identity with several incognitos, thus making him a tougher target to capture.

NIGHTHAWKS is a well-mounted, well-paced thriller that puts the accent on suspense (with some bloodshed of course). NIGHTHAWKS is a neat powerhouse! The movie contains riveting chases, a spectacle for a final confrontation, and an aggressively structured formula throughout the entire film. There are lots of opportunities for combustible moments in this film as well.

What makes NIGHTHAWKS standout even greater and better than the ordinary action flick is its emphasis on characterization and morals. NIGHTHAWKS does a terrific interpretation of how fascinating and surreptitious the terrorist bad guy is compared to a troublesome criminal. Whereas the latter simply relies on survival and desperation in the derelict streets, the former is a very intelligent person with a respectively high I.Q. and an organized purpose. His mission is clear: to fight the oppressors who have destroyed his native land and people. The terrorist covers his tracks well and moves from location and location, making his presence less conspicuous. As for the heroic cops, Deke DaSilva (Stallone) manages to preserve ethics first when making a judgment before decisive action. He knows when to call out the shot. DaSilva refuses to jeopardize innocent lives just for the sake of shooting down the villain, and in most cases, he has earned a level of propriety. DaSilva's testament to moral values is also well demonstrated in NIGHTHAWKS.

Rutger Hauer gave a genuinely eerie and chilling performance as he portrays a very psychotic but also very convincing villain with a substantially bad attitude. Overall, NIGHTHAWKS is a high caliber action film. This "above and beyond the call of duty" type quality of motion picture is a consistently thorough and memorable film. This ranks among the finest cop dramas ever composed and for over a decade, this film's reputation and aura have managed to stand the test of time. NIGHTHAWKS is a recommended hit.

RATING: *** out of ****.

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.

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.

This film stays faithful to itself, and it's premise. It aims to be good entertainment and not much else, and succeeds commendably. Besides a bit too much stress on how great Stallone's character is at the beginning of the film the film flows rather nicely. There is a terrorist, who is a very bad man, which will do anything just to prove himself to everyone else. And there is a cop who likes to do his job clean. But with terrorism it doesn't always work that way, and that is the films meaningful angle. Although it seems like the director realized that entertainment was number one, and nothing should get in its way, therefore the film never stops to ponder too much over the police/baddie similarities, and usually after brief atmospheric tense character scenes it goes back to the action.

The action takes most of the film up, although it's not overdone too much, sometimes you do wonder if they could have run around for a bit less time. The script is the only thing that lets this down, with some of the events being a bit dubious. You do get the feeling from time to time that the scriptwriter wasn't quite sure how to chain some events so they seem a bit forced. But other ideas are kind of cute to make up for it.

Although it is full of cliches, this is not really a downside to the film, which seems to be shouting out that cliches aren't that bad. And being from the early eighties you could always argue that it was actually laying the ground for cliches to become such.

Acting is good, even from Sly, this really is the role he was born to play. He is the Rocky of the NY street undercover police. Hauer rocks in no small way, and Nigel Davenport shouts like no one (you'll see what I mean).

Watch and enjoy. That's all folks.