Delta Force

The Delta Force is a fast-paced, enthralling action film featuring a top-notch cast, great action sequences, and a poignant story line. Chuck Norris and the immortal Lee Marvin headline as members of the elite Delta Force commando unit who are called in to rescue a hijacked airliner heading back to the U.S. from Israel. Cameos by such Hollywood legends as former Rat Packer Joey Bishop and Twelve Angry Men's Martin Balsam abound, as well as a good performance by Robert Forster as our megalomaniacal and stalwart Palestinian madman, Abdul.

Some, including a few on the IMDb, have labeled the villains stereotypical, but I would have to disagree. The terrorists' portrayals were right on target, and true to form. Palestinian terrorists obviously DO NOT like Israelis, or any Jewish people, for that matter. That's not stereotypical, that's the truth!

To see The Delta Force's inspiration, check out Irvin Kershner's Raid on Entebbe from 1977. Based on a true account of the Israeli special forces rescue of hostages at Entebbe Airport in Uganda, you will see eerie similarities.

Both films are highly recommended.

As a product of the eighties (I had the misfortune to be born at the very beginning of them), I grew up on movies like this.

One has to wonder what went wrong. In the late sixties and seventies, America was putting out some of the best movies in the world. The reason for this, in my opinion, is that Americans (as a people) were suddenly not afraid of having faults. Vietnam and Nixon made America realise that it had a dark side, and this came through in its cinema. The results were some of the most palpable incarnations of the anti-hero ever put to film.

Alas, in the eighties, something changed. Suddenly, American heroes were not only invincible, but ethically flawless and totally righteous too. 'The Delta Force' is one of the pinnacles of the American hero movie.

In a nutshell, some evil Arab types take a plane full of innocent Jewish Americans and it's up to Chuck Norris and his crew of bad-ass GIs (all of whom sh*t stars and bleeds stripes, of course)to save the day. Watching it in the ultra-liberal, post-911 21st century, it's hard to believe this film even got made. It's so un-PC that it make Bill Hicks look like Porky Pig.

But here's the catch, it's so damn refreshing to see a piece of action cinema that serves no purpose but to entertain that 'The Delta Force' becomes a beautifully nostalgic piece of escapism that is hard to resist.

It is certainly a flawed film. The editor and director could sure have used a few lessons in pacing, notably around the totally extraneous character development scenes where we have it reinforced beyond any doubt that Jewish Americans are beyond reproach. However, one is more than willing to forgive this insult when presented with such testosterone-infested action sequences and cocksure pro-Americanism. It's one of those films that is so bad it's good.

'The Delta Force' is a movie that necessitates the disengagement of the brain and the full attention of the balls. If you have the capacity to do this, and overlook the fact that it is a disgraceful tool of American propaganda, you'll love it. I can just imagine this being George Bush's favourite movie...

Chuck Norris is, in many ways, the ultimate American hero; ruthless but virtuous, kind hearted yet bad-as-hell, the underdog yet the victor. After saving American soldiers from those nasty far-Easterners in the 'Missing in Action' series, Chuckie truly outdoes himself here. Taken with a large pinch of salt, or as a very shrewd satire (a la 'Team America'), 'The Delta Force' delivers in ways Bruckheimer and can only dream of.

The Delta Force proved to be Lee Marvin's final motion picture and a timely one at that. Don't expect any answers to the complex geopolitical problems that are the Middle East, the film has just one answer in dealing with terrorists.

Marvin got second billed to Chuck Norris who was probably at his height as an action star when The Delta Force was made. Marvin is commander and Norris his executive officer of the United States Army's elite Delta Force called in to deal with problems like this hijacking when they arise.

Some Moslem terrorists hijack an American airliner leaving from Athens and do the things that terrorists are known to do. There are a large contingent of Jews on the plane and they look a lot like Hollywood celebrities such as Joey Bishop, Laine Kazan, Martin Balsam, Shelley Winters. One of the passengers is Catholic priest George Kennedy who plays, I kid you not, Father O'Malley. No, he doesn't sing Too-Ra-Loo- Ra-Loo-Ral, but he's a priest with the right stuff nonetheless. His is my favorite performance in the film.

The terrorists are led by Robert Forster and they do prove to be a resourceful group of fanatics, but still no match for The Delta Force.

Of course the film is simplistic, but sometimes the simple answers are the right ones. A lot of people have trouble wrapping their minds around the concept of evil. Make no mistake, the terrorists are evil and at a certain point there is only one thing to do with them.

Which The Delta Force does with zest and abandon.

¨Delta Force I¨ is based on a hijacking TWA plane and starred by an all-star-cast as Chuck Norris , Lee Marvin , George Kennedy , being professionally produced and directed by Menahen Golan from Cannon Productions along with Yoran Globus . Aircraft jetliner on its way from Athens to Rome and then to New York City is hijacked by Lebanese bad guys . But authorities don't negotiate with terrorists , they blow them away! as an America's special squadron led by Colonel Alexander (Lee Marvin's last film , role was originally intended for Charles Bronson) and Major Scott McCoy (Chuck Norris) take on terrorists . Delta force is charged with saving the passengers of a hijacked airliner who are transported from Greece to Middle East .

Standard action-packed picture , plenty of blow-up , derring-do and fast moving . The film has frenetic action , shoot'em up and spectacular set pieces and for that reason is fun . This is a straight-forward Action|Adventure|Drama|Thriller|War movie which is best described as Dirty Dozen in airport and based on the real-life hijacking of TWA Flight 847 on 14 June 1985 . It is tense and exciting , at time bemusing and with quite budget . Uneven picture , however being entertaining , amusing and never tiring . Extraordinary plethora of secondary actors such as Martin Balsam , Lainie Kazan , Joey Bishop , Shelley Winters , Robert Forster , Susan Strasberg , Bo Svenson , Robert Vaughan and Eric Norris ,Chuck Norris' real-life son, is seen as one of the U.S. Navy divers taken hostage . Exciting rescue climax but realized in cartoon style , to say the least , with spectacular but silly action scenes . The film was originally to be produced with the cooperation of Delta Force's real-life founder and original commanding officer, Col. Charles Beckwith ; the producers wanted to tell the story of Operation Eagle Claw, the failed attempt to rescue the American hostages from Iran in 1979, but they wanted to change the story so that Delta Force completed their mission successfully and Colonel Beckwith left the project in disgust . Atmospheric and functional cinematography by David Gurfinkel filmed in Ben-Gurion International Airport, Tel Aviv, West Bank ,Israel , Ellinikon Airport, Athens, Greece , GG Israel Studios, Jerusalem, Haifa, Israel , Washington, District of Columbia, Pentagon Exteriors . Commercial and catching musical score composed by means of synthesizer by Alan Silvestri including lively leitmotif whose theme was later used by ABC Sports for the opening of the Indy 500.

This Actioner movie with great loads of gun-play and explosion is followed by several sequels in comic-book similar style ; as it posteriorly continues with ¨Delta Force II operation stranglehold or Colombian connection ¨ in which Delta leader leads the brigade into Latin America to snuff out an elusive drug lord and starred by Chuck Norris, Richard Jaeckel, John P Ryan , Billy Drago and directed by his brother Aaron Norris . ¨Delta Force III the killing game¨ with the sons Hollywood's bigger stars : Eric Douglas , Nick Cassavetes , Mike Norris and directed by Sam Firstemberg ; ¨Delta Force : operation Ebola ¨ (1997) by Sam Firstemberg with Joe Lara , Jeff Fahey , Ernie Hudson , Frank Zagarino, Rob Stewart , Natasha Sutherland and many others . Furthermore , ¨Delta Force one : The lost patrol¨ by Joseph Zito with Gary Daniels , Mike Norris and Bentley Mitcum , ¨Operation Delta Force 2 Mayday¨ with Michael McGrady and directed by Yossi Wein , ¨Operation Delta Force 3: Clear Target¨ by Mark Roper with Jim Fitzpatrick , Bryan Genesse and Greg Collins ; plus ¨Operation Delta Force 4 : Deep Fault¨ with Gary Hudson , Johnny Messner , Greg Collins and Joe Lara , among others .

The second half of Lee Marvin's final film is given over to the stuntmen, special effects team and armourers.

Based on the 1985 hijacking of an American airliner, it's set mainly in Beirut but inevitably shot in Israel - described by Robert Vaughan as "America's best friend in the Middle East" - the dirty dozen this time round being twelve swarthy, sweaty, wild-eyed sadists and psychos under the command of a moustached Robert Forster during the career limbo from which Tarantino rescued him ten years later.

Although Marvin is billed below Chuck Norris it's basically an ensemble piece. Personally directed by Cannon's Menahim Golan himself, it's a triumph of his and Globus's organisation and showmanship rather than actual filmmaking; having assembled an extraordinary cast which includes George Kennedy as a priest called William O'Malley and Martin Balsam in a rare overtly Jewish role. As usual there's a glamorous blonde fraulein aboard, but as played by Hanna Schygulla in her only English-language role she's a stewardess rather than one of the hijackers.