The Delta Force

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.

This was an excellent action movie, and Chuck Norris does a great performance. This movie is based on a real hijacking that happened. The movie seemed to follow what actually happened aboard that TWA flight. The hijackers attempted to hold a press conference with the flight crew as hostages, with disasterous results. Yes, Lebanon at first refused to allow the hijacked plane to land at Beirut, and eventually permission was givin. The hijacked plane was refueled and flew on to Algiers. The only difference between the movie and what actually happened was the rescue. In actuality, the hostages were taken to Damascus, Syria, and released. It would have been great if it had happened the way the movie showed it, where a crack team of commandos were flown in to totally wipe out the terrorists. Still, the movie had great action, especially where Scott (Norris) beats up Abdul (Forster) and eventually blow him up in his limosine. Robert Forster did a great job acting as well.

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.

I used to watch THE DELTA FORCE all the time when I was a kid. Chuck Norris was my hero, the coolest guy in the world who could take on any threat single-handidly and come out out of the conflict without a drop of sweat. It isn't LAWRENCE OF ARABIA, but THE DELTA FORCE is a solid, well-made action film with a pretty standout cast of actors, with Robert Forster making a truely dispicable terrorist. The rapport between Norris and Lee Marvin, while not concentrated on that much, is good, and the action scenes deliver the kind of response people like to give when watching the good guys wipe out the bad guys with no mercy, the way it should be. It's all capped by an excellent climax in which Chuck unleashes revenge on Forster, which is both serious and funny at the same time because the guy never gets to lay a single blow on Chuck. (Maybe Osama Bin Laden will be meet a similar fate. :) ) Alan Silvestri's Synclavier score is fun, too, with a great main theme. It may not be a complete carbon copy of the 1985 TWA hijacking/standoff incident that inspired it, but it's incorporation of some of the real incidents from that event gives it some added realism. For anybody who wants to fantasize about scumbag terrorists getting what they deserve (especially after September 11th), THE DELTA FORCE is one for you.

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.