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.

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.

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.

Lee Marvin was already very ill when he appeared in this movie, and his grave condition sometimes shows onscreen. Still, he's able to give it all that he's got like in his previous films, and it's nice seeing that he went down still a tough guy. The rest of the movie proves to be just as surprisingly enjoyable. It does go on too long (125 minutes!), and there is not as much action as you may be expecting. But the drama portion of the movie proves to be compelling, and the few action scenes there are turn out to be exceedingly well done. Certainly no masterpiece, but it is entertaining. Fans of Norris and/or Marvin, however, should be warned that the two of them don't appear in as much of the movie as they may be expecting.

THE DELTA FORCE is an odd movie. The first hour of the film is a well written and directed portrait of an airline highjacking. The music is tense and the performances are solid (especially Robert Forster as the head terrorist). Then, when Chuck and Lee show up, the film turns into a patriotic cheesefest where the delta force whips out the terrorists along to cheesy 80s patriotic pop music. The film definitely goes down from here. The director should've realized that the first half was tense and realistic and decided to keep it that way, even if they were going to have the delta force take out the terrorists. I really dont know why they changed the mood of the film so much, because if they had'nt, this could've been an excellent actioner. The second half is still somewhat enjoyable and very unintentionally funny, but those who think that the second half of the film would be as gripping as the first will be disappointed. 3/5