**SPOILERS** Said to be the ultimate weapon against crime or a terrorist attack on America the Blue Thunder combat helicopter is to be tested over the skies of Los Angeles against common street criminals. With LAPD copter pilots Murphy and Lymangood,Roy Scheider & Daniel Stern, as it's crew.
Very early in the movie both officers Murphy & Lymangood realize that the newest weapon against crime, the Blue Thunder, is actually going to be used against the average law abiding American citizen instead. Those behind using the Blue Thunder are planing to create terrorist violence and then use it to keep the innocent public under control.
The shocking truth comes out with the rape and mugging murder, that was a cover for an assassination, of the head of the L.A task force on urban violence commissioner Diane McNeely, Robin Braxton. Diane was about to release her findings that would expose those in the local city state and federal government of their real reasons in incorporating the Blue Thunder in all the big city police departments. It was found out by the McNeely commission that these high in government officials are secretly planning to stir up trouble in the ghettos and barrios of the city of L.A. If successful it would be an excuse for a major takeover of the country in instigating violence and chaos and then repealing the rights of Americans in the name of national security, sounds familiar? Those behind the Blue Thunder are planning to suspend the US Constitution and Bill of Rights and create a police state and fascist dictatorship.
Knowing that their marked men the two LAPD helicopter pilots tape a conversation of these secret government-types that includes Murphy's former partner and co-pilot in Vietnam Col. Cochrane, Malcolm McDowell. This leads to Lymangoods' murder when he's first kidnapped and then after escaping his captors is run down and killed on the streets of L.A.
Getting the news to where the incriminating tape was hidden,from the murdered Lymangood's telephone answering machine, Murphy hijacks the Blue Thunder and has his plucky girlfriend Kate, Candy Clark,retrieve it in order to bring it to a local L.A TV news station to be broadcast to the world. It's now a race against time as those in power planning to take over the government are themselves in a panic of being exposed by the tape. They do all that they can, using the L.A police and even the USAF, to shoot down and kill Murphy and Kate before they can make the secret takeover public. With everything that they do failing miserably to stop Murphy and his Blue Thunder helicopter the anti-freedom conspirators bring in their big gun Col. Cochrane to finally get the job done.
Spectacular and breath taking aerial acrobatics high over the city of L.A has maverick cop Murphy evade and then shoot down a number police helicopters as well as a fully armed USAF F16 jet fighter. With all this action and excitement it almost overshadow the films basic story about crime and corruption in high places in government. The dog fight between Murphy and Cochrane is about as good as any air to air combat shoot him ups thats been in movies with much faster fighter jets as the two have it out blowing up almost half of the city. Playing an airborne cat and mouse game with Cochrane Murphy outmaneuvers him, doing a complete circle in the air, and then getting on his tail blows Cochrane to pieces before he sets the Blue Thunder down on a railroad track having it demolished by an oncoming locomotive. With that demolishing the hopes and dreams of those who wanted to use it, as an excuse for crowd control, in their planned takeover of the United States.
P.S "Blue Thunder" was also 54 year old actor Warren Oates, who played Murphy and Lymangoods boss Capt. Jack Braddock, last movie.
Very early in the movie both officers Murphy & Lymangood realize that the newest weapon against crime, the Blue Thunder, is actually going to be used against the average law abiding American citizen instead. Those behind using the Blue Thunder are planing to create terrorist violence and then use it to keep the innocent public under control.
The shocking truth comes out with the rape and mugging murder, that was a cover for an assassination, of the head of the L.A task force on urban violence commissioner Diane McNeely, Robin Braxton. Diane was about to release her findings that would expose those in the local city state and federal government of their real reasons in incorporating the Blue Thunder in all the big city police departments. It was found out by the McNeely commission that these high in government officials are secretly planning to stir up trouble in the ghettos and barrios of the city of L.A. If successful it would be an excuse for a major takeover of the country in instigating violence and chaos and then repealing the rights of Americans in the name of national security, sounds familiar? Those behind the Blue Thunder are planning to suspend the US Constitution and Bill of Rights and create a police state and fascist dictatorship.
Knowing that their marked men the two LAPD helicopter pilots tape a conversation of these secret government-types that includes Murphy's former partner and co-pilot in Vietnam Col. Cochrane, Malcolm McDowell. This leads to Lymangoods' murder when he's first kidnapped and then after escaping his captors is run down and killed on the streets of L.A.
Getting the news to where the incriminating tape was hidden,from the murdered Lymangood's telephone answering machine, Murphy hijacks the Blue Thunder and has his plucky girlfriend Kate, Candy Clark,retrieve it in order to bring it to a local L.A TV news station to be broadcast to the world. It's now a race against time as those in power planning to take over the government are themselves in a panic of being exposed by the tape. They do all that they can, using the L.A police and even the USAF, to shoot down and kill Murphy and Kate before they can make the secret takeover public. With everything that they do failing miserably to stop Murphy and his Blue Thunder helicopter the anti-freedom conspirators bring in their big gun Col. Cochrane to finally get the job done.
Spectacular and breath taking aerial acrobatics high over the city of L.A has maverick cop Murphy evade and then shoot down a number police helicopters as well as a fully armed USAF F16 jet fighter. With all this action and excitement it almost overshadow the films basic story about crime and corruption in high places in government. The dog fight between Murphy and Cochrane is about as good as any air to air combat shoot him ups thats been in movies with much faster fighter jets as the two have it out blowing up almost half of the city. Playing an airborne cat and mouse game with Cochrane Murphy outmaneuvers him, doing a complete circle in the air, and then getting on his tail blows Cochrane to pieces before he sets the Blue Thunder down on a railroad track having it demolished by an oncoming locomotive. With that demolishing the hopes and dreams of those who wanted to use it, as an excuse for crowd control, in their planned takeover of the United States.
P.S "Blue Thunder" was also 54 year old actor Warren Oates, who played Murphy and Lymangoods boss Capt. Jack Braddock, last movie.