I like Roy Scheider a lot. He boxed in the Golden Gloves, and who could not admire that nose? He's the protagonist here, a Vietnam vet who patrols Los Angeles in eponymous Super Duper helicopter that is designed to awe the audience. It's armored, it has a 20 mm. Gatling gun that automatically follows the gaze of the pilot, immune to radar, equipped with infra-red detectors, and it has a "whisper mode" in which the whop whop generated by the whirling rotors is dimmed by the sound man. It is supposed to be the ne plus ultra of military helicopters. And maybe in was in 1983. It's nothing new today. Except I suppose no current helicopters have a "whisper mode" because no sound man is present.
The problem is that any experienced viewer, anyone who has tapped into one or two examples of the James Bond franchise, isn't going to feel awe as much as boredom.
The helicopter is already obsolescent and the plot isn't anything new either. Roy Scheider is good; Malcolm McDowell is bad. Scheider, the pilot, has a radar officer next to him, a young "Gee Whiz" kind of guy who is cheerful, helpful, moral, and hasn't been around much. You know he's dead meat ten seconds after he appears.
The musical score pounds on our tympani. So does the dialog. "Okay, boys, this time we play Follow the Leader!" Scheider makes the kind of wisecracks under stress that can be found in an Arnold Schwarzenegger action movie, even as his helicopter whirls in circles and heads for the deck.
Lots of action scenes. The helicopter demolishes a cardboard test town. Cars chase a car. Helicopter chases a car. Helicopter chases helicopter. Car chases bound and gagged man waddling down the street. Exploding fireballs all over the place. Kids will love it.
The final shoot out takes place at about a thousand feet over and between Los Angeles' glass office buildings. One is flown by the good guy and the other is flown by the villain. Guess who wins.
The problem is that any experienced viewer, anyone who has tapped into one or two examples of the James Bond franchise, isn't going to feel awe as much as boredom.
The helicopter is already obsolescent and the plot isn't anything new either. Roy Scheider is good; Malcolm McDowell is bad. Scheider, the pilot, has a radar officer next to him, a young "Gee Whiz" kind of guy who is cheerful, helpful, moral, and hasn't been around much. You know he's dead meat ten seconds after he appears.
The musical score pounds on our tympani. So does the dialog. "Okay, boys, this time we play Follow the Leader!" Scheider makes the kind of wisecracks under stress that can be found in an Arnold Schwarzenegger action movie, even as his helicopter whirls in circles and heads for the deck.
Lots of action scenes. The helicopter demolishes a cardboard test town. Cars chase a car. Helicopter chases a car. Helicopter chases helicopter. Car chases bound and gagged man waddling down the street. Exploding fireballs all over the place. Kids will love it.
The final shoot out takes place at about a thousand feet over and between Los Angeles' glass office buildings. One is flown by the good guy and the other is flown by the villain. Guess who wins.