Nighthawks (1981) Reviews

• Timely Terrorist Movie

  Schlockmeister2001-05-29

  It was 1981 and the world had just gone through a decade of terrorism. Casting Rutger Hauer and Persis Khambatta (she was the bald woman in the original Star Trek movie) as heartlessly cold terrorists was great casting! Billy Dee Williams and Stallone as street cops suddenly transferred to a terrorist unit do a good job. Stallone had not become a parody of himself yet and his diction is better here than it had ever been up to then. The movie's pace is unrelenting. This is a movie that I almost always have to stop and watch, easily getting swiped up into the story again and again, when I see it on television. Excellent twist ending and monorail scene. Recommended highly.

• Hauer steals the show

  getmynannerup2004-08-22

  Remember a day when Rutger Hauer starred in good movies that actually saw wide theatrical release? No. Hmmmm. Hauer is one of my favorite actors and stars in two of my top ten favorite movies (Blade Runner and The Osterman Weekend), so it's hard not to already be slightly biased about the movie. I remember first hearing about Nighthawks on the Headliners and Legends biography of Stallone and how it was not as well received as his Rocky and First Blood movies. For shame, because Nighthawks does manage to be a top notch thriller most of the time. I could go into the plot, but I believe in telling people what I liked and disliked instead of parroting the plot details like almost every other review. (See, a movie to me is more fun when I only know a little about the story, instead of the first hour or so, because someone felt that they had to readers digest the entire film.) Anyway, now that I've ranted, I have to admit that I enjoyed it for the most part, with the exception of the initial pacing. It continues to drag in places towards the middle, and takes a little over an hour to set up the crucial players backgrounds. The only real problem is that every time the film stops to focus on DeSilva (Stallone) and Fox (Williams), it spends twice as much time focusing on Wulfgar. Wulfgar is certainly a well crafted maniac, but when the movie is over we know almost nothing about Fox and only a little about Dee DeSilva. Still, the movie does succeed in making you care about our two main characters, by thrusting them into danger and having them do what is morally right (i.e. Towards the beginning of the film the two are in a drug raid, and refuse to take bribes from the perps who had apparently already paid off the cops from the first raid on their operation. They're good cops, and it's their good guy image that endears them). I guess it would have been nice also to see a little more of Stallones relation to what's her name. (sorry, I haven't seen this in a about a month now.) I was interested in the prospect of a hero who was torn between the relation with his ex (who he was trying to re-ignite the flame with), and his duty. But, alas, she was just a narrative device who the writers have decided is only important in the last 15 minutes or so. With all these cons, why did I still like it? Sudden scenes of high impact, good cast and acting all around, a villain who wasn't just a cardboard cutout, and Stallone's bitchin' beard, and a wholly convincing scenario. The bottom line: This film is more akin to The French Connection than it is to Rocky. Methodical and often stylish, NightHawks deserves to at least be rented and watched with an open mind. 8 Stars out of 10

• Excellent Trio Make This A Top-Notch Thriller

  ccthemovieman-12006-04-03

  This Sylvester Stallone movie may be his best because, unlike most of his more famous roles over the years, this is very believable. He isn't Rambo or Rocky...just a tough New York City cop. Stallone and partner Billy Dee Williams team up in an attempt to stop a terrifying international terrorist (Rutger Hauer) before he kills more people. All three of those actors are riveting in this rough, gritty film. I thought so much of this movie that I bought it twice. The first DVD that came out was fullscreen, no stereo and grainy. Later, they issued a better widescreen print and it was worth upgrading. The movie is a top-notch thriller start-to-finish and Hauer makes an outstanding villain. It might be a cliché but this film always "kept m on the edge of my seat. "

• One of the most underrated films...

  simba-182000-05-19

  This is one of the best action movies out there, even to this day. It's a must see especially for Stallone fans. If he chose more of this type of movie, he would be much more respected in Hollywood. Rutger Hauer is awesome as Wulfgar, the international terrorist. All performances are notable, Billy Dee Williams/Sylvester Stallone pairing works well. Stallone really is a great actor, given the right material, and this one certainly provides it. It's a shame he sold out with the "Rocky" sequels.

• Pour a drink for Bruce Malmuth

  rsbrandt2005-07-01

  I was happy to see Premiere magazine remember this flick when they ranked the 100 Best Thrillers of All Time, and after reading today that its director has passed on, I can only hope more people will give it a first or second look. Time has of course given it extra relevance, but there are three reasons for checking this one out: 1. As hinted above, in the post-9/11 world, its theme of terrorists plotting an attack in New York City seems eerily prophetic. 2. Sylvester Stallone gives an uncharacteristically muted performance that comes off as extremely effective. 3. That ending? They got me. They totally got me. Director Bruce Malmuth's work here was competent enough to make one wonder just a little if he didn't deserve better projects than he got after this.