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The Delta Force (1986)
Well, I don't about you, but after The Expendables 2, I've been in the mood to see some early asskicking Chuck Norris. This was the only one of his I had seen before TE2, but today I had no problem revisiting it again with friends. Because this is pretty much, despite me not having seen any other Chuck films, the best Norris film out there.
A commercial 747 is hijacked by by freedom fighting terrorists (led by Robert Forster, looking like a cross between Freddie Mercury and '80's Robert Loggia), who, after landing Beirut, take a group of hostages back to their headquarters. The government sends in the only group that can save them: The Delta Force, a crack team of commandos, led by Lee Marvin and Chuck Norris.
To begin with, this isn't your typical Chuck Norris vehicle. It does have taking on bad guys with an Uzi and that scene-stealing beard, but from what I've heard and read about other Chuck Norris films, this one has the distinction of actually a well-thought out storyline. The first half of this film (almost Chuck free) is a real movie. It doesn't have guns blazing and explosions aplenty, it's actually an engaging hostage drama, that features some fine work from the actors involved.
It almost seems like this was originally meant to be a serious '80's anti-terrorism drama that was retooled to fit Chuck Norris standards. One can tell by the sudden, swift change of tone in the middle, where it switches from being the hostage drama to the guns blazing action picture it looks like on the cover. Weirdly enough, I'm not sure if I'd prefer it to be that film or this one. I do like it as it is, though.
The second half, when The Delta Force attacks the terrorist compund to save the hostages, is great stuff. Completely cheesy nonsense, but great fun, especially with that terribly catchy theme tune playing throughout. It's certainly jarring, considering the 70 minutes of drama that came before it, but I don't really care when it's this much fun. Plus, motorcycles that shoot rockets!
The acting on show from the passengers and terrorists is quite good, especially Forster as the terrorist leader, convincing as both the cold terrorist leader in the first half and the evil bad guy to boo and hiss at in the second half. Chuck's ok here, not great but not bad either. Lee Marvin doesn't get much to do, but this is notable for being his final film.
To conclude, I like this film a lot. It struggles with tone, in parts it's completely over the top and the theme tune is so unintentionally hilarious, but it's good fun that has a bit of heft to it as well.
Well, I don't about you, but after The Expendables 2, I've been in the mood to see some early asskicking Chuck Norris. This was the only one of his I had seen before TE2, but today I had no problem revisiting it again with friends. Because this is pretty much, despite me not having seen any other Chuck films, the best Norris film out there.
A commercial 747 is hijacked by by freedom fighting terrorists (led by Robert Forster, looking like a cross between Freddie Mercury and '80's Robert Loggia), who, after landing Beirut, take a group of hostages back to their headquarters. The government sends in the only group that can save them: The Delta Force, a crack team of commandos, led by Lee Marvin and Chuck Norris.
To begin with, this isn't your typical Chuck Norris vehicle. It does have taking on bad guys with an Uzi and that scene-stealing beard, but from what I've heard and read about other Chuck Norris films, this one has the distinction of actually a well-thought out storyline. The first half of this film (almost Chuck free) is a real movie. It doesn't have guns blazing and explosions aplenty, it's actually an engaging hostage drama, that features some fine work from the actors involved.
It almost seems like this was originally meant to be a serious '80's anti-terrorism drama that was retooled to fit Chuck Norris standards. One can tell by the sudden, swift change of tone in the middle, where it switches from being the hostage drama to the guns blazing action picture it looks like on the cover. Weirdly enough, I'm not sure if I'd prefer it to be that film or this one. I do like it as it is, though.
The second half, when The Delta Force attacks the terrorist compund to save the hostages, is great stuff. Completely cheesy nonsense, but great fun, especially with that terribly catchy theme tune playing throughout. It's certainly jarring, considering the 70 minutes of drama that came before it, but I don't really care when it's this much fun. Plus, motorcycles that shoot rockets!
The acting on show from the passengers and terrorists is quite good, especially Forster as the terrorist leader, convincing as both the cold terrorist leader in the first half and the evil bad guy to boo and hiss at in the second half. Chuck's ok here, not great but not bad either. Lee Marvin doesn't get much to do, but this is notable for being his final film.
To conclude, I like this film a lot. It struggles with tone, in parts it's completely over the top and the theme tune is so unintentionally hilarious, but it's good fun that has a bit of heft to it as well.