And it’s from the Cannon Group which is always reassuring!
It begins with the failed hostage rescue attempt in Iran in 1980. Major Scott McCoy (Chuck Norris) quits in disgust afterward. His commanding officer, Colonel Nick Alexander (Lee Marvin), is disappointed but understands.
Five years later an American airliner is hijacked. A rescue mission is on, and McCoy is back in Delta Force.
At least the rescue mission is on once the President gives the go-ahead but that means Delta Force cooling their heels while the danger to the hostages increases.
The initial stages of the movie are a bit slow and the emotional manipulation is laid on thick but it is necessary. The audience has to understand just how ruthless Abdul Rafai’s terrorists are. We have to understand that no matter how risky the rescue mission might be there is no choice.
Once the movie hits its stride the suspense builds relentlessly and the action is non-stop and the explosions are too numerous to count. Chuck’s tricked-out motorcycle is a treat.
The rescue is much more complicated than had been anticipated. These hijackers are well-organised and they’re suspicious and cautious. They have predicted the likely American moves. Delta Force will just have to come up with some moves they haven’t foreseen.
The airliner is flown to Beirut, then to Algiers, then back to Beirut. The fact that the hijackers are making these unexpected moves is a real problem.
There are lots of stars in this film although most of them (Shelley Winters, Martin Balsam, George Kennedy) are somewhat faded stars. But they are enthusiastic and it’s always great to see Robert Vaughn in any movie. He plays General Woodbridge, US Army Chief of Staff.
At 62 Lee Marvin was too old for this sort of thing but he’s Lee Marvin and he’s a legend so it doesn’t matter. This was, sadly, his final film appearance.
Chuck Norris is an action powerhouse. He doesn’t get to do much kung fu but he gets to inflict all manner of mayhem on the bad guys. As far as acting is concerned he doesn’t bother too much with that but he’s a totally convincing action hero.
The action scenes are complex and done on an epic scale and they really are very nicely mounted. There are plenty of them.
Critics mostly hated this film, which is always a good sign. It upset all the right people who were horrified by the idea of Americans being portrayed as heroes.
It is a movie about old-fashioned virtues - courage, sacrifice, overcoming fear, loyalty, determination.
If a movie has a political subtext I ignore it. If it’s so intrusive that I can’t ignore it I don’t watch the movie. I don’t watch movies in order to be subjected to political lectures. I had no problems in that regard with this movie.
The Delta Force was a huge hit and spawned a couple of sequels.
The Delta Force offers action, excitement and all-round entertainment. It might not be art but I had a lot of fun with it. Chuck Norris lives up to his reputation admirably. Highly recommended.
It’s available on Blu-Ray (and looks great in that format) individually and as part of a double-header release with the first of the sequels.
It begins with the failed hostage rescue attempt in Iran in 1980. Major Scott McCoy (Chuck Norris) quits in disgust afterward. His commanding officer, Colonel Nick Alexander (Lee Marvin), is disappointed but understands.
Five years later an American airliner is hijacked. A rescue mission is on, and McCoy is back in Delta Force.
At least the rescue mission is on once the President gives the go-ahead but that means Delta Force cooling their heels while the danger to the hostages increases.
The initial stages of the movie are a bit slow and the emotional manipulation is laid on thick but it is necessary. The audience has to understand just how ruthless Abdul Rafai’s terrorists are. We have to understand that no matter how risky the rescue mission might be there is no choice.
Once the movie hits its stride the suspense builds relentlessly and the action is non-stop and the explosions are too numerous to count. Chuck’s tricked-out motorcycle is a treat.
The rescue is much more complicated than had been anticipated. These hijackers are well-organised and they’re suspicious and cautious. They have predicted the likely American moves. Delta Force will just have to come up with some moves they haven’t foreseen.
The airliner is flown to Beirut, then to Algiers, then back to Beirut. The fact that the hijackers are making these unexpected moves is a real problem.
There are lots of stars in this film although most of them (Shelley Winters, Martin Balsam, George Kennedy) are somewhat faded stars. But they are enthusiastic and it’s always great to see Robert Vaughn in any movie. He plays General Woodbridge, US Army Chief of Staff.
At 62 Lee Marvin was too old for this sort of thing but he’s Lee Marvin and he’s a legend so it doesn’t matter. This was, sadly, his final film appearance.
Chuck Norris is an action powerhouse. He doesn’t get to do much kung fu but he gets to inflict all manner of mayhem on the bad guys. As far as acting is concerned he doesn’t bother too much with that but he’s a totally convincing action hero.
The action scenes are complex and done on an epic scale and they really are very nicely mounted. There are plenty of them.
Critics mostly hated this film, which is always a good sign. It upset all the right people who were horrified by the idea of Americans being portrayed as heroes.
It is a movie about old-fashioned virtues - courage, sacrifice, overcoming fear, loyalty, determination.
If a movie has a political subtext I ignore it. If it’s so intrusive that I can’t ignore it I don’t watch the movie. I don’t watch movies in order to be subjected to political lectures. I had no problems in that regard with this movie.
The Delta Force was a huge hit and spawned a couple of sequels.
The Delta Force offers action, excitement and all-round entertainment. It might not be art but I had a lot of fun with it. Chuck Norris lives up to his reputation admirably. Highly recommended.
It’s available on Blu-Ray (and looks great in that format) individually and as part of a double-header release with the first of the sequels.
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