mariabowman-66756 When one thinks of Sylvester Stallone they think of Rambo or Rocky or one of his many other action avatars but this film Night Hawks is where he gives one of his most underrated performances. He plays a conservative cop trying to catch an international terrorist in his city. Rutger Hauer is another actor who is better known in films like Blade Runner but he is absolutely sublime here as the bad guy. The pacing is good and the film has that raw gritty look of early 80s. If you haven't already then you should check out Night Hawks

TonyMontana96 (Originally reviewed: 11/04/2017) Stallone is no stranger to being involved with bad movies, and Nighthawks is no exception that suffers hugely from a boring antagonist that has no personality and is practically a cliché, going through the motions without bringing anything inventive to the table. My main comparison would be this, take Dirty Harry for example, a classic cop picture with a great protagonist and antagonist, the villain there was original, impressive and very good, now take Rutger Hauer who plays the villain here, he's boring, routine and never shines, which is disappointing, much like the film but I'll get to that in a minute. Sylvester Stallone play's DaSilva, a devoted street cop with little to no background, and as for development, don't bother looking as all you'll know is that he doesn't like killers, but then again, who does. Now Stallone is not very good here, merely passable, but I'm guessing this is due to the dreadful script which Is riddled with clichéd, dull dialogue and that has but one good particular scene where a cop is stabbed and he shouts at the top of his voice your f**king dead" and many more words along those lines in a menacing way towards the villain who is seen fleeing, now this was his one and only good scene because I could believe the anger in DaSilva's voice, and it's perhaps one of few moments that are decent. The story is uninspired even for one of the earlier 'routine cop picture's', two street cops played by Stallone and Billy Dee Williams are after an international terrorist who kills tons of innocent people, some people get shot to keep the audience awake and character development, depth and originality all take a detour into a black hole, that for me is pretty much Nighthawks, but then again I'm being to kind, this is trash, and a really underwhelming bore of a film. The performances are really forgettable, including Billy Dee Williams who play's Sergeant Fox, DaSilva's dedicated partner, who overacts and made me laugh at one point, and who disappears later on after getting injured, that's how careless the makers of this picture were. Other uninspired supporting performances include Lindsay Wagner who plays Irene, a thrown in love interest for Stallone character, now she has one or two scenes, and half way through DaSilva tells her the will go to dinner, she agrees, the story keeps running, and yet I never saw them speak again, maybe she evaporated, or perhaps the screenwriters couldn't be bothered to continue with that romance. Either way it sucked, quite possibly the worst written, dull romance ever seen within a cop film, and later on there is a real nerve, to use Irene's character as a plot device, which ended up so damn predictable, and yet the real Irene was seen walking along the street moments before, did they tell her not to go back to the apartment? No, screenwriter David Shaber just assumes the cops told her and that she is aware of DaSilva's plan, I'm guessing he felt it was unnecessary to provide explanations and coherence. Truth be told, this is a real jumble of sorts, where crappy writing and questionable plotting take centre stage. Another howler is the humour, if there was any, because I didn't laugh, including one pathetic scene where Stallone's character is insulted by his commanding officer who makes a joke about his previous divorce; DaSilva slowly leaves the room in silence, only later on they are like best buddies, telling each other "want to go for Chinese food later, sure, but you're paying", for which there was a joke that was pointless remembering. The film also drags, it's only an hour and a half, and it got even more tedious as it progressed, and despite some well shot cinematography, realistic nightclubs and decent costume designs, the film is still a mess. Bruce Malmuth's direction is unimpressive, and I can't even remember the soundtrack and the final hostage situation in a heightened passenger car is yet again forgettable and predictable. All in all the picture has a routine story that's told badly, and the ridiculous, uneven plotting, lack of depth and unconvincing performances only sink it even more, Nighthawks is dull, forgettable trash.

Scott LeBrun Top notch action thriller gives Sylvester Stallone one of his better roles, as Deke DaSilva, a tough street cop pulled off of "decoy" work, along with his partner Matthew Fox (Billy Dee Williams). His superiors reassign him to a special anti-terrorism unit that's on the trail of Heymar "Wulfgar" Reinhardt (Rutger Hauer, in a smashing American debut). Wulfgar is a ruthless terrorist-for-hire rendered persona non grata with revolutionary communities after some incidents in London. So he comes to NYC, and announces his presence in a big way, to ensure the terrorists of the world that he's still employable.This is a well directed, exciting movie that manages to grab you early on, and hardly ever lets up until a clever finish. It features some very tense sequences like the one on a tram suspended high above the East River, and benefits a lot from having such a creditable hero (Sly delivers an effectively low key performance) and loathsome yet charismatic villain. Praise is also due to the supporting cast: the likable Williams, the appealing (but under utilized) Lindsay Wagner, Persis Khambatta as our villains' deadly associate, Nigel Davenport as a smooth anti-terrorism expert, Hilary Thompson as unfortunate, ill fated stewardess Pam, and the great character actor Joe Spinell as Stallones' superior. Porn star Jamie Gillis plays a designer; Catherine Mary Stewart has a bit as a salesgirl.Further enlivened by Keith Emersons' dynamic music score (he also performs a funky cover of "I'm a Man" for the pivotal nightclub sequence), "Nighthawks" can also boast a solid climactic chase. It's extremely well shot on various locations in NYC, London, and Paris. It's violent but never overtly gory, and does have an appreciable sense of humor at times.The eyeglasses & beard look that Sly sports here is definitely unusual, but it works for him.Eight out of 10.

Mr-Fusion Stallone is no slouch in "Nighthawks", but even I'll admit that part of the movie's appeal is watching him be upstaged by Rutger Hauer. That guy's all sorts of menacing. Even so, the two men are what make this movie really work, bringing international terrorism head to head with gritty cop drama. This makes good use of New York locations to that end, and it's kinda like Stallone's "The French Connection". It's a surprisingly entertaining movie, still packs a punch, and the tense tram standoff in the third act keeps the blood pumping 'til the very end.8/10