Sorry, this movie sucks

Sadly Over-hyped

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

Nighthawks finds both Sylvester Stallone and Billy Dee Williams cast as a pair of undercover street cops who are picked for an anti- terrorism task force much against their will. It's a task force put together by Interpol and it's target is Rutger Hauer an international terrorist who has found Europe to hot for him and has fled to America with his associate Persis Khambatta.Hauer is really something to see, a stone cold killer who disguises his taste for sick violence by making himself an appointed liberator of the downtrodden people. The film actually opens with him bombing an English department store saying he was protesting British colonialism. By 1981 the British had divested themselves pretty much of their colonies, but Hauer needed an excuse.The finale takes place as Hauer and Khambatta take hostages aboard a Roosevelt Island shuttle tram car. It's nicely staged and the climax worth it. Some of Stallone's undercover skills are employed.Nighhawks is a good action thriller, Stallone fans will be pleased.

Nighthawks was a gritty, violent, down and dirty thriller which brought out the best in Sylvester Stallone and Rutger Hauer as the two charismatic leads. Underrated on release, it's still well worth the time.Detective Sergeant Deke DaSilva (Sylvester Stallone) and Detective Sergeant Matthew Fox (Billy Dee Williams) are part of NYPD's undercover Street Crime Unit. Their boss Lieutenant Munafo (Joe Spinell) later notifies them that DaSilva and Fox have been handpicked to join the newly-formed ATAC (Anti Terrorist Action Command) squad spearheaded by INTERPOL British Counter-terrorist specialist Peter Hartman (Nigel Davenport). Their primary task is to take down international terrorist Heymar Reinhardt, also known as Wulfgar (Rutger Hauer) who after bombing a department store in London, has managed to slip through the fingers of authorities and has made his way to New York City. Teaming up with a mysterious woman named Shakka (Persis Khambatta), Wulfgar continues his campaign of terror and vows to bring New York City to its knees and it's up to DaSilva and Fox to take him down.Sylvester Stallone's career continued to climb following the success of the Academy Award winning Rocky (1976) and it's sequel Rocky II (1979). In Nightwawks, Stallone is excellent as Deke DaSilva who doesn't rely on brawn to get him by but also his brains. Stallone's character shows more of a sensitive side where he is less ruthless and trigger happy compared to many of his previous characters where he has played a policeman in movies such as Cobra (1986) and Tango & Cash (1989). Following a bloody confrontation, DaSilva rethinks his tactics and vows to match Wulfgar on even ground. Billy Dee Williams who is well known for his role as Lando Calrissian in The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return of the Jedi (1983), is perfectly paired up with Stallone as DaSilva's partner Fox who have been tasked to take down Wulfgar. Dutch actor Rutger Hauer made audiences sit up and take notice by putting in a chilling performance as international terrorist Wulfgar in his U.S. debut where he establishes himself as an actor well known for playing villains in such classics as Blade Runner (1982) and The Hitcher (1986). Director Bruce Malmuth makes his directorial debut with Nighthawks and here he has done a fine job bringing this gritty film to life on screen.It's hard to believe that today the fear of terrorism is widespread given that the events of September 11 2001 changed the world forever. Nighthawks was certainly ahead of its time.Though not a box office smash in 1981, it still netted positive reviews and acclaim, with Stallone earning his share of the praise but the standout was Rutger Hauer. Despite how dated it is, Nighthawks is still good viewing.7/10.

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

This would be a routine action film, except for the way women function rather perversely in this movie. Sylvester Stallone, who plays a cop, has two women in his life. The first is his ex-wife. The second is Stallone himself, when he dresses up like a woman in order to lure muggers to attack him. It is pretty funny watching him chase a bad guy while wearing a dress.Rutger Hauer plays a terrorist who has a female accomplice. In the opening scene, set in England, he compliments a woman selling perfume in a department store while he slips a bomb under the counter, blowing up her and lots of others moments later. Then he comes to New York and picks up a woman in a bar to shack up with while he plots his next attack. When she discovers what he is, he kills her, which is ironic, since he jokingly referred to himself as a lady killer earlier. Then he takes a bunch of hostages on a tram, killing one woman and dropping her body into the river just to show he means business.When Stallone foils this plot, Hauer decides to get even by killing Stallone's ex-wife. He slips into her apartment while she is washing the dishes. He pulls out his knife and sneaks into the kitchen behind her. Then, just when he is about to stab her, she turns around and we see that it is not her after all. It is Stallone in drag again, and he puts a couple of rounds into one stunned and bewildered terrorist.