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Nighthawks (1981)
Rate:
8
Viewed:
5/19
5/19:
For some reason, I thought Nighthawks might have something to do with Edward Hopper's famous oil on canvas painting,
but it's not about that.
Rather, it's a thrilling action policier with Sylvester Stallone at his classic best. Rutger Hauer looks to be in
tip-top shape. I don't think he had done better in other films except for maybe Blade Runner.
Nigel Davenport does a nice job of amping up the suspense.
The battle between Stallone's and Hauer's characters is the most impressive part of Nighthawks. One great movie moment
is when, inside the discotheque, Sylvester Stallone stared at Rutger Hauer for a long time, immediately knowing what's
happening. For the ending, Wulfgar was definitely surprised at having been outsmarted in what's considered as a great
get-back-at-ya finish.
However, the main problem is that the movie is so short. There's barely enough time to flesh out the story. Sure,
the chase reminds me of The French Connection (in fact, the script was originally
meant to be the second sequel for it, but Gene Hackman didn't want to reprise the role anymore), yet Sylvester Stallone makes a
positive id of the man within a day or two after spending a week holed up in the police basement to learn about counter-terrorism
tactics? That's hardly likely. The other problem is Billy Dee Williams. He's merely treated as an afterthought. So why bother
bringing him on board? Either cut Billy Dee Williams loose or develop his character more.
Apparently, Sylvester Stallone is a walking one-man show. Because of his beard to be an Al Pacino look-alike, he would've
done an excellent job if he starred in the prequel to Carlito's Way or replaced the
aforementioned star for Serpico. Hence, it's amazing to see Rutger Hauer counteracting
Sylvester Stallone's superstardom, which caused him to be jealous, with his impressive presence.
Funnily, as taken from IMDb: "According to an interview in Premiere, Rutger Hauer was told before filming that Sylvester
Stallone ran up building stairwells for exercise. However, during the subway chase, Hauer continually outran the American
star, who is known for his competitive streak." By the way, Rutger Hauer and Persis Khambatta previously worked on the same
film entitled The Wilby Conspiracy with Sidney Poitier and Michael Caine.
All in all, Nighthawks is a tremendously underrated Stallone vehicle.