Airwolf: The Movie (1984)

the audience applauded

So much average

Best movie ever!

Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.

Oh, my. When I was a kid I couldn't miss a week of this series, and this is the movie that started it all. It really has a decent plot, given the times it was made in. In 1984, the idea of a third world nation like Libya getting something nasty from a shadowy mercenary type was very real. In 1982, Israel had taken out an Iraqi nuclear reactor that Saddam Hussein had bought from contacts in Europe. In 1982, also, the Falklands war saw the British running into a lot of trouble with Exocet missiles hitting their destroyers.In "Airwolf," one scene which took a lot of guts to do features an attack by the hijacked helicopter launched against a destroyer. The idea of nasty weapons getting to nations that might mean ill to people has only become more powerful. In 1987, three years after the television movie aired, a U.S. Frigate, the Stark, was "accidentally" hit for real by an Iraqi fighter in the Persian Gulf. So, in that context, and with the height of the Cold War, the idea of powerful organizations like "The Firm" that Moffet was working for and which our two main pilot good guys get involved with, made for some powerful stuff. The performances only added to the power of it, especially for a kid like myself, with Jan-Michael Vincent doing a great job as the brooding, reluctant hero, and Ernest Borgnine (Who I had only seen doing comedy in reruns of "McHale's Navy" at the time) doing incredible work as well. This series really was a nice thing for him, and boy did he deserve the chance to do something like this. Finally, who could forget Alex Cord as Archangel, all in white except for the black lens in his glasses over his injured eye? White limousines, a white helicopter of his own, and beautiful female aides dressed in white, and the cane he walked with because of his injuries. Definitely a chilling figure in his own right. Man, this was an awesome show for a kid in 1984. Also, it makes points about the duties of people to what is right, the question of when the lines of the fight for good cross with the desire for power, and all the classic stuff. Bellisario came through with this and "Magnum, P.I." about the same time, I believe, which was quite good for him. Everyone associated with this project turned in good work - including the folks who designed the fold-out cannons on Airwolf's winglets, which were impressive in how they folded out and so forth. - Vincent was awesome in the melancholy and quiet scenes where he was just playing his cello by the lake or hanging out and thinking. The show topped this all off with one of the best scores of the 1980s. Definitely a winner. The toppings are all there, but underneath, with the writing, directing, and the performances, the substance is there in force. Great, great show.

This is my all time favorite. Borgnine and Vincent gives a really good acting in this tv show. Bellisario has created this master piece. The best tv show ever. Jan-Michael vincent rules.Also check out Nightrider and A-team.

Hollywood enjoyed a period of unprecedented interest in technology during the mid-1980s with super vehicle shows such as AIRWOLF, BLUE THUNDER, THE HIGHWAYMAN, KNIGHT RIDER and the underated STREET HAWK.Borne from the mind of one of US Television's most creative writers of quality entertainment - Donald P. Bellisario who brought us TALES OF THE GOLDEN MONKEY, MAGNUM P.I., QUANTUM LEAP and currently with the military drama series, J.A.G., it had everything with action, adventure, espionage, adult scripts, international intrigue, coupled with real-world politics (which is rare in Hollywood) even pushing some right-wing, hawkish politics into the middle of the action.With grim-as-granite Jan-Michael Vincent in the main role as loner pilot, Stringfellow Hawke, aided by Oscar-winning movie veteran, Ernest Borgnine and a support cast including movie actor, Alex Cord (and C.I.A. Deputy Director - Michael Archangel) and TV regular Jean Bruce Scott, it was a show on the edge, that, with the exciting aerial climax at the end of most episodes pushed the boundaries of television with its movie quality action sequences, technology and locations (including the beautiful Monument Valley in Utah).It now has a sizeable following of loyal fans worldwide (the Wolf Pack), including many people who became pilots (military and commercial) through their love of the show - many fans of which have been following the commercially successful shows of Donald Bellisario (Belisarius Productions) from its humble beginnings in the early 1980s, including the current success of J.A.G. on CBS.A show which deserved a bigger following at the time, it's a rare gem of television history.

Donald Bellisario the man who created Battlestar Galactica and Magnum PI, and later Quantum Leap, thought of this great action TV movie, which spawned a mega-hit show. The story runs that Dr. Moffet (David Hemmings) has created a super helicopter which with the help of thrusters can fly faster than a jet fighter, is equipped with twin machine guns, multiple rocket launchers, and Sunbursts to evade heat seeking missiles. Unfortunately he is a bit evil, and defects to the Libyans, taking his creation with him. Michael 'Archangel' Briggs (Alex Cord) the chief of a highly secretive organisation, the Firm, needs someone to go into Libya and bring back Airwolf. He turns To Stringfellow Hawke (Jan-Michael Vincent in the role which made him tv's highest paid actor), a former Vietnam pilot, who agrees after much negotiating. A top piece of TV entertainment, and the preface to one of the most successful shows of the 1980s.