Review of Nighthawks (1981) by Danny R — 10 Dec 2015

Bruce Malmuth's riveting suspenseful cat-and-mouse thriller, concerning two New York City undercover police officers Deke DaSilva and Matthew Fox, played by marvelously Sylvester Stallone and Billy Dee Williams, they are reassigned to a special unit run by a Interpol terrorist expert nicely played by the late Nigel Davenport, who is tracking a ruthless, cold-blooded international terrorist known as Wulfgar, played brilliantly by Holland's top actor Rutger Hauer in his impressive American film debut, Hauer is absolutely chilling in the role and matches Stallone scene for scene, as a matter of fact his villain completely dominates this exciting police thriller, he is a crafty and murderous fiend who rationalized his actions and has no problem blowing a department store full innocent victims including children for his cause.

There are plenty of hair-raising moments including a terrific chase through the Manhattan subway and a showdown on the Roosevelt island tramway car high above the East River. Astute direction by Malmuth, with outstanding supporting performances by Joe Spinell, Persis Kahambatta and Lindsay Wagner.

A sensational cop thriller from the early 80's. Highly Recommended.