Of all my different little sections throughout my DVD collection, for some reason I get the most smack about my Chuck Norris DVD’s than any other. Not my Hulk Hogan DVD’s or my copy of Even Dwarves Started Small. My copies of Double Impact, Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins, or Hard to Kill never get any mention, but all my friends like to take potshots at my man Chuck. Even after watching the awesome opening sequence from Lone Wolf McQuade or the bar brawl in Code of Silence, many still don’t understand the joy of Chuck.
Still there’s always one film that my friends treat with legitimacy. The karate mastery shown in Forced Vengeance or the heroics of Missing in Action are still scoffed at, but this one film is revered as an Action classic. Odd thing is, this is perhaps the most ridiculous and definitely the most uneven of all of Chuck’s films. This is also perhaps the most depressing of Chuck’s ventures. Yet those of my friends not yet indoctrinated into the films of Chuck Norris insist this is his best film. This one film stands tall above Norris’ filmography as perhaps his biggest hit and the one that gets the most play on cable. This film is The Delta Force.
Directed by Menahem Golan.
Chuck Norris IS Major Scott McCoy, a high-ranking officer in America’s elite anti-terrorist commando unit, The Delta Force. All the heroics you would expect from a Chuck Norris film are right on queue in the film’s opening minutes, but what you may not know is that while this sequence is actually a representation of a real event. On April 24, 1980, the United States military set in motion a plan to release hostages held in the U.S. embassy in Tehran, Iran. Named Operation Eagle Claw, the mission was a complete failure, as sandstorms and other circumstances reeked havoc on U.S. forces, by causing severe damage to helicopters and other equipment. The operation was severely detrimental to the Carter administration and was probably partly instrumental into the downfall of his Presidency.
The opening sequence of this film is a short representation of this event, With Norris’ McCoy displaying near superhuman (or normal for Chuck Norris) abilities to save a comrade trapped underneath a Jeep. Now some of the problems I have with this film show up here in these opening moments. First off all, while Operation Eagle Claw is the event being depicted here, there is no mention of what these men are doing in the desert. The sequence itself is rather chaotic, as two transport planes are shown, with one subsequently blowing up, but none of these events explain why they are there and what is happening. Also, even though the real-life event was a disastrous failure, we get great fanfare as Chuck saves the day.
Then Delta Force completely switches gears. We go from Chuck’s heroics to a modern day Athens. We watch the setup for a plane hijacking, as a maintenance man smuggles weapons aboard a plane, unbeknownst to the plane’s crew. Then as the passengers board for their flight to New York City, two men with guns announce that the plane is theirs and hijack the plane.
What follows is the most surprising experience I have ever had while watching a Chuck Norris movie. Suddenly, The Delta Force goes from being a standard Chuck Norris picture to being a rather powerful drama. Out of nowhere, the middle of this film turns into a very well produced hijack drama complete with terrific Disaster movie cast including George Kennedy and Shelly Winters.
Robert Forster is terrific as Abdul, the lead hijacker. He is at times very scary and yet his humanity sneaks through on occasion, making him more than just a cartoon villain. Hats off to Director Menahem Golan for keeping this from being an insult to our intelligence and for giving these men some emotion other than anger. I was particularly surprised with a sequence where a young pregnant woman is looked after, even as all the Jewish hostages on the plane are separated from the rest of the passengers.
Based again on real events, this middle section takes its inspiration from the June 14, 1985 hijacking of TWA Flight 847. Surprisingly, during this portion of the film, it’s hard not to say that the events aren’t done justice. The torture and murder of a Navy diver is particularly powerful, as are scenes of sacrifice from George Kennedy and Martin Balsam as a holocaust survivor giving himself up to comply with the terrorist’s wishes.
Then, just as we’re caught in a taut thriller, we see United States Army’s General Woodbridge (Robert Vaughn) gets the news of the hijacking. He immediately calls Colonel Nick Alexander (Lee Marvin), and the next thing you know Chuck Norris drives up in a beat up pickup truck as if he just drove off the lot of Invasion U.S.A. and drove onto this movie. The rest of the film is pretty much business as usual for these cinematic bad asses.
In his last role, Marvin leads this team with the same confidence he did The Dirty Dozen two decades before. Few actors were known for tough guy roles as much as Marvin was and he’s in top form despite his age. Really to be honest, since Marvin’s hair went gray so early in his career, he doesn’t look much different than he did when he originally played Maj. John Reisman in his classic “Men on a Mission” film. Mind you, he doesn’t get a lot of physical action in this film, but Marvin does add credibility to the film that probably wouldn’t have been present otherwise.
Of course, when Norris shows up the movie once again switches gears completely; this time into overdrive. The intense drama aboard the plane is roundhouse kicked out the window in order for Norris the super commando to show up and save the day. The thing is, taken for what it is, this section is perfectly entertaining. I love the team aspect, with Norris’ McCoy working together with the rest of the rescue team to bring down the terrorists, but still being a bit of a lone wolf.
The climactic showdown between McCoy and Abdul is a landslide victory for the Norris character. McCoy stalks his prey, striking as many poses as possible, before coming fourth with his fists of steel and roundhouse fury. The Forster character really doesn’t have a chance, but has any Norris villain? After awhile, you’re just waiting for McCoy to put the hijacker away.
Oddly enough, the film’s action is both one of its strongest assets and its greatest negative. Watching Munich, the actions scenes, while extremely intense, are often left low key. Having Eric Bana bust in on a bunch of terrorists with a motorcycle would have probably taken away from the movie’s message. Director Menahem Golan apparently feels the exact opposite, as no scene in The Delta Force’s last third could possibly be filled with more guns, explosions and karate. The scene that bothered me the most is when Norris’ McCoy dispatches the second hijacker. After creating a weird sense of sympathy for the character on the plane, as he tried to comfort a small child as well as a pregnant woman, Norris’ character simply blows him away with a “sleep tight sucker”. Really, it’s a small metaphor for the entire film, a serious buildup with an Action movie blow off.
Perhaps the film’s problem is that the middle section with the hijacking is too well done. We get so caught up in the heroics of the everyday people, that when Norris and Marvin show up, it rings a bit false. More so, with the events of TWA Flight 847 being the basis for much of the film, is a disservice paid to them by adding in the comic book style action of the film’s last third. Let’s face it, if a 9/11 film was made down the line where the hijackers of United 93 kick in the door, and the pilots end up being Arnold Schwarzenegger and Chuck Norris who end up taking down the terrorists all by themselves, there would probably be some outrage wouldn’t there?
A while back, fellow IP writer Scott Sawitz and I were having a conversation about which films would probably not be accepted by modern audiences after 9/11. The first two films that actually came to mind were The Delta Force and Invasion U.S.A.. Both of these films turn anti-terrorism into a live action episode of G.I. Joe. Delta Force could have possibly ended with some realistic heroics and real drama with some real weight, but instead turns into a patriotic revenge fantasy with comic book style consequences.
So what do we end up with at the close of this film? Well, it’s difficult to call The Delta Force a bad movie, because whether you’re watching the dramatic portions or the fireworks/kung fu movie, it remains ceaselessly entertaining. The Delta Force is still the high point of Norris’ career to the casual fan, and the middle portion of the film has some great performances from the likes of George Kennedy and Robert Forster. It’s just too bad the film is so uneven, which has really hurt it in the long run; then again more people have probably watched the film over the years because of the motorcycle with missiles rather than the tension of the film’s middle section.
Picture Credits: dvdmaniacs.net, impawards.com, vaughnlounge.com
