Concocted by hack director Jim Wynorski in collaboration with Roger Corman's Concorde Films, "Desert Thunder" passes it's time a lot quicker than a lot of other low-budget action films I've seen, but is still nothing great.
Baldwin and Tyson put together a "crack" team of misfit combat pilots who have been dishonourably discharged for various antics to fly a secret covert mission to Iraq and thwart the baddies' plans to launch a biological weapon against Europe. So we've got a kind of "Top Gun"/"Iron Eagle" meets "The Dirty Dozen" movie where we know the heroes will pull together and save the day.
Riddled with clichés along the way including: a brawl in a redneck bar; convenient plot information delivered by generals and bad guys; token racial minorities; poor attempts at humour; military funeral with requisite flinching when the guns fire and Baldwin's psychological hindrance from feeling responsible for the death of another pilot. It takes 70 minutes before our heroes even make it to Iraq for the climax which feels like they forgot there was supposed to be an ending.
Still, not that horrible, but certainly no classic of action cinema. No credits are given at the end for any sort of flying effects; pilots; planes etc., which makes me wonder if the combat footage is stolen from another film? I bought it for $2 on a double bill with "Fear" (1988) which wasn't as good as it sounded.
Baldwin and Tyson put together a "crack" team of misfit combat pilots who have been dishonourably discharged for various antics to fly a secret covert mission to Iraq and thwart the baddies' plans to launch a biological weapon against Europe. So we've got a kind of "Top Gun"/"Iron Eagle" meets "The Dirty Dozen" movie where we know the heroes will pull together and save the day.
Riddled with clichés along the way including: a brawl in a redneck bar; convenient plot information delivered by generals and bad guys; token racial minorities; poor attempts at humour; military funeral with requisite flinching when the guns fire and Baldwin's psychological hindrance from feeling responsible for the death of another pilot. It takes 70 minutes before our heroes even make it to Iraq for the climax which feels like they forgot there was supposed to be an ending.
Still, not that horrible, but certainly no classic of action cinema. No credits are given at the end for any sort of flying effects; pilots; planes etc., which makes me wonder if the combat footage is stolen from another film? I bought it for $2 on a double bill with "Fear" (1988) which wasn't as good as it sounded.