Universal Pictures, 1981. A Martin Poll Production in association with The Production Company. Music by Keith Emerson. Screenplay by David Shaber. Directed by Bruce Malmuth. Starring Sylvester Stallone, Billy Dee Williams, Lindsay Wagner and Rutgar Hauer as "Wulfgar."

     By Stephen Pytak 

     This is Stallone's best police thriller.
     This can no doubt be argued. He
starred as a law man in a bunch
of films, "Cobra (1986)" and "Cop
Land (1997)" included.
     But this is my favorite. 
     I like it because its approach is 
very honest and very street. And the
action in the second half is great.
     Now is a good time to see it. It
was recently released widescreen on
a bare-bones DVD by Universal.
    Stallone plays an undercover "decoy" 
cop, "Det. Sgt. Deke DaSilva." And
he and his partner, "Fox (Williams)" 
enjoy busting purse snatchers and dope 
artists in the Bronx.
     But then an Interpol agent comes
knocking on their door. They're
told an international terrorist out
to make a name for himself has
come to town. And they're reluctantly
recruited to go on the hunt.
     That terrorist, "Reinhardt Heymar 
Wulfgar (Hauer)," is a real son of a
bitch.
     He comes to town all right. He
picks up a chick in a nightclub, shacks
at her pad, blows up a building, then,
when she finds his stash of rifles and
grenades, he snuffs her.
     When DaSilva and Fox start
casing the disco scene, they find
ol' Wulgar on the make. 
     This is where the fun really begins.
     There's this chase from the disco 
to a subway terminal and onto a train.
     It's intense, kind of the way the 
famous chase scene in "The French
Connection (1971)" was.
     I swear by the end, Wulfgar had piss 
running down his leg.
     But that's not the end of the film.
     Its most popular scene takes place
on The Roosevelt Island tram car.
     Wulfgar goes for a ride with his
girlfriend/accomplice "Shakka (Persis
Khambatta)," his funky shades and
his UZI. 
     When the ride is at the half-way
point, she hits the breaks and they
take the car of 25 riders hostage.
     By the way, this is the same tram
car "The Green Goblin" hijacked
in "Spider-Man (2002)." If that
happened here, Wulfar would be
screaming "DaSilva! Help!"
     But that wasn't the case. 
     I remember the first time I saw
this scene. It was sampled in the
documentary film "Terror In The
Isles (1984)."
     It's intense because Wulfgar is
ruthless. When DaSilva flys up
to the car in a helicopter, Wulfgar
brings one of the women over
to the window, then he makes the
rules.
     He puts his machine gun to 
her gut and pulls the trigger.
     I like that whole sequence
because the first time you see it,
you're not sure what he's going
to do.
     I also like this film because
there is no attempt to make 
something look bigger than what
it really is.
     There's a bus crash. It's not
done in slow-mo. It's as it was.
That approach really hits home
sometimes.
     And some of the stunt work
is really good, because I think
Stallone is doing many of his
own stunts.
     The run to catch the train.
The lift up to the tram. I swear
it was the man himself.
     The ending is classic. It
was even spilled in "Terror
in the Isles." But I won't
spoil it for those who haven't
had the experience.
     One thing I noticed on
a recent viewing however is
that Wulfgar looks he's
wearing the same kind of
sweater "Mrs. Voorhees"
sported in "Friday the 13th
(1980)."