This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.

BLACK THUNDER is one in a glut of straight-to-video B-movie thrillers that were released in the late 1990s and about stolen military jets. The progenitor for these seems to have been John Woo's BROKEN ARROW which, while not a brilliant movie, is still much better than these lunk-headed rip-offs which all seem to share stock footage of aerial combat and explosions.This story sees a super-duper prototype stolen by a renegade pilot and taken to Libya, where it will be used by Arab terrorists to bomb the West. Only Michael Dudikoff can stop the bad guys. Dudikoff looks surprisingly aged here considering it's only a decade since he first came to fame in the late '80s; he looks almost constipated at times and like he needs to go on a diet, although not quite as bad as Seagal. Richard Norton has a tiny cameo. The thrills are diluted and the whole picture feels quite insipid, especially with the addition of some ludicrously cheesy sex scenes that feel like they've been shoe-horned in from one of those late-night erotic thrillers starring Shannon Tweed.

***SPOILERS*** ***SPOILERS*** This is really a very very bad movie. Actually, it's easily the worst I've seen in a long time.The plot is quite old, it actually reminds me of 80's B-action flicks: A rogue pilot steals a Mirage (sorry, Nova stealth plane) and brings it to Libya, where a terrorist group plans to use it's ability to go invisible, to bomb a meeting of ministers and heads of state in Paris. Now, there's only one man who can take the plane back: Michael Dudikoff, aka Vince Connors, a pilot for the US airforce. Err, why not send a SEAL team in instead, or bomb the terrorists back to the stone age with a few tomahawks?Furthermore, I'll write down a few little details that make this film so bad, but so enjoyable at the same time.-According to a digital map in the control room, Libya is located in Saudi Arabia -Soldiers guarding a US airbase carry AK-47's -Recycled material from older Dudikoff films -the Nova Stealth fighter actually being an ordinary Mirage -bombers referred to as "B-3's" designated to carpet-bomb the terrorist base actually being F-16's. -Same terrorists being blown up twice*****SPOILERS*****-in the last dog fight, when Dudikoff blows his adversary away, isn't that the Mirage (Nova) exploding? Huh?*****End of SPOILERS*****I laughed out loud a few times, particulary at the "Libyan terrorists" who are obviously American extras and the Libyan landscape which looks a heck of a lot like southern California.That being said, the acting isn't that bad, considering the awful dialogue the actors have to work with.All in all, it's enjoyable but don't expect a serious action movie.PS: Producers, please note: A low budget can generate a pretty good movie, if you try.

Typical B grade action movie, probably made with a desperately tight budget & in a record time! The series of flight action scenes are tailored for the adrenaline junkey, but they were clearly extracted from other film footage. Don't expect too much on the acting side of things...it is well below par. For me, the worst portion of the movie came via the ridiculous and suicidally dumb Libyan soldiers, charging the opposition openly and without proper cover. How stupid can you get, Mr Director ? And how is it possible for two guys with hand-pistols and limited ammunition to fight off several soldiers with machine-guns and other automatic weapons...doesn't make sense. Even more so, the director finds enough time between gunfire exchanges to allow the "hero" to say farewell to one of his wounded buddies...ridiculous.On the positive side, I must say, I've heard alot about Landon Hall, and the scene (or scenes)where she struts her stuff, makes this film worth the while. She's simply gorgeous. Rent this if (a) you're a fighter plane enthusiast or (b) a Landon Hall fan. As simple as that.

Most air-action movies are riddled with errors. Very often the aircraft required (ultra-modern, soviet) are unavailable. Of course using other aircraft makes sense (Using a F-100 as stand-in for a Mig-21 in `Skyjacked' for instance). Alternatives are to use models (as was very well done in `Firefox') or use computer graphics. So, F-16s are shown as US fighter jets. Nothing unusual. To depict the `Nova Stealth' a IAI Kfir is used although the intro shows a Mirage 2000. The angular lines of the Kfir do not make a realistic modern fighter. Ok, the choice is limited. Using the F-16 again as the `B-3' bomber (without any external stores) is confusing. It gets even more confusing as the villain pursues our hero using again a F-16 (supposed to be Libyan). The airfield from which the villain started has a line-up of Kfirs. Why the Libyans have several of this modern stealth `Nova' aircraft is not explained. There is supposed to be a single prototype of this aircraft! Maybe the viewer will not recognize the similarity? Ok, using a SR-71 to pursuit a fighter aircraft is ridiculous, but landing this aircraft in the Libyan dessert (not shown) is probably more science fiction than the supposed stealth technology. The `Nova' is completely invisible, except the infrared for some minute.The acting is really deplorable. The action (non aircraft) is worse than done in the `A-Team' television series.The aircraft action probably consists entirely of existing footage, making this a very cheap movie to make. Some footage (as the low-pass of the Kfir/Nova) is shown at least three times!This move is definitely a must-see for aircraft buffs. If only, to have a good laugh.