Effective but not exceptional: it is the way I typically think of journey directors like John Badham, who spent decades pumping out a range of decent commercial films in Hollywood without ever creating an all-time classic or creative masterpiece. I really enjoy a lot of his films, including Saturday Night Fever (1977), WarGames (1983), Short Circuit (1986), and Stakeout (1989). His direction is tight and professional, and his storytelling style is efficient and to-the-point. Play a Badham film and you will likely have a good time: you may not have a great time, and that is the challenge for the average film reviewer or critic. It is easy to write about great cinema, and even easier to dissect bad cinema, but competent filmmaking? It just sort of sits there, like a well-crafted dining room chair or bookshelf. You cannot fault the function, and you can only really judge the form in comparison to its own ambitions.

Two John Badham features were released in 1983: WarGames, which is likely my favourite of his films, and Blue Thunder, an action film starring Roy Scheider and Malcolm McDowell. Scheider plays Frank Murphy, a police helicopter pilot and emotionally scarred Vietnam War veteran. When he is introduced to “Blue Thunder”, a state-of-the-art militarised helicopter proposed for use against civilians, he is suspicious. He soon digs into a conspiracy; one that features his old foe from Vietnam, Colonel F.E. Cochrane (McDowell).

It is very much a film of its time, with Badham’s depiction of the sleek Blue Thunder helicopter foreshadowing – but not quite matching – the sort of glossy and over-produced military actions of Tony Scott and Michael Bay. The action – since it is, ostensibly, more an action film than anything else – is relatively backloaded to the extended climax, and this makes it a slight chore to work through the earlier scenes where the characters and secret plans are introduced. When the aerial combat begins, it is propulsive and entertaining stuff, but it takes its time in getting there.

The film’s casting also foreshadows those later action films as well, in that relatively simplistic character archetypes are enlivened more by the talented cast than by the screenplay. Scheider is always a reliably enjoyable presence in films, while McDowell gives a modicum of depth to what must be one of the least idiosyncratic roles he has ever played. Future comedy star Daniel Stern is a slight surprise as Murphy’s co-pilot, but his character – a sleazy voyeur who uses the helicopter’s stealth capabilities to leer at naked women through their apartment windows – has dated very badly.

There is still plenty of solid enjoyment to be drawn from Blue Thunder, and to be honest there is a lot to be said for this kind of reliable, straightforward entertainment. John Badham may not have directed a masterpiece, but he is a master of his craft in its own very watchable fashion.