MovieChat Forums > Clear and Present Danger (1994) Discussion > Helicopter pilot overdone cliché

Helicopter pilot overdone cliché

posted 10 years ago by Captain_Bob
7 replies | jump to latest

Why is it that in so many movies set in third world countries, the required helicopter (or airplane) pilot (or boat skipper) is typically a clapped-out alcoholic redneck and/or hard-drinking Australian passed out on a bar/table in some junked-out brothel? Clear and Present Danger is a class movie, but I found this to be one of its more ridiculous elements. Sorry I haven't read the book, but was it really written that way? It came off as a cheap Golan/Globus mid-80s stunt, comparable to some Chuck Norris/Rambo film set in southeast Asia. Arrive in Thailand, Vietnam, Burma, etc. (or in this case Columbia) and instantly there's a rowdy bar with seedy gun-toting thugs, whores dancing on tables and our drunken friend nursing a bottle of cheap booze. That's reality for ya ;-)

[–] Flinstone 10 years ago

I haven´t red the book but it´s clear that they (Clark and Ryan) organized whole thing in a hurry. They were about to do some illegal s*it without any help from USA or from Columbia. They wanted someone who Clark knew and didn´t want to waste time to get someone outside Columbia.

And in real life private sector is a wide thing, when it comes to quality. One example is Maersk Alabama. After famous rescue of captain Phillips by US Navy, Maerk got private security contractors in case of pirates. Well two of them (ex- Nave Seals) died in that ship because of drug overdose.

"Come out to the coast, we'll get together, have a few laughs..."

[–] billybizar 10 years ago

Agreed. And it's not elementary to the plot either. In the end the guy delivers and acts as a real pro: transporting and bringing back our heroes perfectly in dangerous, exceptional circumstances.

[–] CatbirdBalou 8 years ago

Even knowing the exact location of Lindo Coffee, somehow.

[–] rctc595 10 years ago

Actually in the book they use a few USAF MH-53's, a very sophisticated heavily armored and weaponized aircraft.

It also had a very different ending. Not sure why they didn't end the film the same way, probably because it would have been extremely expensive.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MH-53_Pave_Low

[–] the_bamboo_spear 9 years ago

lol I have to agree, reminds me of the boat captain from Missing in Action, or the Black guy from Kickboxer living in Thailand.

[–] mobocracy 9 years ago

Did it start with "The A Team"? That's the first depiction I can think of the "crazy pilot", although perhaps there's shades of Bill Kilgore from Apocalypse Now.

[–] BourbonKing (5782) 7 years ago

The entire movie is a cliche. Every Latin American character in the movie also came across as backdrop stereotypes you used to see in Taco Bell commercials or in that classic comedy "The Three Amigos".