He was flying around in an armed copter and he shot at cops, but seriously he would run out of gas after a couple hours and didn't seem to be shooting civilians. Flying a couple of F16s with missiles around LA seemed really more dangerous.
shareYes, it can be argued that by approaching him and trying to stop him only made things worse (chicken shop, skyscraper, warehouse). By keeping an eye on him and waiting for his fuel to exhaust it would been a lot more sense, but not much fun for a movie!
shareSeptember 5, 2020 Sunday 11:55 PM ET
The Blue Thunder itself is very dangerous and highly classified; nothing known about its specs, conceivable weaponry, and capabilities can be known to the general public. The U.S. military is in a double-edged sword scenario, where, if they attack the helicopter with force they risk collateral damage of Los Angeles and the deaths of peoples' lives; or, they can possibly get accused of not dutifully protecting the city and its residents should no action be taken. The option chosen is deemed 'acceptable risk'.
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We are given the option to know Roy Scheider's character and know he is benign. For the film, his superior and the military for all they know Roy's character flipped and is getting ready to destroy some superior ass, they cannot take that chance he will not destroy the Governor's mansion or do some really serious attacks in those two hours of fuel.
shareThe longer he's out there, the more attention he draws to himself. Malcolm McDowall and his people want him stopped as quickly as possible. Also they want him dead not taken into custody.
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