Whenever actors are interviewed, they always seem to want to talk about the characters they have played in whatever movie they happen to be promoting at the time. It would have been very interesting indeed to see what the actors would have said about their roles in Sky Riders, for here we have some of the most shallow characterisation ever seen in a mainstream film. Quite why talented stars like James Coburn, Susannah York, Robert Culp, Charles Aznavour and Kenneth Griffith were needed for these roles is beyond explanation. It is a movie built solely around a novel action gimmick (hang-gliding rescue mission) – in terms of plot and characterisation, it doesn't even make it to first base.
American industrialist Jonas Bracken (Robert Culp) lives with his wife and kids in a Greek villa. While he's out on business, a group of masked terrorists raid the villa, ruthlessly executing the staff and abducting Bracken's nearest and dearest. Later, the terrorists establish contact and demand a huge sum of money and various arms for their vague militant cause in return for the safe return of their prisoners. Bracken's wife, Ellen (Susannah York), used to be married to adventure-loving mercenary Jim McCabe (James Coburn). When he learns that she has been taken hostage by the terrorists, he quickly steps in to offer his services. When it becomes apparent that Ellen and her two kids are imprisoned in a mountain-top monastery which cannot be approached unseen from below, McCabe comes up with the audacious idea of flying in by hang-glider and attempting a near-impossible rescue against formidable odds.
Sky Riders is the penultimate film of director Douglas Hickox (Zulu Dawn would be his last). He handles the dizzying aerial action quite well, especially in the film's final quarter. However, the film overall is a dispirited and utterly routine non-event it's brief running time is either the result of a heck of a lot of post-production cutting, or else the script (which, unbelievably, is the product of four brains) simply misses out on a whole host of potentially interesting developments. The performers really don't stand much of a chance when they're asked to work with such threadbare material - Coburn smiles a lot and gets to perfect his cool macho posturing; York is totally wasted as the woman with two men in her life that genuinely love her; Culp spends almost the entire film wearing an anxious grimace. Harry Andrews and Kenneth Griffith turn up in a couple of one-scene cameos that could've easily been played by any half-competent bit player. Lalo Schifrin's score is at least suitably flavoursome and the Greek locations look gorgeous, but you'd be right to expect a lot more from Sky Riders. Sadly, all it leaves you with are a few morsels of decent action; besides that there's virtually nothing else.
American industrialist Jonas Bracken (Robert Culp) lives with his wife and kids in a Greek villa. While he's out on business, a group of masked terrorists raid the villa, ruthlessly executing the staff and abducting Bracken's nearest and dearest. Later, the terrorists establish contact and demand a huge sum of money and various arms for their vague militant cause in return for the safe return of their prisoners. Bracken's wife, Ellen (Susannah York), used to be married to adventure-loving mercenary Jim McCabe (James Coburn). When he learns that she has been taken hostage by the terrorists, he quickly steps in to offer his services. When it becomes apparent that Ellen and her two kids are imprisoned in a mountain-top monastery which cannot be approached unseen from below, McCabe comes up with the audacious idea of flying in by hang-glider and attempting a near-impossible rescue against formidable odds.
Sky Riders is the penultimate film of director Douglas Hickox (Zulu Dawn would be his last). He handles the dizzying aerial action quite well, especially in the film's final quarter. However, the film overall is a dispirited and utterly routine non-event it's brief running time is either the result of a heck of a lot of post-production cutting, or else the script (which, unbelievably, is the product of four brains) simply misses out on a whole host of potentially interesting developments. The performers really don't stand much of a chance when they're asked to work with such threadbare material - Coburn smiles a lot and gets to perfect his cool macho posturing; York is totally wasted as the woman with two men in her life that genuinely love her; Culp spends almost the entire film wearing an anxious grimace. Harry Andrews and Kenneth Griffith turn up in a couple of one-scene cameos that could've easily been played by any half-competent bit player. Lalo Schifrin's score is at least suitably flavoursome and the Greek locations look gorgeous, but you'd be right to expect a lot more from Sky Riders. Sadly, all it leaves you with are a few morsels of decent action; besides that there's virtually nothing else.