# Megaforce
**Megaforce** is a 1982 American action science fiction film directed by [Hal Needham](https://www.edgepedia.org/hal-needham), about an elite international military unit that intervenes when national governments will not. Produced by [Albert S. Ruddy](https://www.edgepedia.org/albert-s-ruddy) with Hong Kong's Golden Harvest and distributed domestically by Twentieth Century-Fox, it opened on 25 June 1982 and became one of the notable box-office failures of its year, grossing $5,675,599 against a production budget reported at $18 million.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/56845-MEGAFORCE) • [2](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0084316/) • [3](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Megaforce)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | 25 June 1982 (wide, 20th Century-Fox); running time 99 minutes; rated PG[2](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0084316/) • [1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/56845-MEGAFORCE) |
| Director and writers | Hal Needham; screenplay by James Whittaker, Albert S. Ruddy, Hal Needham, and Andre Morgan, from a story by Robert S. Kachler[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/56845-MEGAFORCE) |
| Principal cast | Barry Bostwick (Ace Hunter), Michael Beck (Dallas), Persis Khambatta (Zara), Edward Mulhare (Byrne-White), Henry Silva (Guerera)[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/56845-MEGAFORCE) |
| Budget and gross | Production budget $18 million; domestic gross $5,675,599, opening weekend $2,350,021 in 1,193 theaters[3](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Megaforce) |
| Critical reception | 6% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer (17 reviews); Metascore 18 on Metacritic[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/megaforce) • [5](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0084316/criticreviews/) |
| Filming | Began in Las Vegas, Nevada, and Los Angeles; locations included Valley of Fire State Park, Red Rock Canyon, and the Mojave Desert[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/56845-MEGAFORCE) |
| Visual effects | Introvision, a front-projection composite process; producer Al Ruddy called Megaforce the first reasonably-budgeted film to use it[6](https://www.slashfilm.com/574456/how-did-this-get-made-al-ruddy-interview/) |
## Spoilers
### Premise
The film's opening prologue describes Megaforce as "a phantom army of super elite fighting men whose weapons are the most powerful science can devise," whose mission is to preserve freedom against tyranny around the globe.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/56845-MEGAFORCE) In the story, the peaceful Republic of Sardun is attacked by its aggressive neighbor Gamibia, whose tanks under Major Jorge "Duke" Guerera ([Henry Silva](https://www.edgepedia.org/henry-silva)) destroy a power plant and withdraw across the border. Unable to retaliate itself, Sardun sends General Sir Edward Byrne-White ([Edward Mulhare](https://www.edgepedia.org/edward-mulhare)) and Major Zara Benbhutto ([Persis Khambatta](https://www.edgepedia.org/persis-khambatta)), the president's daughter, to enlist the clandestine help of Megaforce, commanded by Ace Hunter (Barry Bostwick), who knew Guerera as a friend at military academy.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/56845-MEGAFORCE) • [7](https://www.netflixmovies.com/megaforce-1982)
## Production
Needham, a stuntman turned director who had scored hits with *Smokey and the Bandit* and *The Cannonball Run*, developed the screenplay with his *Cannonball Run* producer Albert S. Ruddy, hiring James Whittaker for a rough draft.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/56845-MEGAFORCE) Executive producer Raymond Chow of Golden Harvest considered casting [Tom Selleck](https://www.edgepedia.org/tom-selleck) before principal photography began in September 1981. When that did not proceed, the filmmakers turned to [Barry Bostwick](https://www.edgepedia.org/barry-bostwick) after seeing him in a Los Angeles stage production of *The Pirates of Penzance*; Ruddy had earlier dropped a more serious take on the script in favor of something closer to a spoof.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/56845-MEGAFORCE) • [7](https://www.netflixmovies.com/megaforce-1982)
**Military hardware.** Barry Bostwick later said the Pentagon tried to block the film by refusing the 40 army tanks needed for the battle scenes, because the fictional strike force resembled covert CIA units. The Nevada Army National Guard's 1/221 Armored Battalion instead supplied tanks and other vehicles, and the National Guard built a public service announcement with Bostwick and Silva that earned the film about $2 million of free air time; thirty-one vehicles went on a nationwide promotional and recruitment tour.[7](https://www.netflixmovies.com/megaforce-1982) • [1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/56845-MEGAFORCE) Vehicle designer William Fredrick, who had worked on Needham's *Hooper*, spent eight months and one million dollars building the cars and motorcycles, all of which actually ran.[7](https://www.netflixmovies.com/megaforce-1982)
**Effects and costumes.** No studio sound stage could hold the Megaforce headquarters set, so the filmmakers used Introvision, an in-camera front-projection process that composited live action with plate photography in real time through the camera's viewfinder; Ruddy described Megaforce as the first reasonably-budgeted film to use it.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/56845-MEGAFORCE) • [6](https://www.slashfilm.com/574456/how-did-this-get-made-al-ruddy-interview/) The toy company Mattel signed a licensing agreement for a toy line and designed the film's spandex jumpsuits, receiving no on-screen costume credit.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/56845-MEGAFORCE) • [7](https://www.netflixmovies.com/megaforce-1982)
## Marketing and box office
Fox mounted a large campaign: Variety estimated marketing costs at $7 million, and the Hollywood Reporter budgeted a $7.8 million advertising campaign plus $1.5 to 2 million in promotional tie-ins ahead of a release in 1,500 theaters. The film opened without advance press previews.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/56845-MEGAFORCE)
The results were poor. The opening weekend took $2,350,021, 41.4 percent of a total domestic gross of $5,675,599, and weekly grosses fell 41 percent, then 75 percent, with the film leaving most theaters after about two weeks.[3](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Megaforce) Plans for a sequel, developed before principal photography even finished and backed by Bostwick's three-picture deal, were abandoned after the poor returns and largely negative reviews.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/56845-MEGAFORCE)
## Reception and afterlife
Critics were largely negative. Janet Maslin of The New York Times cited silly dialogue, poor matching shots, and oafish staging; the Washington Post's Gary Arnold called the film's system of illusion juvenile; [TV Guide](https://www.edgepedia.org/tv-guide) wrote that "well over $20 million was spent to create a film full of sound and fury but without an inkling of intelligence."[5](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0084316/criticreviews/) The film later received a Golden Raspberry nomination for worst movie of the year, a distinction the Associated Press noted alongside *Cannonball Run II* in Ruddy's filmography when it profiled the producer after his death in 2024.[8](https://apnews.com/article/52660154133a4ef099bf07d8a2ae9a08)
The film found a later audience. [Trey Parker](https://www.edgepedia.org/trey-parker) praised it on a DVD introduction, and *Team America: World Police* echoes it with a flying motorcycle and an underground base.[7](https://www.netflixmovies.com/megaforce-1982) A 2025 documentary, *Making Megaforce*, follows fan Bob Lindenmayer's restoration of the screen-used vehicles and his case for the film's stunt work.[9](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/making_megaforce)
## References
1. [Megaforce (1982), AFI Catalog of Feature Films](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/56845-MEGAFORCE)
2. [Megaforce (1982), Box Office Mojo](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0084316/)
3. [Megaforce (1982), The Numbers](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Megaforce)
4. [Megaforce, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/megaforce)
5. [Megaforce (1982), Metacritic reviews via IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0084316/criticreviews/)
6. [How Did This Get Made: A Conversation With Al Ruddy, Slashfilm](https://www.slashfilm.com/574456/how-did-this-get-made-al-ruddy-interview/)
7. [Megaforce (1982) facts and trivia, NetflixMovies.com](https://www.netflixmovies.com/megaforce-1982)
8. [Albert Ruddy, Oscar-winning producer, dies at 94, Associated Press](https://apnews.com/article/52660154133a4ef099bf07d8a2ae9a08)
9. [Making Megaforce, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/making_megaforce)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Science fiction and fantasy films (individual works) › Science fiction and fantasy films of the 1980s › Released 1980 to 1985*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license