Stealth (2005)

So not a lot of good things have been said about Stealth.  Eh, I went into this expecting the worst, and came out feeling a little better about it.  Not much, but a little.  Bottom line is it's not as bad as everyone says.  *If* you perform a little "suspension of disbelief" black magic, that is.

Presumably taking place sometime in the near future, a group of Navy pilots are flying a trio of ultra-futuristic Firefox-looking fighter-bomber jet spaceship thingies in tests, and magically get themselves stationed on a carrier.  OK, red flag number one goes up here.  One, these planes appear to be just physically improbable that they'd be stationed on a carrier, I mean the wings didn't even fold (that I could tell) for storage?  And two, *there's only three of these things in existence?*  Anyone ever hear of spare parts?  Qualified mechanics and support staff? Hello?  Well, I guess I'll let it slide.  Why not, right?

Then they are introduced to the fourth member of their squadron, a totally *new and different* model. (See above bits on parts and support crew.)  The kicker is that the plane *is* the pilot, a 100% AI-controlled thinking brain called EDI, or "Eddie" for short (how nice.)

Long story short, Eddie learns some bad behavior from his squadron commander,  decides that he knows best, and takes off on a mission that until now was only a simulation (WarGames anyone?)  Taking out one of his squadron when they try to stop him and causing another to crash land in North Korea (quite a range on these jets, too I might add)

I could go on but I really won't.  So I'll just skip to the ending.  Boy befriends formerly-psycho AI jet who killed his squad-mate and they go on a rescue mission to the Korean DMZ to get the girl.

Just put your rose-colored glasses on, sit back and enjoy the ride.  We'll put this one in the "Iron Eagle" school of war flicks, I think.  Sure its incredibly hokey and kind of dumb, but its fun.

Technorati Tags: war movies, stealth, ai, navy, dvd, review

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Stealth (Widescreen Two-Disc Special Edition) List Price: $14.94 Sale Price: $1.59 You save: $13.35 (89%)   Eligible for free shipping! Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days

Description

THE WORLD'S THREE BEST PILOTS ARE PARTNERED WITH A STATE OF THE ART, FULLY AUTOMATED, PILOTLESS, SUPER STEALTH WARPLANE - INHUMAN - & INVINCIBLE. BUT ONCE IN THE AIR IT GOES HAYWIRE,LEAVING THEM WITH ONE FINAL MISSION - BRING IT DOWN.

Featuring the best special effects that money can buy and a screenplay that any six-year-old could follow, Stealth is a pure action thriller that starts fast and never slows down. Moving up from The Fast and the Furious and xXx, director Rob Cohen proves himself as a master of popcorn entertainment for teenagers, turning this derivative military sci-fi action thriller into a dazzling showcase for impressive aerial action sequences, featuring digital effects and highly detailed model work (by James Cameron's Digital Domain effects company, among others) that are so realistic you could swear the movie's high-tech aircraft are absolutely real. The plot serves the effects (it should be the other way around), and it's a cheesy hybrid of Top Gun, The Right Stuff, Firefox and Behind Enemy Lines, in which a close-knit trio of Naval Air Force aces (Josh Lucas, Jessica Biel, and Jamie Foxx) pilot state-of-the-art "Talon" fighter-bombers, ready to scramble on orders from their not-entirely trustworthy commander (Sam Shepard). They're teamed up with an ultra-high-tech UCAV (Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle) nicknamed "EDI," an artificially intelligent fighter drone that's as erratically dangerous (after its circuitry is damaged by lightning) as it is deadly effective. With a standard third-act rescue mission amidst the threat of global warfare, Stealth is brainless entertainment from start to finish, but the aerial action and epic-scale pyrotechnics ensure that it's never, ever boring. Cohen may be guilty of dumbing down his recycled plots for mass appeal, but there's no denying his skills as an action auteur. Move over, Michael Bay, you've got serious competition. --Jeff Shannon

DVD Information

Binding: DVD
Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1
Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Brand: Stealth
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Original Release Date:
Actors:

• Josh Lucas
• Jessica Biel
• Jamie Foxx
• Sam Shepard
• Richard Roxburgh

Reviews

Related posts:

1. 9th Company (2005)
2. Jarhead (2005)
3. The Last Drop (2005)
4. The Sun (2005)
5. The Great Raid (2005)

This entry was posted on Saturday, February 10th, 2007 at 5:00 am and is filed under 2000s, Other War Movies, Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.