Firehawk - Operation Intercept

Good lord, this is atrocious. I went in expecting very little, but this didn't deliver what I was expecting. I was thinking some decent explosions and some dogfighting and whatnot, mixed with bad acting and lame lines with cool special effects.

First, we have the explosions/dogfighting/special effects. The movie, as the title indicates, is about a top-secret (and, according to conspiracy theorists, real) plane code-named 'Aurora' which is far faster than anything we currently have, carries more bombs, Nevada to Baghdad in 2 hours, that sort of thing. The planes are computer generated, by and large, and not very well at that.

Perhaps I'm a bad judge, since I play with computer animations quite a bit myself. But, at the same time, -I- (as an amateur!) could have done better graphics for planes, explosions, missles, and the like on my home computer. Really, not good.

Next we have plot/scripting/acting. I came in not expecting much, and I got what I expected. Most of the plot is minor setups for more shots of planes chasing planes being chased by missles. (No machine guns anywhere in the movie. Not one.) The acting is primarily 'This is aurora one, targetting aurora two, preparing to fire, missles away' type of stuff. The actual acting to be done was weak at best.

Worth a good laugh or if you wanna know what really bad movies look like. Never ever ever pay for it. (I saw it on cinemax, so I didn't really pay for it, thankfully) Don't rent it, only watch it on the premium channels when there's _nothing_ else on.

OK there are numerous flaws, some a little laughable with respect to continuity, plausibility and underdeveloped dialogue, but there's enough to like for the aviation technology enthusiast, and some pacey and dramatic elements. The genuinely Russian female lead is very good - mixing malice with vulnerability and soars above her peers. The actual bits of tech and effects are, well, so nineties, but delightfully quaint. The handing over of floppy disc, yes a floppy disk reportedly capable of holding critical super-bomber mission telemetry raised a snigger, and the obiquius video displays looked pre-PacMan, but all that added to a period appeal. There is an obsession with GPS as some kind of modern mystery. The back story/plot for want of better word is a little sketchy, baffling and tangential, but there's no diversion in the clear trajectory of the testosterone-laced heroic action plot, and the booming and shaking sound effects make the pair of obvious model super-planes that feature in many ways the biggest stars. Overall, quite fun and even dramatic in places.

Finally a film which deals with the Pentagon's secret hypersonic aircraft and Area 51(Groom Lake - I think this whole UFO madness is being used by the military to shift the public's attention from high-tech secrets to pure imagination, even though i do not rule out the possible existence of alien life)

I also liked Lance Henriksen's performance in this movie. Of course, the plot is somewhat childish, but at least there's another "Firefox"(Clint Eastwood)-like movie, even though of much lower quality (including the special effects and the plot)

The movie tells about a mysterious aircrafts with navigation systems failure crash ,dieing everybody aboard.Another plane suddenly(whose pilot is Corbin Bersen)lose control and crash.Francesca(Natalya Andrejchenko)suspects government is behind her father's killing as a cover-up operation and she develops a technology using an electromagnetic pulse method by means of controlling GPS (Global Position Satellites)formed by 25 satellites for aerial navigation.She threatens to blowing up civilian planes until the murderer is brought to justice.Commander(Bruce Payne)along with officer(John Stockwell)are assigned by Secretary State(Lance Henriksen) to dangerous mission.They navigate into secret aircraft called Aurora 2,a top-secret,ultra sophisticated warplane, with GPS emergency shut down and the target located Aurora 1 must to be destroyed and placed in Kazakhistan,Central Asia.They are taken prisoners and tortured by sadist warden(Dennis Christopher).Meanwhile Francesca threatens to destroy the White House and the Commander's family who's flying in plane.

The movie packs suspense,noisy action,violence and aerial combats about low-altitude fight.The picture is predictable and low-budgeted though on the final contains a plot twisted.Spectacular aerial sequences and aerial battles images but with mediocre FX but are filmed on night sets.The tough starring is Bruce Payne,leaving his usual roles as baddie(Riders,Dungeons and dragons,Passenger 57,Highlander),the revenger Natalya Andrejchenko(married with Maximilian Schell), a cold Lance Henriksen(Milennium,Terminator,Aliens).Besides appear John Stockwell,today a famed director(Blue crush,Into the blue,Turistas), Dennis Christopher(Fade to black,It,Necronomicon) and Corbin Bersen(L.A. law) in a role very secondary.Spectacular soundtrack adjusted to action by Richard Marvin(U571,Lost battalion).The motion picture is regularly directed by Paul Levine. Rating : Below than average but with some moments entertaining.