Into the Sun

Well this flick is just that a flick. The real stars are the f-16 and some nice air to air footage.

There are so many technical errors it's unreal. The whole premise for the shoot down I would say is inspired by the old 1980's airspace dispute with Lybia. There is no way a number of things that happen in this movie could or would happen. Because if it did Dr. Strangelove would have happened and we would be all dead.

1) No way would the USAF allow a civilian a flight in a Hot Zone area as they did just for a movie and PR. That could and would have been done in the US, just to dumb to be believed.

2) I firmly believe that NO USAF pilot would take a civilian into a combat area especially when ordered not to. The writers screwed up big time on that one would have made more sense to have them jumped over the Med. in international waters than a pilot running to the fight.

3) In the dog fight scenes you get great shots of F-16s but they are attacked by a different aircraft with each pass, from a Viggen, to a Mirage, to a A-4, gee unify how the enemy pilots can change aircraft in midair during a dogfight from 3 different countries.

4) Gee Libyan soldiers armed with M-16s another error.

5) The mercenary American pilot, gee a fighter pilot who needs corrected glasses, don't think so. especially thin dainty framed ones that could break apart in high G maneuvers of a dogfight.

The script is bearly passable. The only scene missing is the court martial and law suits.

John Waynes "Flying Tigers" with their lawnmower powered fake P-40s and campy script still beats this flick for overall enjoyment.

The only reason I have kept this flick in my collection is for the aerial shots of the planes and they are really the stars of the film.

The way I feel it, "Into the Sun" consists of two partly separated parts. The first part is a drama/comedy-part, where we are introduced to the characters and where the plot starts. The unlucky Captain Paul Watkins has too take care of a rather self-loving actor called Tom Slade, who's going to learn about the life of military pilots. Even though this part of the movie is a bit entertaining, it's not what you're waiting for in a movie like this. Luckily, lots of action kicks in in the second part of the movie. That was what I had been waiting for. The action is surprisingly good for a movie like this, even if it's standard B-action with lots of explosions and evil bad guys getting asskicked.

A pilot and an actor are thrown into a life of death situation when they are shot down in enemy territory.

For the budget director Fritz Kiersch (Children of the Corn (1984) delivers some well staged and directed scenes, Steve Grass' cinematography give the real locations scope, aside from the shoehorned aerial stock footage (taken from Iron Eagle). The sets are well lit and offer some atmosphere. Writers John Brancato and Michael Ferris offer a Rambo III-like second act with the borrowed concept of The Hard Way (1991) , an actor gets thrown into a real dangerous situation with mixed results.

In amongst the bookend dogfights and compound explosions underrated Michael Paré does a good job with the paint by numbers screenplay along with likeable Anthony Michael Hall. A few familiar faces pop up including Terry Kiser, Linden Ashby, Deborah Moore and Brian Haley. Tonally it's up and down, a comedy one moment, then serious action in a flash in a bid to appease as wider audience as possible.

Ultimately, it's better than it should be, probably more rewarding than 80 percent of the films that are churned out these days, thanks to the even production and cast.

Anthony Michael Hall plays an actor who gets into more than he bargained when he tries to learn how to fly fighter planes from Michael Pare for a new role. While the movie is predictable and not all that great it does have a few good comedic moments and does hold your interest..good lighthearted fare

on a scale of one to ten.. a 6

An air force pilot has to show a hotshot actor, who is preparing for an upcoming role, the ropes about life in the military. The former dislikes the latter intensely, but has to tolerate him, especially after they are shot down in hostile enemy territory.

The main highlights of this film are the aerial shots and the casting. See it if it grabs your attention.

** 1/2 out of ****