Le vol de l'Intruder

It's 1972. The A-6 was the US Navy's medium attack bomber during the Vietnam conflict. It was called the Intruder. They fly low and alone over enemy airspace. Lt. Jake 'Cool Hand' Grafton (Brad Johnson) loses his bombardier with a peasant rifle shot. He questions the course of the war. Frank Camparelli (Danny Glover) is his commander. Political considerations keep the zone around Hanoi and Haiphong from being bombed. Lt. Cmdr. Virgil 'Tiger' Cole (Willem Dafoe) is a veteran flyer on his third tour newly arrived on the carrier. Jake meets Callie Joy (Rosanna Arquette) packing up for his bombardier's widow. Virgil is Jake's new co-pilot. Jake asks Virgil to bomb Hanoi. He relents after Boxman (Tom Sizemore) gets killed. He tells Jake about SAM city.

It's a bit of 'Top Gun', a bit of 'Road House', a bit of 'Animal House' and a whole lot of pro-war militarism. The tone is a mess. The humor is broad low grade. The romance is stiff and melodramatic. Brad Johnson is not the best lead. He has limited range. The good news is the movie has Willem Dafoe and also Danny Glover. What works are the planes and the missions. The flying action is done well although the miniatures are a little obvious and the special effects aren't the best. However the first run in Hanoi is terrific like the Star Wars trench run. In fact, that's what is better than 'Top Gun'. These are war actions with the characters getting shot at and killed. That makes those scenes more compelling.

Brad Johnson's line, "fighter pilots make movies, bomber pilots make history." is very true. The A6 Intruder is one of the unsung heros of the Vietnam War. This bird served as the Navy's primary attack aircraft from the early sixties until very recently when its role was taken over by the F-14 and F/A-18. It is very refreshing to see a movie about the more glamorless aircraft in the inventory. The reason that people don't like this movie is REALISM! It isn't about dashing "Top Guns" going Mach 2. It is about the guys that had to dump the bombs from very low altitude and hope they get back home. These guys were exposed to EVERYTHING! It was dangerous work. It still is dangerous work. Army attack chopper pilots and Navy/Marine/Air Force attack bombers pilots are the guys that put it on the line everytime they fly; either in combat or in peacetime.

Recommended viewing, especially for those who have not read the book. The flying scenes are great, with ferocious sound to match. While parts of the story will seem quite familiar, the raid on Hanoi is an unusual focal point of the film, and terrific. Danny Glover and Willem Dafoe have the best developed characters, but overall the acting is fine. The motivation of the different characters is quite interesting and adds to the excitement. Dialog varies from profound to hokey. The film is is recommended as one of the better Vietnam War movies. There is plenty of action, and "Flight of the Intruder" certainly exceeds expectations as entertainment. - MERK

I found the movie interesting. It is probably loosely based on the exploits of Lyle Bull and Charles Hunter who on 30 October 1967 flew a solo flight over Hanoi and received the Navy Cross. Here is part of the citation for Bull: Lieutenant Bull assisted in the planning and execution of an extremely dangerous, single-plane, night, radar bombing attack on the strategically located and heavily defended Hanoi railroad ferry slip in North Vietnam. Although the entire Hanoi defensive effort was concentrated upon his lone bomber, he flawlessly assisted his pilot in navigating the aircraft to the target area and commencing an attack. Seconds before bomb release, six enemy surface-to-air missiles were observed to be tracking on his plane. Undaunted by this threat to his personal safety, Lieutenant Bull assisted his pilot in taking swift and effective action to avoid the missiles and complete the attack, releasing all weapons in the target area with extreme accuracy. After release, four more missiles were fired at his aircraft in addition to the intense anti-aircraft-artillery fire.

Watch this movie for the flying scenes! It has some the very best shots of an Intruder still or in flight. This aircraft is now out of service with the Navy except as a fueler but I can testify that this aircraft is down right dominating and scary to anyone on the ground when they make a low level pass and this movie captured it all!

That said, I read the book too and yes it is a lot different from the book but then most movies are. The question is does it conform to the spirit of the movie and Flight of the Intruder is close. It does take some short cuts which are even more obvious to a Navy vet but over all, this is one of my favorite Vietnam War movies and about the only one that gives a decent treatment to the carrier pilots.

The romantic part is not much and probably left in to keep it from not having any attractive females but it sure is not needed for dramatic effect.

The political and legal junk is really over blown and trite but if sufficient detail were included the movie would have been 3 hours long.

It is a good "Tiger flick" (war movie) for a rainy day and it has an honored place in my DVD collection!