Warbirds

My review was written in March 1989 after watching the film on Vidmark video cassette.

German helmer Ulli Lommel displays scant affinity for the "Top Gun"/"Iron Eagle" genre with "War Birds", a low-budget exercise headed direct to video stores.

A rather bland cast goes through the motions in a tired tale of Middle Eastern derring-do. U. S. Government has Lt. Col. Ronson organize a squad of mercenaries to fly into El Alahaim, a U. S. ally, and aid the pro-American sheik against some feisty rebels.

Among the mercenaries are two graduates from the "Top Gun" school, one of whom is killed when the mission goes awry due to treachery. Several missions later, the Yanks have wupped some rather stereotyped Arab bad guys.

Problem is that the aerial dogfights here are unexciting, relying on stock footage and minimal action. Otherwise, tech credits are okay.

Pic is dedicated to "Charlie Varrick, last of the independents", evidently Lommel's homage to ace action film director Don Siegel.

Top Gun it ain't. But is a gem quite worth seeing. Just stay awake, it will be worth it! There is a sort of a plot. It is a plot of about 2 acres of old military vehicles. That is best part of all-- the work shot at a humble tank museum/parking lot in South El Monte, CA. You will enjoy actors pretending to drive mothballed tanks just as a child would pretend to drive his parent's parked car! The film appears to use stock footage of Israeli Air Force. I found a copy when my video store was selling off old tapes in the discount bin. It is a cherished find. There must be someplace it can be put to DVD. Better to wait for the genuine article... imagine the voice-over commentary!

OK, granted, I haven't seen this movie in 13 years or so... but the memory of watching it has scarred me for life. I don't know what's worse about this movie. The fact that it followed top-Gun's plot almost exactly, except with bad acting and corny lines or the enemies sitting around on trucks yelling the whole movie. If you want a good laugh or just want to be awe-struck... Avoid this movie at all costs, it's so bad the memory of it will keep you up at night. Shame on whoever made this movie.

This movie is so bad, in every way, that the one line summary just about covers it!

There's no action, no excitement, no special effects, no script, no acting, no nothing. So do yourself a BIG favor - and do not watch this so called movie!

I regret it bitterly and it's the worst movie experience of my entire life. YUK!

Unless you are a sucker for punishment... Do not watch this movie. It is very bad! It said that it was supposed to be a sort of continuing story following Top Gun. Words cannot really describe how awful it is. My rating 1/10