L'ultimo attacco

Jim Page... I was on the Indy at the same time! It was my first time at sea, when they filmed the movie. I was eating "mid-rats" in the Officer's wardroom, when a movie crew guy asked me if I wanted to be in the movie. Next thing I know, I was on the Admiral's bridge in a scene with Danny Glover as the only "extra." The scene is early in the movie. Brad Johnson's BN was just shot and he's coming back to the carrier. Danny Glover is called to the bridge and watches as the A-6 lands on the deck. The shot is of Glover's left profile. I am the "officer of the deck" right behind him. You can just see the left side of my face. It was a lot of fun and great stuff to write home about.

I served as a dental officer on the Indy from 1989 until 1991. I moved with the Indy to Yokosuka. Six weeks later, I separated from the Navy.

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.

Top Gun clone? Absolutely not, this is considerably better than that monumentally overrated snorefest.

Telling a rather generic story set during the Vietnam war this feature stars Willem Dafoe, Rosanna Arquette, Tom Sizemore, Ving Rhames and Danny Glover so it's roster is pretty outstanding.

Now I'm rather bias when it comes to war themed movies, namely because I'm a great big anti-war guy so I tend not to see the appeal. That's not to say I'm anti-war movie, I just tend not to find them enjoyable.

Flight of the Intruder suffers from the standard genre tropes, is cheesy, macho-nonsense but does have a charm to an extent. The ending is strong which certainly makes up for everything else but it can only go so far.

With that amazing cast and very impressive flight visuals you can't take away from the film just how much they've accomplished here, it's just not my bag.

The Good:

Very impressive visuals

Wealth of talent present

The Bad:

Oddly structured

Love interest was needlessly tacked on

I've heard it said, "This is not repeat not a chick flick."

Wrong. I loved this film. I was impressed by the way the film dealt with personal relationships. Yeah - get worried, fellas, because one of the main themes is about how guys deal with losing guy friends. It's also about how guys deal with keeping guy friends, but I won't bore you...

If it makes you feel any better, there's a scene in a bar that involves a zipwire and a mudpit with an alligator, and some cool flight stuff that includes 'how to make the new non-pilot sick.'

Didn't have a 'chick' problem with it, which is probably why I'm so proud of my hardbound copy of "Baa Baa Black Sheep" autographed by Pappy Boyington. Don't count the women out when you watch this film. It has its clunker moments, but they are few, and thankfully they don't occur in the air.

Politically insightful in spots, and for the most part, a good two hours spent. Seriously, this is a good movie; do see it.

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!