My review was written in November 1991 after watching the film at a Manhattan screening room.
"Top Gun" meets "The Hard Way" in the oddball comedy-adventure "Into the Sun". Film proves there's still life in flyboy pictures despite the genre spoofing of this summer's hit "Hot Shots!".
Premise inevitably recalls John Badham's "The Hard Way", a high-concept box office disappointment with New York cop James Woods reluctantly showing Michael J. Fox the ropes. This time American pilot Michael Pare is assigned to show an action movie star (Anthony Michael Hall) how to portray the real thing.
Despite dialog too reminiscent of the prior film, the new version works better because Hall is portraying an egotistical, macho method actor, rather than simply poking fun at himself the way Fox did. Pare is solid as the real McCoy and even gets to laugh and unbend a bit, compared to his usually stiff roles, as the twosome become friends.
Pic goes over the top when real-life skirmishers with unspecified Arab enemies in the Middle East break out, and Pare disobeys orders in taking the civilian into combat. Their derring-do with Hall rising to the occasion, is fun if ridiculous. Pic is an important transition effort for Hall, whose comic timing is excellent.
Roger Moore's daughter Deborah (previously billed opposite Dad in "Bullseye!" as Deborah Barrymore due to a thesp with the same last name but here christened Deborah Maria Moore), is pert and attractive but overly reserved as the romantic interest of both heroes. Reliable comedian Terry Kiser earns some big laughs as a fast-talking agent.
Handsome Linden Ashby turns in a well-crafted but strange performance, not in tune with the rest of the picture, as an unctuous renegade Yank ariman working for the Arabs.
Aerial dogfight scenes are okay, but lack the thrills of a previous drama from the same producers Kevin Kallberg and Oliver Hess, "Flight of Black Angel".
