Os Cavaleiros do Ar

The storyline was nice, had a few little twists and You don't neccesarly find out the whole plot within the first few minutes. The air scenes are very, very good, probably within the best of all movies that feature some air combat.

As the movie often gets compared to Top Gun: well, if You found Top Gun a bit plotless, a bit boring, a bit too much romance and the fighting very, very lame, then You'll definitely enjoy this movie. Sky fighters is about 70% air combat, 25% story and 5% romance. I dimly remember the soundtrack was real good too.

It would probably be a mistake to bring along Your girlfriend.

Admitedly this film is somewhat lacking in film techniques and complexity, but the reason for this is not that it is a bad film but rather a film with a different aim. With so many films coming out every year it is unavoidable that they be judged and compared, but this constant rating of films has created a certain stereotype of qualities which a film should have to be good. This kind of stereotyped rating, although often setting a good standard for comparison, works against films such as Sky Fighters. This is because in my opinion Sky Fighters has a different goal to most movies, rather than using the common methods to deliver a complex story line, Sky Fighters is a tribute to fighter pilots. It does an excellent job of portraying the complexity and importance of the role of a fighter pilot, as well as demonstrating the qualities a pilot must posses. Sky Fighters uses all real flying and aerobatics footage to achieve a very real demonstration, from the technical aspect, of what it means to be a fighter pilot. This film is very appropriate for anyone interested in fighters, aerobatics and the people behind them. I do not recommend it for audiences looking for a sophisticated or complex storyline.

The movie is somewhat disappointing at first sight: The story is kinda lame, the actors are quite OK, and it's boring from time to time. Some intermission shots seem clearly constructed, like they needed some human acting in there.

But then you see the shots taken in flight, the planes, the sky- it's simply amazing. I've never seen a movie that features flight to that degree. Well, I've seen quite some movies featuring airplanes (flying, that is- not Airforce One or such), but that movie is different. Forget the story, forget the actors- there is only one thing important in here, it's the beauty of flying. It's not even the planes itself, it could be almost any other aircraft. Some shots are simply beautiful, some are amazing, some are interesting, and some make you lean back in your chair, stunned, willing to make your PPL next week.

Flying is beautiful. This movie shows it. However, if you can't stand flying or understand the fun in it it's not worth viewing. But if you like movies like this, watch it.

By the way, it's from time to time almost the same as watching those Mountainbike vids that you can run as a background on your PC. Nice shots with nice action to look at and you can watch it all day long.

I gave it 8 points, 2 for the flying, 4 for the camera and the idea, another 2 for the not too bad acting. No, seriously- it's 8 points mostly to the camera and the idea behind the flight shots. It could be 10 without any acting in between, but then it wouldn't have been a movie for the regular cinema anymore.

Defenatly a movie for all flight-fans out there. The aerial-photography is wonderful, i find it much better then in Top Gun. Compared to Iron Eagle, its no competition. The director has set a new standard in aviation movies. Its high, well above 25,000ft. I think there is more flying in this movie then in Top Gun And Iron Eagle put together. Yes some acting is not the best and you don't watch a movie like this one because of the intricate plot. Its all about fast military jets! Another great thing is that you don't have to listen to cheesy lines like in the other two mentioned movies. Kick the tires and light the fires, lean back and enjoy the ride.

A French aerial-action flick packed with fast jets, quick tempered pilots and the usual array of love-interests. Many have compared 'Les Chevaliers du ciel' to the 1986 US box office blockbuster, Top Gun. Film fans bang on about 'this lax French copy' - but it's not a copy, it's a completely different film altogether. Different plot and different characters. It just happens to feature the French Air Force, whereas Top Gun was based on the US Navy.

In my honest opinion, 'Les Chevs' (it's international title being Sky Fighters), is a very plausible film. If you ignore the weak female characters and their individual inter-woven story-lines, then the 97 minute film motors along quite happily. Then you discover that the director is one Gérard Pirès, the man responsible for delivering 'Riders' and 'Double Zero'. For anyone who saw either of these stable-mates may recall British actor Bruce Payne's fingernail scraping American accent in 'Riders' and then there was the farcical 'Double Zero' - a French spy comedy film. It was obvious that a large slice of the combined budgets went towards lunch.

'Les Chevaliers du ciel' has a fairly reasonable story: a new French fighter jet, the Mirage 2000 is hijacked on the tarmac at the Farnborough Airshow in the UK. Two French fighter jets are sent to intercept the stolen aircraft as it flies towards the French coast. Our two heros are flying the interceptors, Benoît Magimel as Capt Antoine "Walk'n" Marchelli and his sidekick, Capt Sébastien "Fahrenheit" Vallois played by Clovis Cornillac. They end up in a multitude of trouble but go on to save the day when a naughty little inter-governmental plot is revealed.

Such is the advancement in filming technology and special effects in the 19 years since Top Gun was made, this particular flick contains some very impressive aerial sequences. What many fail to realise is that the flying sequences in Top Gun were mainly filmed from the ground, whereas in 'Les Chevs', it was mostly airborne. With 21st Century kit like the Spacecam and the Vectorvision Jet Camera, what you see is what actually happened. By strapping this new technology to the underbelly of another fighter jet, the aerial sequences have you in the Martin Baker seat of ejection happiness. A pod containing 4 cameras captured the forward, rear and side-to-side action, making for a fascinating insight into the sheer joy of punching your way through a cloud bank.

The film, naturally, has to have a love interest - or 3 - as in this case. Géraldine Pailhas plays Maelle Coste, the French Prime Minister's defence adviser, Alice Taglioni plays fellow pilot Lt Estelle 'Pitbull' Kass and Rey Reyes as "Stardust", an American Air Force pilot on an exchange programme. I must say that Ms Reyes took a leaf out of 'Riders' by delivering a shockingly bad US accent and also managed to corner the market in pouting and posing. A character somewhat far fetched and unbelievable.

The inter-weaving sub plots keep you thinking and Fiona Curzon, a Paris-based English actress, makes an appearance as a certain Mrs Redgrave, a British arms dealer from Gibraltar. Sadly, she too seems to have been struck down with a case of the 'awful accents'.

Overall, 'Les Chevs' seems to have lifted Gérard Pirès out of his funk and is well worth a viewing. So brush up on your French, return the seatback to the upright position and prepare for the rush of the afterburners.