Thunder Over Reno

Overall I thought this was a pretty great take on an even greater idea.

It was very low budget as far as films go by today's standards, however clocking in at just below $1M, I find that this was still amazing!

From start to finish it kept me entertained. It had many layers and elements to satisfy even the most finicky critic.

It was a clean family story with exciting highs and no real lows... plus there where no lame CGI...it was all real.

I absolutely loved the actor playing the role of the hero Butch Bandi. He was very focused and into the zone at all times.

As many already know,any low budget has some budget-constraining issues... but the vision and passion portrayed here far out weigh the obvious.

I was duped into watching this by the 9.0 IMDb rating at the time. I have never commented a film here before, but I feel honour bound to warn any prospective viewers off of this diabollically amateur production.

The script reads as though it was written by a five year old, and the lines are delivered with a woodenness which makes 1980s pornography seem Oscar-worthy. I spent most of the time watching this movie trying to figure out if it was a spoof or not... and I eventually came to the sad conclusion that it's not. It's really just THAT bad. Please believe me, watching this film is the equivalent of self-flagellation of the brain.

If I had to say one positive thing about this film, it would be that, maybe, just maybe, if you just watched the plane-racing sequences with no audio, and played Iggy Pop's "The Passenger" instead, it might be cool. Though it would probably be better if you turned off the film altogether, and just listened to "The Passenger". It's a cool song.

Its interesting because it says that Butch Bandi is a local hero, star of the high-school football team kind of guy. A staple of the small agricultural community of Death Valley Junction where he works in the family business as a Crop duster. But in my humble opinion throughout my film I found him to be deeper than that.I really did think that the main character had certain rough edges that I liked seeing. This script was totally well written and developed. I liked that a lot. I had a blast watching some of the high flying adventure parts. There was even more excitement I would have liked to have seen. the supporting cast was totally an important and talented part of the movie that did a good job. I don't know what the budget was, but they did a lot with whatever they had.

I recall this was shot on SONY CineAlta 900's (ground) and 950 (air-to-air L39 Fighter jet with Skip H. And Meran S.) that was incredible at the time. The production was just a few years too early to benefit from GoPro and the likes. Love to see it come-back. Heard the Director/Writer has new backing and may be back...Ill look for a remake.

No matter what these guys captured the race and event in a way that will love forever. Bravo.

I totally thought this movie was a very Great big idea. I enjoyed it a ton. I think that they did such a good job. I liked the fact that it was real, not just some 100 million dollar special effects movie that relied on CGI. I thought the Director seemed to have a very clear sense of making a movie that both pilots, and people who have never seen anything like that before enjoy this movie. It also seemed like build up to some of the big scenes where done right. Not just all of the sudden huge action out of no where like so many other movies. i would like to see a part two! Good movie and I liked that it just wasn't the same thing I have seen over and over.