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I've had this title sitting around for a while and finally decided to give it a spin last night. I'd seen the film years ago in the theater and then caught parts of it on TV, but I was very fuzzy on remembering anything other than the breathtaking aerial sequences. There are lots of recognizable names: actors such as Willem Dafoe, Danny Glover, Brad Johnson, Rosanna Arquette, Tom Sizemore, Ving Rhames, and John Milius directed. Even with that fairly talented group I was surprised at how bad the dialog was on ocassion and how very badly it was delivered. Yech. Willem Dafoe was the only person not over-emoting, hamming or coming across as bored. The soundtrack is a DD 5.1, but the vast majority of the sonics comes from the front three channels. Having said that, what comes out of the front 3 channels is very dynamic and the sub gets a decent workout to boot. Visually, interior shots show a surprising amount of grain at times and the colors aren't as saturated as could be. It is a 15-year-old film, but it should have come across better. The aerial imagery, however, is what makes this film worth watching. The real flying sequences with the Intruders (not the model-based ones) and the Skyraiders (AKA Sandies) are excellent. Fine detail and brilliant colors are both present. The one close shot of the two Skyraiders banking in towards the camera from behind a stand of trees is just awesome! The story itself is from a pretty good book by Stephen Coonts - it's too bad that the film wasn't as ably presented.
:4: out of :5: for the flying sequences
overall I can't do any better than a :2: out of :5:.
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