Stealth? Where... must have missed it! (Stealth (DVD))

Member Name: GoFigure

Product:	Stealth (DVD)
Date:	02/02/09 (24 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: None.

Disadvantages: Read on...

Directed by: Rob Cohen
Written by: W.D. Richter
Genre: Action/Adventure/Sci-Fi/Thriller
Country: USA
Certification: 12+
Language: English
Released: 5th August, 2005


CAST:

Josh Lucas as Lt. Ben Gannon
Jessica Biel as Lt. Kara Wade
Jamie Foxx as Lt. Henry Purcell
Sam Shepard as Capt. George Cummings
Richard Roxburgh as Dr. Keith Orbit
Joe Morton as Capt. Dick Marshfield
Ian Bliss as Lt. Aaron Shaftsbury
Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Tim
Michael Denkha as Naval Controller
Rocky Helton as Master at Arms
Clayton Adams as USS Abraham Lincoln Sailor
Maurice Morgan as USS Abraham Lincoln Sailor
Christopher Naismith as USS Abraham Lincoln Sailor
Charles Ndibe as USS Abraham Lincoln Sailor
Nicholas Hammond as Executive Officer


SUMMARY:

Lt. Ben Gannon, Lt. Kara Wade and Lt. Henry Purcell, have been chosen to fly three new high-tech Navy stealth fighters. Their training completed, the trio are told that an aircraft carrier has been found for them, the Abraham Lincoln, and that they are now ready to commence missions. They are also told that a fourth member will be allocated to their small unit and will be piloting a prototype plane.

Having arrived at their destination, the trio of pilots await the arrival of the newest member. The prototype plane finally arrives, and the trio hastily go to greet him, but it's not really a he, it's an IT... or to be more precise, it's an AI. The prototype plane is in fact the military's latest and greatest combat weapon, an Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle (UCAV), and is piloted by a talking AI (artificial intelligence) named EDI... short for Extreme Deep Invader.

Although impressed by the look of the prototype, the three pilots have mixed feelings about flying with a UCAV. The only pilot who actually has a positive opinion about the prototype is Lt. Henry Purcell, who feels that the presence of UCAV's in the future will help save the lives of pilots who are often sent on extremely dangerous missions. Henry tells the other two pilots that EDI's presence actually makes him feel safer. Lt. Kara Wade is uncertain about the UCAV, and doesn't actually appear to have a committed opinion, however, Lt. Ben Gannon does have an unwavering opinion... he dislikes the UCAV, and hates the idea that a computer could one day replace pilots.

When the prototype aircraft is struck by lightning on its return from its first mission, Lt. Ben Gannon approaches the technician who is attempting to repair EDI, and asks him his opinion on the UCAV. The technician tells him that the UCAV is the brainchild of Dr. Keith Orbit, and goes on to explain who Dr. Orbit is. When Ben asks him, point blank, if he thinks EDI is capable of completing missions safely, the technician refuses to respond, however, his attitude says it all... he too is wary of EDI.

Whilst awaiting the repair of EDI, the trio are sent off to Thailand to enjoy a short rest, supposedly because the coming mission will be very long... however, when they are called back after only a few short days, and return to find that EDI has been fixed and the technician has been sent away, Lt. Ben Gannon becomes suspicious.

The next day, the trio, accompanied by the UCAV, are sent on a mission, but during this mission Lt. Kara Wade determines that the risk to civilian life would be too high. Agreeing with her, Lt. Ben Gannon decides to abort the mission, but EDI disobeys orders (the AI learned to do that during its first mission when it observed Ben disobeying orders) and continues on the mission, which ends in disaster when the air strikes end up spreading radioactive dust across an entire region populated by innocent farmers... and to make matters worse, EDI refuses to return to the aircraft carrier.

Choosing a mission from possible fictitious scenarios that have been entered into its memory banks (these missions supposedly could not be accessed by EDI), EDI decides to bomb a fictitious arms depot in Russia.
Ordered to retrieve EDI, the trio go after it...


COMMENTS:

The first five minutes of the movie are filled with flight stunts reminiscent of Top Gun, and the viewer is mislead into believing that the film actually possesses potential.

Firstly, the timeline is supposed to be somewhere in the near future, however, the Navy is still using F18's and there is no sign (apart from EDI) that the military has made any advancements in this supposed near future.
Secondly, the pilots are supposed to be flying the newest high-tech stealth fighters, however, there is nothing high-tech about them... in fact, during the action scenes, not a single aircraft displays any stealth capabilities. All the targets are attacked from close range, and the supposed stealth fighters are constantly exposing themselves to anti-aircraft fire.

Thirdly, when EDI runs out of fuel, it approaches the fuel tanker aircraft (which had been sent to refuel Lt. Ben Gannon's plane) and attaches itself to the fuel line. When access to the fuel is denied, EDI shoots off the end of the line that is restricting access and attaches itself to the hose. Once EDI has finished refueling, it flies off leaving the tanker spewing fuel out into the atmosphere. Now, I'm definitely not an expert, but I don't think I'm dumb either!!! Where are the pilots of this tanker aircraft? Don't they notice that the fuel is spewing everywhere? Why don't they stop the fuel leakage? If the aircraft is unmanned (highly unlikely), then why isn't there a cut-off valve? Surely these tanker aircraft possess some sort of built-in security system!

And finally... why does the prototype (UCAV) come with a pilot's seat? Oh wait... weren't we supposed to guess within the first 10 minutes of the movie that the seat was for Lt. Ben Gannon???? Silly me... and while I'm at it, why does EDI sound exactly like HAL in 2001: A Space Odyssey?

Josh Lucas, who plays Lt. Ben Gannon, has managed a brave performance considering the script he was given. His character is the macho-type who is totally undisciplined and headstrong, who is shallow and full of himself, and can disobey direct orders without ever being reprimanded by his superiors. His only redeeming quality is his affection for Lt. Kara Wade, and his concern for the safety of his fellow pilots. Lt. Ben Gannon is the stereotypical gung-ho pilot whose mission will be to save the world... or in this case... the girl!

Jessica Biel, who plays Lt. Kara Wade, has given a good performance, however, her character lacked depth and tended to be quite ordinary. Only nearing the end of the movie does Kara actually become an interesting character when she parachutes into North Korea and attempts to make her way to South Korea. From that moment on, Kara is finally portrayed as a soldier, and not just a pretty face.

I have to say that my favourite character was that of Lt. Henry Purcell (Jamie Foxx). Henry is definitely a womanizer and a rascal, but he is a likeable sort possessing not an ounce of arrogance or malice. He is simply a nice guy, and easygoing. I feel, however, that the writer could have made better use of this character by giving him more dialogue and turning him into a funny sidekick... instead, he killed him off after 30 minutes. No doubt the writer's intention was to insert a more serious note into the movie by drawing sadness from the viewer, but he failed miserably. What a total waste of a perfectly good character.

The word Sci-Fi has been inserted into the genre for no other reason but to make the movie more marketable. Stealth is not a Sci-Fi. True, EDI manages some neat aerial tricks, and it does possess a suitably robotic voice, but it is nothing more than a big shiny gadget that serves no real purpose other than to look impressive. No doubt in my mind the special-effects team were snoozing on the job.

I really disliked this movie, thinking the characters stereotypically obnoxious, and was disappointed by the lack of ingenuity in regards to EDI. Some scenes were particularly dumb and made no sense whatsoever, therefore I cannot in all honesty recommend it. My husband, on the other hand, who is ex-military, did like this movie. Where do we differ? I hate war and military movies... he doesn't. I was expecting an entertaining Sci-Fi, and was disappointed by the lack of creativity. He was expecting some sort of military movie with a bit of Sci-Fi and was pleased with what he got. Although he did think some of the scenes were ridiculous, he thought the movie entertaining and worth watching. To each his own.

You would have thought that W.D. Richter, who wrote such movies as Needful Things, Big Trouble in Little China and Invasion of the Body Snatchers would have come up with a better storyline and worked on the characters a bit more... and Rob Cohen, who produced such movies as Bird on a Wire, The Running Man and the Witches of Eastwick definitely wasn't having a good day when he decided to work on this movie. Betwixt the two of these men, you'd have thought that they could have come up with something better!

All of this said... you won't be surprised to learn that this movie didn't win any awards.

Summary: An unmanned combat aerial vehicle with an AI on board goes on a killing spree.