Flight of the Intruder

Amazon.com

Time has been kind to Flight of the Intruder, a rousing aviation-action adventure that looks better now than it did to critics who panned it in 1991. Perhaps they were expecting a Tom Clancy-ish blockbuster (producer Mace Neufeld oversaw the Jack Ryan franchise), but director John (Conan the Barbarian) Milius had something potentially more substantial in mind. The first 75 minutes are pure Milius: Macho bluster, male bonding among ill-fated pilots and Naval bombardiers, and a Big Wednesday-like passion for dangerous fun. But Milius's favorite topics have sharper teeth here: He's made a scathing anti-Vietnam film that still honors the bravery of soldiers who do their job even when the job itself seems pointless. That's why ace Brad Johnson (why didn't he become a huge star?) and maverick bombardier Willem Dafoe plot a renegade mission, bombing a Hanoi arms depot with their low-altitude A-6 Intruder in the movie's pyrotechnical climax. Fringe benefits abound, including early roles for Tom Sizemore, Ving Rhames, and David Schwimmer in his big-screen debut, three years before Friends and looking like the dweeby grandchild of his Band of Brothers martinet. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews:

An very good book and a good movie..........2007-02-22

I am not qualified to discuss the politics of the Vietnam War and about 40 something other people have commented upon the story. Having said that the book was one of those that was hard to put down. The movie was pretty good but arguable not quite to the same level of excitment as the book. One thing that the movie really does a terrific job of doing is showing people just how formidible a weapon system the now retired A6 Intruder realy was. Not supersonic and not the prettiest thing in the air but certainly agile. The flying segments are well worth watching if you are a fan of US Naval Aviation. Sadly like the A7 and few others it never seemed to capture the media's attention like the F4 Phantom and the F14 Tomcat did. Which brings up another interesting question I have that resulted in the 3 star rating I gave. Wasn't there any other aircraft on Grafton's ship? All we see are the A6 intruders and in the end we also get to see some Sandy's go into action. But that is about it...

If you are a fan of flying movies see this...
If you are fan of Vietnam War movies see this...
If you are fan of Steven Coonts books see this...
If you are fan of any of the stars see this...
If you looking for a pretty good action movie see this...

It is not a boring film but the story could have been a little better written.

Flight of the Intruder.......2007-01-21

Great military movie. It shows what airmen during the Vietnam War (or American War, if you're reading this in Vietnam) wanted to do - take the fight to the enemy. A great wish for the airmen that did come true on the big screen.

As a retired Air Force member, I can laugh at all the Naval antics on shore leave because today's military makes them VERBOTEN. Carrier Landings in bars in Angeles City or Olongapo no longer exist since the US military was ordered out of there. Still, the guys had great fun letting loose in this movie and then faced death when the time came.

In the scene where Willem Dafoe and his pilot have an avionics failure, it made me sit on the edge of my seat, because as a former avionics technician who worked on F-16s, I could feel the fear and subtle panic they were facing during battle. I always ensured my avionics components worked so our aircrews would not experience that sensation.

Note: the captain, who was trying the aircrew for disobeying orders, was Fred Dalton Thompson; he wasn't mentioned in the credits for some reason.

Great movie and storyline, superb antics by the troops on shore leave, and really cool aerial footage. A must add to your war film collection.

GREAT CARRIER AND BATTLE ACTION.......2007-01-10

A REAL GREAT ACTION MOVIE ABOUT THE NAVY AND ITS PLANES AND PILOTS.......NOT ALL FACTUAL BUT STILL A GREAT MOVIE

Great Book - Bad Movie - Good Actors.......2006-12-23

My view is skewed. I was in VA-196 and flew with Steve Çoonts a few times as a B/N. His book captured our collective squadron stories and placed the A6A Intruder into the public eye. People would tell me about their experiences while reading the book...they did not know my connection to it. Steve wrote so well that they could smell the cockpit and sense the adrenalin. While the movie paralleled our actual experiences at sea and in port, it did not convey the excitement of the book. So, I was disappointed in my expectations and give the film a good try.
W. Stewart Tittle, Lt USNR 1966-71.

A Righteous Movie about an Unrrighteous War.......2006-10-31

During the Vietnam war, many air crews were frustrated by the political nature of target selection. Real, worthy targets of military significance were put off limits to avoid annoying the enemy or the allies of the enemy. Instead, missions were sent against "suspected" targets like truck parks and staging areas more often than not, this resulted in the bombing of some innocent trees. That would be frustrating but not necessarily infuriating. What was infuriating is that crews were lost and killed in the missions to worthless targets.

In this story, one crew has had enough. After seeing so many of their friends killed for no apparent reason, they decide to do something that matters. They want to bomb a military target. They want to destroy SAMs, the surface to air missiles that are so dangerous to flyers. They know where to go. It is no secret that the SAM inventory is stored in a massive artillery park in downtown Hanoi. They decide to take it out.

The unauthorized raid is a success except when speaking in terms of careers. Even then, it seems, fate intervenes.

This is a story about comrades in arms keeping the faith with each other. Its not a great movie but it's a pretty good story.

Its also a credit to Danny Glover's acting skills. You would never know that he's part of the "I hate America" crowd.

Average customer rating:

An very good book and a good movie...
Flight of the Intruder
GREAT CARRIER AND BATTLE ACTION
Great Book - Bad Movie - Good Actors
A Righteous Movie about an Unrrighteous War

Flight of the Intruder [Region 2]
Starring: Danny Glover , Willem Dafoe , Brad Johnson (II) , Rosanna Arquette , and Tom Sizemore
Director: John Milius
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

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ASIN: B00005UPNW