Recommended viewing, especially for those who have not read the book. The flying scenes are great, with ferocious sound to match. While parts of the story will seem quite familiar, the raid on Hanoi is an unusual focal point of the film, and terrific. Danny Glover and Willem Dafoe have the best developed characters, but overall the acting is fine. The motivation of the different characters is quite interesting and adds to the excitement. Dialog varies from profound to hokey. The film is is recommended as one of the better Vietnam War movies. There is plenty of action, and "Flight of the Intruder" certainly exceeds expectations as entertainment. - MERK

Call it "Top Gun" with balls. "Red Dawn" director John Milius' big-screen adaptation of the Stephen Coonts novel "The Flight of the Intruder" upholds not only the finest traditions of the Hollywood aerial combat epic, going as far back as Howard Hawks' "The Dawn Patrol" (1930) as well as its gild-edged 1938 Errol Flynn remake, Mark Robson's "The Bridges at Toko-Ri" (1964) and Walter Grauman's 1964 British fighter-bomber classic "633 Squadron," but also issues a highly-politicized, anti-war statement without undercutting its high octane ingredients.

How they got the U.S. Navy to ante up all that fabulous equipment for an anti-war movie still amazes me. The aerial sequences rank among the very best, particularly when the A-6s explode in the air as the pilots bail out. Part of the dramatic punch of "Flight" is that our heroes fly jets that have no guns on board to retaliate with during an airborne enemy assault. They have to radio for help when it comes down to that. This raises the stakes considerably in the Robert ("The French Connection 2" & "Prime Cut") Dillon & David ("The Warriors" & "Nighthawks") Shaber screenplay that thrusts these Navy pilots into several suspenseful situations. When "Intruder" flies, you cannot beat its dog-eared, but flag-waving heroics, even if a couple of renegade A-6 Navy carrier pilots played by Brad Johnson and Willam DaFoe unfurl them for our entertainment. Indeed, all the clichés remain intact in this virtual remake of "The Bridges at Toko-Ri," except "Flight" boasts a happy ending.

Basically, "Flight" is a testosterone flavored tearjerkers for guys. When he loses his bombardier to a stray bullet at low altitude, Lt. Jake 'Cool Hand' Grafton complains about the targets they pick. Not long afterward the death of Grafton's, Lt. Cmdr. Virgil 'Tiger' Cole Dafoe comes on board, with a bad reputation for having allegedly abandoned a fellow pilot on the ground in North Vietnam. The two become best buddies after a near-death encounter in the night skies over North Vietnam when they dodge at least four Surface-To-Air missiles and plan an audacious mission that they fully expect to be court-marshaled for by the Navy brass. Along the way, "Flight" bogs down momentarily for an obligatory romantic subplot involving a Navy widow Callie (Rosanna Arquette) and her daughter.

Mind you, the movie never captures the complexity of the novel, but remember this is a genre movie and the romantic subplot is sort of expected. Sure, they could have put more bang into it in emotional terms, and may very well have. Sure, you can tell that the Tom Sizemore character is going to bite the bullet when he learns that he is a dad, albeit an illegitimate one. The cast is first-rate, too. Look for Ving ("Pulp Fiction") Rhames in an earlier role as well as David ("Friends") Schwimmer as a duty officer. One of the few things that date this aviation saga is the choice of "Lethal Weapon's" Danny Glover as the shouting authority figure who makes life rough for our heroes. An uncredited Fred Dalton Thompson has some choice moments as the Court-Martial captain. "Now is the time to come to Jesus," he warns them as their trial gets underway but yields surprising results. The Paramount DVD is a bare bones version without a Milius commentary that I think all die-hard Milius fans would have welcomed.

Can we say "Special Edition" in the future with a JM commentary?

FLIGHT OF THE INTRUDER is a long-forgotten Vietnam War drama by CONAN THE BARBARIAN director John Milius. It's about a group of pilots flying bombing missions over the country, initially simply in the line of duty, but then things get personal. Yep, it's another film in the same 'flying' genre as many others like TOP GUN, STEALTH, and the like, and this one suffers from having slightly lacklustre action sequences but a decent cast to make up for it. Aside from the wooden Brad Johnson as the lead, we get treated to solid turns from the likes of Willem Dafoe and Danny Glover, alongside youthful appearances from Tom Sizemore, Ving Rhames, and David Schwimmer. It's not one of the director's best, but it keeps you watching all the same, even if it does go on a little too long.