That said, the plot is cheesy, with a lame attempt at a love story on the side, and some of the acting is quite bad. Sean Young never really comes across in a believable way and Nicolas Cage's character is pretty annoying at times. However, the film is saved by two elements - Tommy Lee Jones and the helicopters! I'm a bit of a fan of Tommy Lee Jones' laid back style and he is very well suited to this film, in the role an aging Apache flight instructor. His interactions with the young pilot played by Cage add enough levity to make some of the weaker elements of the film bearable.

But in the end the whole thing is just window dressing that provides the raison d'etre for the exhilarating helicopter flight sequences. The Apache helicopter is an incredibly impressive machine and is beautifully presented in this film (though it was actually the TV appearances during the Gulf War that really brought it to the front of the stage). The combat sequences are well choreographed and filmed, giving some believable and intense action. The only bad thing about the air combat sequences is that there just aren't enough of them! If you loved the aerial combat scene in Top Gun, you really should watch this film too.

At the end of the day though, there's little material to interest people who aren't into action sequences and military hardware. It will appeal to any an action film fan, but probably not to those who want some emotional or intellectual content in their choice of viewing. So I'd like to score the film 3 1/2 stars, but that's not possible. So, given the likelihood that anyone reading this has checked out the box cover and is therefore probably an action film fan, I've decided to bump it up to four stars rather than down to three.

I will personally buy this as soon as it comes out on DVD.

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