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Stealth [2005]
![Stealth [2005]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51VDB7Q2KRL._SL160_.jpg)
Moving up from The Fast and the Furious and xXx, director Rob Cohen proves himself as a master of popcorn entertainment for teenagers, turning this derivative military sci-fi action thriller into a dazzling showcase for impressive aerial action sequences, featuring digital effects and highly detailed model work (by James Cameron's Digital Domain effects company, among others) that are so realistic you could swear the movie's high-tech aircraft are absolutely real. The plot serves the effects (it should be the other way around), and it's a cheesy hybrid of Top Gun, The Right Stuff, Firefox and Behind Enemy Lines, in which a close-knit trio of Naval Air Force aces (Josh Lucas, Jessica Biel, and Jamie Foxx) pilot state-of-the-art "Talon" fighter-bombers, ready to scramble on orders from their not-entirely trustworthy commander (Sam Shepard). They're teamed up with an ultra-high-tech UCAV (Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle) nicknamed "EDI," an artificially intelligent fighter drone that's as erratically dangerous (after its circuitry is damaged by lightning) as it is deadly effective. With a standard third-act rescue mission amidst the threat of global warfare, Stealth is brainless entertainment from start to finish, but the aerial action and epic-scale pyrotechnics ensure that it's never, ever boring. Cohen may be guilty of dumbing down his recycled plots for mass appeal, but there's no denying his skills as an action auteur. Move over, Michael Bay, you've got serious competition. --Jeff Shannon
RRP: £19.99
Our Price: £0.95 (subject to change)
Editorial
Amazon.co.uk Review
Featuring the best special effects that money can buy and a screenplay that any six-year-old could follow, Stealth is a pure action thriller that starts fast and never slows down.
Too repetitive
Review date: 2008-07-19 Rating: 4 out of 10
This is a film about a plane with AI. It's kind of too repetitive, with most of the film made up of planes (CGI) going past the screen/right up to the screen really fast. It's okay but not great. It might have been better if it was 1.85:1, or if they kept the camera steadier, less extreme close-ups and the effects weren't so close to the camera all the time. A bit more of a story/variety would have been better.
As for the DVD, it's lacking any special features. It has some movie trailers (one of which - Final Fantasy 7 looks like it's the wrong aspect ratio), but no director/cast commentary. No features or anything like that.
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Reviews
Life's too short....
Review date: 2008-07-01 Rating: 2 out of 10
...to waste on this awful, awful, awful movie. If you're over the age of 13, do yourself a favour and avoid this like the plague. One of the worst films I'v ever seen, and my standards aren't particularly high!!
Avoid
Review date: 2008-06-20 Rating: 2 out of 10
This film stinks so hard, if it sat next to you on a bus, you'd move. Total crap.
see it ages ago. second worst i have ever seen
Review date: 2008-04-03 Rating: 2 out of 10
its is woeful. all CGI stuff and about as unbelievable as anything else i have ever seen. among my worst 5 or all time.
get top gun instead
Best cgi actors
Review date: 2008-02-11 Rating: 2 out of 10
Unfairly lambasted by some critics here, 'Stealth' is a 1950s Saturday morning Odeon Club movie with better effects than the Emperor Ming if none of the charm.
The DVD box makes it plain to whom 'Stealth' is aimed: children under the age of 12, or anyone who accidentally chances upon it and appreciates the movie's only joke (i.e., content that is unendingly and ear-shatteringly at odds with the title.)
Although there's a script somewhere, 'Stealth' has no pretensions to literary value.
Instead, it's the special effects which account for 99% of the budget: the aircraft cgi rendering is genuinely impressive, whilst that of the 'cast' is even more so -- there are a couple of moments in 'Stealth' when you're almost persuaded that the actors are flesh and blood, rather than expensive cartoons.
The names chosen for these cartoon figures are a bit odd though, as a quick glance at the DVD box cover confirms: a principal male actor called Jessica? What's that all about?
Overall then, a single star for 'Stealth', though with the caveat that if your mental age is eight or less then it will be the same as the movie's creators, and so your appreciation of this movie will be that much greater.
Certainly 'Stealth' is a hit in The White House; George Bush thinks it's the best American documentary he's ever seen.
Product Details/Specifications
Actor(s):
Josh Lucas
Sam Shepherd
Jamie Foxx
Jessica Biel
Joe Morton
Creators:
Josh Lucas (Primary Contributor)
Jessica Biel (Primary Contributor)
Recording label: Sony Pictures Home Ent. UK
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures Home Ent. UK
EAN: 5035822696532
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 1
Format: Anamorphic, Dubbed, PAL,
Release date: 2006-01-23
Aspect ratio: 2.40:1
Audience rating: Suitable for 12 years and over
Region code: 2
Running time: 116 minutes
Theatrical release date: 2005
Language: English (Original Language)
Language: Spanish (Dubbed)