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FILM DETAILS

Certificate 12A

Cast Jamie Foxx Jessica Biel Josh Lucas Richard Roxburgh Sam Shepard.

Directors Rob Cohen.

Screenwriters Rob Cohen W D Richter.

Running Time 121 minutes

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Stealth
Movie of the year if you consider Air Forces Monthly a jazz mag.

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Plot
The prototype of an unmanned, artificially intelligent jet fighter goes kerflooey and, like a kamikaze HAL 900, sets out to single-handedly instigate World War III. Only a trio of elite US Navy pilots can save the day…

Review
Anyone familiar with Rob Cohen’s oeuvre will be aware that subtlety is not his strong suit. Even so, the director of such cinematic mayhem as The Fast And The Furious and xXx blows his wad in spectacular fashion with this face-melting ode to fly-boy braggadocio and supercool killing machines.

Lending its title an air of supposedly unintentional irony, Stealth is an orgy of pyrotechnic overkill, fetishised military hardware and mind-boggling special effects, employed most ardently in scene after scene of aerial combat so dazzlingly kinetic they make Top Gun(to which this owes not only a debt of gratitude but dinner and a show) look like a day out with the Wright brothers.

The plot concerns a trio of elite and insufferably smug US Navy fighter pilots (Josh Lucas, Jessica Biel and Jamie Foxx) whose new wing-man is a robo-brained stealth fighter, or UCAV (Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle), named EDI (Extreme Deep Invader), the latest, and by a wide margin the sexiest, weapon yet in the war on terror.

It takes place at an unspecified time in the near future. And if you think it a little far-fetched to imagine the Pentagon spending billions of dollars on a new hypersonic jet fighter, an outmoded Cold War relic of no use whatsoever against an enemy who, we have recently been tragically reminded, doesn’t exactly operate out in the open with hi-tech modern weaponry, think again. Cohen was inspired by the fact that the US military has unmanned planes in operation and is spending vast sums of money developing more sophisticated models (that military-industrial complex, don’tcha just love it?).

This would seem to raise all sorts of interesting questions. But while there is the odd moment of ethical introspection and even a greetings-card platitude or two on the moral implications of war itself (especially after EDI is struck by lightning and develops a predictably alarming mind of its own), the philosophical pondering neither distracts from the blowing shit up nor drowns out the subsonic crowing over America’s ability to kick the world’s ass.

On one level, Stealth is technically breathtaking, viscerally thrilling action cinema of the highest order. On another, it is slavering, state-of-the-art war porn.

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Average user rating for Stealth

Absolute Crap

That's pretty much it. Absolute crap. The only momentary saving grace is Jessica Biel in the bikini, but even her eye-popping curves are not eye-popping enough to make it worth the effort of getting that far into the film. ... More

Posted by magiclips at 14:43, 11 November 2012 | Report This Post

Why are J.Foxx movies are put down by critics?

Okay, critics, where does Behind Enemy Lines and Hurt Locker stand? How come we believe more in dialogue and less in common sense? In Hurt Locker, we see a car is parked strangely in front of UN building, gets too much fire and is doused by a tiny extinguisher? So, Rotten tomatoes give it a certified fresh rating of 97%!!! ... More

Posted by batbhai at 04:27, 11 May 2010 | Report This Post

Far from original, occasionally hits turbulence and loses momentum on touchdown ... More

Posted by moviemaniac2 at 19:18, 06 April 2007 | Report This Post

sleek yet dissapointing

Normally i am not one to dislike blockbusters - i enjoy a bit of mindless fun, and indeed this film doesnt fail to provide that cramming as much brilliant CGI, action binges and sleek flight'n'fight scenes into two hours as possible. But this film struggles with identity. The first act is a buddy movie, with reasonable chemistry between the three leads. Then after a criminally chort screen time for Foxx, things get a bit more serious. The film turns into a cheap 'Behind enemy lines,' but this t... More

Posted by swordsandsandals at 15:14, 02 November 2006 | Report This Post

Not good

I wasn't very impressed by Stealth, sorry ... More

Posted by jamdodge1 at 22:02, 17 September 2006 | Report This Post

Not good

I wasn't very impressed by Stealth, sorry ... More

Posted by jamdodge1 at 22:02, 17 September 2006 | Report This Post

Excellent!

My kind of film. Alot of these action films get slated by the critics, but to me they're good fun and well worth seeing. Great action scenes, and I will never, ever get tired of watching Jessica Biel in an action film! She really does look convincing and I hope she continues along this path. You couldn't imagine the likes of Sandra Bullock pulling this off! ... More

Posted by guitardave at 18:44, 12 February 2006 | Report This Post

The worst of Hollywood

I am a big fan of blockbusting, leave your brain at home all action spectaculars which use a mix of dazzling special effects, flatteringly photographed photogenic young stars and fast paced over the top action sequences. With this in mind I thought I pretty much knew what to expect from Stealth, a couple of hours of mindless but lightweight entertaining escapism. However in fact the film proved to be one of the dreariest moments in my cinematic life. The 'plot' was nonsensical and utterly uninv... More

Posted by gadabout at 19:21, 31 January 2006 | Report This Post

soundtrack

Incubus slammed on three exclusive tracks for this flick & they are awesome. the film is shit though ... More

Posted by ithomson82 at 12:13, 23 January 2006 | Report This Post

the entire film was basically based on action, not so much on the dialogue, i love an action film but fore me this might have gone just a bit over the top. But overall the action was amzing, superb!!! ... More

Posted by umer_ejaz at 14:59, 20 January 2006 | Report This Post

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