Flight of the Intruder Blu-ray delivers great video and superb audio in this enjoyable Blu-ray release
Lt. Jake Grafton, a U.S. Navy pilot who has become cynical about the current state of military affairs, is
convinced that if the Vietnam War were left to the soldiers rather than the politicians overseeing the Pentagon,
United States victory would be swift and assured. Grafton shares this opinion with Virgil Cole, a supremely
confident new pilot under his command, and together they commandeer an A-6 Bomber, known as The Intruder,
for an unauthorized bombing raid against Hanoi.
Flight of the Intruder is a 1991 war film depicting a squadron of bomber pilots tasked with taking out military targets in the southern region of North Vietnam. Directed by John Milius (Conan the Barbarian, Red Dawn), the film floundered during its initial theatrical run, but eventually gained traction in the subsequent home video market. In all likelihood, the failings of the film led to the exit of Milius from a Hollywood directing chair, in favor of returning to his screenwriting roots. It also marked the end of Brad Johnson's career as a Hollywood leading man (the year before Flight of the Intruder, he starred in the film Always), and his return to various roles in television productions. Put together, you'd assume the negative turning points in the careers of these two men are indications of the film's entertainment value, yet I've still gleaned plenty of enjoyment out of this action classic over the years.
I didn't know anyone could make drinking coffee look so cool.
During the Vietnam era, strategic military targets were bombed by carrier-based aircraft known as the A-6 Intruder. Among the pilots carrying out these missions is a young Navy Lieutenant named Jake "Cool Hand" Grafton (Brad Johnson), a long-time crewman on the USS Independence. One night, while carrying out a nighttime bombing run on a suspected truck complex in Vietnam, Grafton's navigator Morgan McPherson (Christopher Rich) falls prey to a single well-placed shot from a peasant farmer. Frustrated by the lack of legitimate bombing targets and the perceived waste of human lives, Grafton begins questioning the logic in pursuing small-time targets with little influence on the tide of the war. With the seeds of dissent planted deep within, and a commander (Danny Glover) interested solely in following orders, Grafton begins a fact-finding query into a reported missile stash located in the heart of Hanoi. Knowing he couldn't possibly undertake such a deadly mission without a rogue navigator at his side, the young pilot enlists the aid of an experienced veteran (Willem Dafoe) with a questionable past. Knowing their actions will likely lead to court martial proceedings, the two heroic pilots embark on a final mission of vengeance against those responsible for the death of their fallen comrades.
Sitting through Flight of the Intruder after all these years, I can't fathom why it became such a tremendous flop. Sure, it borrows heavily from films like Top Gun and Platoon, but given the number of war productions released over the past fifty years, I'd say the concept of entirely original productions are long gone. Once you move past the unoriginal aspects of the basic premise (disenchanted soldier who loses friends left and right), and accept the film for what it is, there's not much left to complain about.
The greatest strength of the film lies in the sheer scale of the aerial combat, and the well-staged scenarios facing the pilots. From missile dodging to outmaneuvering enemy aircraft, Milius presents camera angles and special effects that place viewers directly in the heart of the action, and lend the film a necessary level of realism. That's not to say the film ever feels authentic or true to life, but at least we have the opportunity to view realistic aircraft and ocean-going carriers in action.
On the flipside, Flight of the Intruder has several elements working against it. First, the use of CGI special effects were still under development in the early 90's, so action films of this nature were still hampered by weak visuals. Now that we're able to view the film in high-definition, effects such as aerial explosions or the Hanoi fly-by look downright cheap by today's standards. Second, despite collecting a laundry list of recognizable faces in the various roles throughout the film, the quality of the acting is a bit suspect at times. Brad Johnson overreacts far too often, Willem Dafoe sheepishly grins through every scene, and actors such as Tom Sizemore, Ving Rhames, Rosanna Arquette, and David Schwimmer are given little more than bit parts. The only performance that's halfway memorable is Danny Glover as the tough-as-nails commander of the USS Independence. Glover is one of those actors that rarely stood out as an exceptional performer, but his facial expressions and line delivery in Flight of the Intruder separate him from the rest of the pack. Rounding out the complaint department, this is one of those films where you're forced to leave your brain at the door. As soon as you start questioning the logic behind two men stealing a jet off an aircraft carrier without anyone noticing them, part of the film's charm will be lost. As with any brainless action tale, the less critical thinking you engage in, the better.
Presented in 1080p utilizing the AVC codec (at an average bitrate of 19Mbps), Flight of the Intruder looks every bit as good as the source material allows. The elements clearly aren't in exceptional shape, but as soon as you move past the nighttime sequences with thick layers of film grain, you'll be pleasantly surprised by the level of fine object detail throughout the image. That's not to say there aren't several soft shots mixed in from time to time, but any less proficient elements can be chalked up to limitations in the original filming techniques often utilized during the early 90's (more noticeable in distance shots), and not a flaw in the replication of this transfer. Continuing with the positives, I have nothing but praise for the increased richness of the color spectrum in this Blu-ray transition. From the deep blue of the ocean surface to the wild tropical coloring of the Vietnamese brothel, every hue is incredibly vivid with no evidence of filtering, color push, or bloom. Unfortunately, the one element that reveals modest weakness is contrast differentiation between darker shades in the nighttime settings. Blacks look excellent, but there's a tendency for shadow detail to fall prey to crush, leaving large black holes across the image. I'd suspect this is partially related to the heavy blanket of film grain in these same scenes (again, reflecting a characteristic of the source material), but it still became a bit distracting next to the strong presentation in subsequent daytime shots.
If you're a long-time Flight of the Intruder fan, the visual quality of this new release will surely exceed your expectations and should stand as the best presentation possible without a costly restoration.
Any minor weaknesses in the visuals are more than made up for by the exceptional sound design in the lossless audio mix. From the opening bomb run to the daring rescue mission in the closing minutes of the film, we're treated to a continuous onslaught of bombastic aerial effects that rival anything heard on the highly-praised Top Gun release. When we aren't witnessing adrenaline-pumping aerial maneuvers that rock the soundstage of your home theater, the audio engineers introduce sequences full of small arms fire to constantly remind viewers this is an action film. In fact, I'd wager there's only about twenty minutes of dialog-driven moments in the entire film. As a result, your surround channels are utilized extensively through the majority of the runtime, replicating the screams of jet engines flying across the sound stage, or the immersive experience of exploding bombs sounding off from every direction. Unfortunately, there are two minor issues that warrant a half-point downgrade on the audio presentation. First, as much as I enjoyed the high-volume nature of the action effects, they sometimes revealed a disproportionate balance next to the dialog in the film. It's not extreme enough to warrant continuous volume adjustments, but I could see it bothering some viewers. Second, the sound effects generated by explosions and the rumble of jet engines typically seem quite good, but I noticed several instances where the volume of those effects leads to the introduction of crackle (usually when the effect reaches its highest volume level). It's not terribly noticeable (most viewers likely won't even care), but it's still something worth mentioning to any audiophiles reading this review.
Flight of the Intruder has always been overshadowed by better films within its genre, but that doesn't mean it's a waste of time. I'd imagine if you went back through time and released the film six years earlier (Platoon was released in 1986), it would have generated much higher box office returns. Unfortunately, countless films had already upped the ante by the time Flight of the Intruder was released, and it would seem the American public was done with mindless Vietnam action films. If you've never seen the film, but possess an appreciation for high-flying productions such as Top Gun, I'd suggest you give it a shot. The timing has never been better for an introduction to the John Milius classic, especially considering the impressive technical presentation offered up by Lionsgate.
Lionsgate Home Entertainment has announced three catalog titles from the 1990s for release on April 6: the speculative military drama 'Flight of the Intruder', starring Willem Dafoe and Danny Glover; the erotic thriller 'Jade', starring David Caruso and Linda Fiorentino; ...
