Stealth (2005)

User Rating:

4.8/10   

Director:

Rob Cohen

Writer (WGA):

W.D. Richter (written by)

Release Date:

29 July 2005 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

Fear The Sky

Plot:

Deeply ensconced in a top-secret military program, three pilots struggle to bring an artificial intelligence program under control ... before it initiates the next world war.

Plot Keywords:

Pilot | Artificial Intelligence | Aircraft Carrier | Navy | Military

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Josh Lucas	...	Lt. Ben Gannon
Jessica Biel	...	Lt. Kara Wade
Jamie Foxx	...	Lt. Henry Purcell
Sam Shepard	...	Capt. George Cummings
Richard Roxburgh	...	Dr. Keith Orbit
Joe Morton	...	Capt. Dick Marshfield
Ian Bliss	...	Lt. Aaron Shaftsbury
Ebon Moss-Bachrach	...	Tim
Michael Denkha	...	Naval Controller
Rocky Helton	...	Master at Arms
Clayton Adams	...	USS Abraham Lincoln Sailor
Maurice Morgan	...	USS Abraham Lincoln Sailor
Woody Naismith	...	USS Abraham Lincoln Sailor (as Christopher Naismith)
Charles Ndibe	...	USS Abraham Lincoln Sailor
Nicholas Hammond	...	Executive Officer

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for intense action, some violence, brief strong language and innuendo.

Runtime:

121 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Korean | Russian | Spanish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS (8 channels)

Certification:

Brazil:14 | Argentina:13 | Taiwan:PG-12 | Sweden:11 | Canada:14A | Norway:11 | France:U | Iceland:12 (video rating) | Iceland:14 (original rating) | South Korea:12 | Malaysia:U | USA:PG-13 (certificate #40124) | Australia:M | Singapore:PG | Ireland:12A | UK:12A | Hong Kong:IIA | Finland:K-15 | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Canada:PG (British Columbia) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Philippines:PG-13 | Mexico:B | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Australia

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

The submachine gun Lt. Wade uses after landing in North Korea is a Heckler & Koch MP7.

Goofs:

Miscellaneous: Lt. Wade's punch put co-ords are given as 38 54 45N, by 127 31 22E. However, this point is about 40 to 50 miles from the Korean border. No the 12.2 miles that EDI states later on.

Quotes:

Tim: [referring to EDI] He a... downloads songs from the web.
Lt. Ben Gannon: Yeah, how many?
Tim: All of them.
Lt. Ben Gannon: [laughs] Well you're in a pack of trouble with the record companies there, son.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "20 to 1: Sizzling Superstars (#8.15)" (2009)

Soundtrack:

Bullet-Proof Skin

Thoughtless, but entertaining in a non-insulting way (that's good)

Stealth is devoid of higher thinking (or maybe any thinking at all). However it has couple of good things going for it:

1. Special effects are well-used. the planes and missiles and explosions rock. the dog fights do not rely on editing but are given a good effort.

2. Yes the premise is dumb - we assume correctly it would not be supported by thoughtful investigation into the mechanics behind the artificial pilot. However, the movie recognizes this fact and does not pretend to have given the matter much thought. It is straight and honest, though still mindless. But hey, that's alright sometimes.

3. The story is simple, but not linear - and that counts for a lot in a movie of this type, because it is unexpected and not required. Stealth has moments where it feels like an epic, albeit a mind-free one.

4. Have you noticed that it's often better to imply a romantic sentiment between the main characters rather than slamming it in your face, especially in an action movie which has precious little time to develop the relationship to begin with? You haven't? Uh that's not good... Anyway, Stealth doesn't kid us with a hasty obligatory romance but gives its characters some room to maneuver between inter-pilot and inter-personal relationships. What was the last summer popcorn movie you can remember that similarly uh, respected our intelligence? I am giving Stealth a lot of credit here. Let's just say if it insulted my intelligence, I was happy to let it slide this time because I was having a good time.

5. Ultimately Stealth is entertaining from beginning to end. It "respects" our intelligence by not appearing to be smarter than dumb. Stupid is less stupid when it doesn't pretend.

I hope you give this movie a chance, and notice how it differs in the formula and execution from what you may have anticipated and from other mindless summer blockbusters.

Thanks.