Stealth (Blu-ray) (2005)

"A high-flying, fast-action thrill ride!  Fred Saxon, FOX-TV
"...Top Gun crossed with the HAL 9000 plot from 2001.  Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

Editor's Note This high-action flight movie centers on a team of three sexy stealth bomber pilots who are forced to fly with EDI (Extreme Deep Invader), a computer-manned prototype plane that specializes in extra-precision bombing. The brainchild of a Bill Gates-esque wunderkind (Richard Roxburgh), EDI has the ability to learn at a fantastic rate, talks like HAL from 2001 A SPACE ODYSSEY, and likes to listen to hard rock before going into combat. Before long, a freak accident causes it to question authority and launch an attack on Russia. W.D. Richter's script probes big issues involving man, machine, and the nuclear fate of the free world (Read: DR. STRANGELOVE meets THE TERMINATOR). But this is also an action thrill ride from Rob Cohen--the man responsible for THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS and XXX--replete with some truly tremendous explosions and speeds that outdo any mph records set in Cohen's past ouevre. Jessica Biel (TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE) is tough and surprisingly believable as the token female fighter pilot, while Jamie Foxx (RAY) makes a fine wingman to the daredevil squadron leader played by Josh Lucas. Sam Shephard (THE RIGHT STUFF) is their commanding officer, with Joe Morton playing a shady politician.

	Jamie Foxx
	Jessica Biel
	Josh Lucas
	Sam Shepard
	BT - Original Music By
	Charlie Revai - Art Director
	Dean Semler - Cinematographer
	Dredg - Original Music By
	E. Bennett Walsh - Executive Producer
	J. Michael Riva - Production Designer
	Jonathan Lee - Production Designer
	Neal H. Moritz - Producer
	Richard Hobbs - Art Director
	Rob Cohen - Director
	Stephen E. Rivkin - Editor
	W.D. Richter - Writer

Premiere 8 of 10
Stealth is bigger and louder and packs more firepower than The Island, so it must be a proud realization for Rob Cohen (The Fast and the Furious, XXX) that his film is more Michael Bay than the latest spectacle from Michael Bay. All the loudness and exploding aren't necessarily bad things, though; the film contains a surprising amount of thinky material woven in with the Top Gun-on-even-more-steroids flight scenes...Combining acrobatic aerial scenes with the questions EDI poses--about warfare, sacrifice, the power of command, and the moral responsibilities incumbent on soldiers dropping bombs--was a risky move for Cohen and screenwriter W.D. Richter, but it works; the action spectacle balances out the more preachy moments. Lucas can sell the debate class aspect, which works to the benefit of his conflicts with his commanding officer...Stick it out through the first ten incoherent minutes or so, and Stealth is an invigorating reward, especially the tense final half-hour. - Sara Brady