Customer Reviews

Flight of the Intruder

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This movie is a great depiction of the air war in Vietnam in 1972. It has it's funny moments, it's serious moments, but all in all, it's a great action movie with a great plot and storyline. Also, since Willem Dafoe is one of my favorite actors, that was another plus for this film. Danny Glover put in a hell of a performance as the skipper of the air crew, and Brad Johnson and Willem Dafoe put in excellent performances as the pilot/bombardier team. This is a movie worth five stars.

Yeah, yeah... I agree with many other viewers. The movie storyline is not as good as in the book in two areas: 1. the in-depth description of its characters -I guess it's just too hard a job to explore the complexity of human personalities within 90mn; 2. the ending which, in the book, is a bit more in line with the actual war in Vietnam.

And also, that's true that the special effects are somewhat dated now...

But boy, being a professional of aviation, living, breathing, dreaming of it every day of my life, I can't applaude enough to the fact of being able to watch a movie that DOES feature combat aircraft! Just count the number of good action movies that actually show these machines, and I bet you'll be able to count them on the fingers of, say, 2 hands. That's just to stay on the optimistic side of things.

Flight of the Intruder is a real cool movie in terms of aircraft footage. You are "behind the wheel", at times you are literally in control of the aircraft. Your heart pumps faster when this ugly looking -and sounding- SAM detection signal flashes to and screams at the crew. And watch these unforgettable scenes with the A-1 Skyraiders, the famous "Sandys" at the end of the film! The shots, the sounds... Everything contributes to raising the hair of your neck with passion!

The movie itself is pretty well documented too, if only a bit too simplified. Looks like the film was technically supported by both the Navy and the Air Force. The pilots' jargon is accurate, and so is the overall A-6 bombing philosophy.

And after viewing it, you'll sit back and start reflecting on it, and I'm pretty sure that you'll end telling yourself: "These fly-boys in Vietnam... They sure had real guts". Hats and heads down, ladies and gentlemen, and respect for courage!

This movie should have been better then Top Gun.
In everyones mind though we all want the speed and cockyness of
a fighter pilot.
But, as the line states,"Fighter pukes make movies, bomber pilots make history."
I believe that because this movie wasn't as big as Top Gun is
because there was a little love story in Intruder, that was not
as big Top Guns steamy love scenes.
This movie to me was better then Top Gun because of the absence
of a steamy romance, just a hint.
This movie, should be considered a classic.

Because my dad was a A-6 Bombadier/Navigator in Vietnam, I have a bias regarding this movie. It is highly entertaining and action-packed, however, the truth of the story lies somewhere in the middle and there's not much of it in this screenplay.
I'm sure that many of the Navy's aviators in Vietnam grew weary of hitting "suspected" truck parks, oil refineries and missle sites, but I have yet to hear tales from my dad or his buddies about anyone who decided to fight their own war and fly through downtown Hanoi in order to destroy a SAM (surface-to-air missle) storage area all on their own.
Guys got shot down alot during the war, yes, but they were mostly Air Force guys (that's meant to be a dig!), and rarely a Navy A-6. In this movie, we see several from one squadron on the same cruise go down. Not too realistic. The quickly referred to "Operation Linebacker" was a real mission (proud to say that my dad was in the first plane over N Vietnam on that mission) and followed up by Linebacker II later on. It was not, however, inspired because of what the two lead characters in this movie did.
The flying is pretty realistic though and it is nice to see the not-as-sexy-as-a-fighter-jet Grumman A-6 Intruder in a movie; I give it three stars for that. Still...I would rather listen to real bomber pilots and b/n's relate their adventures in 'Nam and aboard ship.
If you want a real Vietnam movie, stick with "Apocalypse Now", "Full Metal Jacket" and "Platoon".

The A-6 was the United States Navy's Medium (A) Attack bomber during the Vietnam conflict. It flew at tree-top level in any weather at night and alone. The A-6 had NO defensive weapons. It was called - The INTRUDER.

That is the opening statement to an outstanding action movie. The thought of flying unarmed over hostile territory circa 1972 presents a very exciting war tale indeed.

Danny Glover, Willem Dafoe and Brad Johnson are a great ensemble cast.

The "Flight of the Intruder" based on Stephen Coonts (former Naval Aviator) novel of the same name. Coonts has written an entire fictionalized series based on Jake Grafton (played by Brad Johnson) exciting Naval career. The "Flight of the Intruder" was the first in that series.

Summary: Young Naval Aviator Lt. Jake Grafton pilots the infamous A (Attack) - 6 Intruder over 1972 Vietnam. You get to experience lots of great aerial photography, plenty of action and the unbelievable daring of these A-6 Naval pilots. This includes low level (200 feet) bombing missions (dodging all kinds of enemy fire). "Iron Hand" the art of an Armed A-6 versus' SAM (Surface to Air Missles). They shoot first up to 4 missles before you can attack them!!! Great stuff!!!!

Paramount's WideScreen DVD Collection presents the viewer with some OUTSTANDING MOVIES at an economical price. The only short fall one Extra is the trailer and the Enhanced 16:9 WideScreen HDTV is some what grainy on my 55" Home Theatre Screen. The sound is outstanding!

Overall this is a great war movie for the collector!! This DVD is worth the price of admission. Enjoy

Great book. Not so great movie and the small screen does not anything to this one either. With so many good and great war movies to choose from, this one can be saved for much later.

With Flight of the Intruder many other reviewers have tended to focus on the differences between the film and the original novel. While I think the book is better, the film is still a contemporary combat aviation classic.
The reason I gave this DVD only 3 Stars is due to the apparent lack of interest by either the DVD authoring company or the Production Company.
Firstly, the Primary Menu Screen has a glaring error in continuity. They have shoddily created a montage from the Theatre poster and what appears to be a picture from another film entirely(Black Angel I think). It features a Grumman F-14 Tomcat emerging from a large explosion. The time setting for this film, during the Vietnam War, is well before this aircraft was put into service.
Secondly, the subtitles on this DVD are awful. Many times the text is way off from what was said by the actors. Perhaps the persons doing the sub work were hard of hearing or just made assumptions as to what was said due to lack of knowledge of military nomenclature.
Thirdly, I really would like it if they had provided at least a few extras. Trailers, Behind the scenes, Still-shots, etc.
On the whole it's a good film that has not been given it's due by the people who released it onto DVD.

Cry havoc and let slip the soul of Willem Dafoe into the savage wasteland. As Cole, the wild one with the napalm breath, he spins pulp jargon into a passion play paradigm of pathos. As John Milius lets the testosterone singe the screen, Brad Johnson prays for Tom Cruise's chops, and Danny Glover turns Sicilian. Only in the cinema of Nam do angels croon "Downtown", as SAMS set fire to the sky. Tears and intruders fall into grace, as innocent blood is shed for the wicked. Well done, indeed.

My favorite part of the film is when the Sky Raiders come flying down the valley.
But had they stuck to the main story,
The war, The air war, The bravery of the flight crews,
and the cowardice and stupidity of the politicians, and a lot of the officers,
This could have been a 10.
But we were subjected to the fluff and filler that seems to be mandatory in so many films, and so painful to watch.
My answer is to run the dvd through the computer and edit out the wasted time, and make a watchable, enjoyable film that honors these fine folks.

Jake Grafton (Brad Johnson) and Virgil Cole (Willem Dafoe) are Navy A-6 Intruder bomber pilots in the Vietnam war. After repeatedly bombing useless targets determined by questionable military intelligence and political considerations that have led to needless deaths of their fellow pilots by shootdowns, they decide to take matters into their own hands.

Choosing to fly behind enemy lines and deep into Hanoi to destroy a surface to air missle depot, they accompish the task at the expense of being subjected to the military justice system and a possible court martial for their actions.

Flight of the Intruder happens to be a dismal adaptation from Stephen Coont's book of the same name. Apart from making comparisons, this movie redeems itself in the few aspects of good aerial photography, some decent action scenes of war sequences in the jungle, and slightly above average acting performances by Willem Dafoe, Danny Glover, Tom Sizemore, and Brad Johnson.

The DVD content itself is anorexic to put it mildly. You won't find any extras here beyond the usual fare of a good digital 5.1 soundtrack, widescreen presentation, and subtitles. If you're a fan of war movies, this probably isn't a great addition to a DVD collection but I'd recommend renting it if you like the genre of film.