Flight of the Intruder (1991)

During the air war over Vietnam, a U.S. Navy A-6 Intruder bomber pilot schemes with a hardened veteran to make an unauthorized air strike on Hanoi.

Director:

John Milius

Writers:

Stephen Coonts (novel), Robert Dillon (screenplay)

Stars:

Danny Glover, Willem Dafoe, Brad Johnson

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Danny Glover	...	Commander Frank Camparelli
Willem Dafoe	...	Lt. Cmdr. Virgil Cole
Brad Johnson	...	Lt. Jake' Cool Hand' Grafton
Rosanna Arquette	...	Callie
Tom Sizemore	...	Boxman
J. Kenneth Campbell	...	Lt. Cmdr. 'Cowboy' Parker
Jared Chandler	...	Lt. J.G. Jack 'Razor' Barlow
Dann Florek	...	Mad Jack
Madison Mason	...	'Cag'
Ving Rhames	...	McRae
Christopher Rich	...	Lt. J.G. Morgan McPherson
Douglas Roberts	...	Guffy
Scott N. Stevens	...	Hardesty (as Scott Newton Stevens)
Justin Williams	...	Sammy
John Corbett	...	Big Augie

Storyline

After his bombardier is killed, Jake "Cool Hand" Grafton (Brad Johnson)', a carrier-based Intruder pilot, questions the purpose of Navy bombing missions. He finds an ally for his cynicism in Virgil Cole, a bombardier on his third tour of duty, and together they ponder the notion of one unsanctioned mission "downtown", to "Sam City" in North Vietnam.

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Plot Keywords:

pilot | bomber | bombing run | vietnam war | navy | 

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Taglines:

The only thing they can count on is each other.

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Genres:

Action | Drama | Thriller | War

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Certificate:

PG-13

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 January 1991 (USA)

Also Known As:

Apostoli thanatou

Filming Locations:

Harbor Star Stage, San Pedro, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$35,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$5,725,133, 21 January 1991, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$14,587,732

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

115 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Rosanna Arquette and Ving Rhames also appear in Pulp Fiction (1994).

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Goofs

During the court-martial, a captain (played by Fred Thompson) tells Grafton and Cole "You took an oath to... obey the orders of the officers appointed over you. It's the same oath that every officer in the Navy's taken for damn near 200 years." That would be the ENLISTED oath, which includes a promise to "obey the orders of the President of the United States and... the officers appointed over me." The oath taken by officers in the US armed forces does NOT contain that clause.

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Quotes

Lt. Grafton: Well, this is the end of Devil Five- O - Five. Say goodbye, asshole! Eject, eject, eject!
Cole: Goodbye Asshole!
Cole: [Cole and Grafton punch out]

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Connections

Referenced in Remo, Rambo, Reagan and Reds: The Eighties Action Movie Explosion (2014)

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Soundtracks

Last Date
Written and performed by Floyd Cramer
Courtesy of Step One Records

User Reviews

Cool scenes, and aviator action but very weak story

Just an opinion but maybe the chances of novel-based techno-thrillers (aside from Tom Clancy's) basically stopped here in this movie. Flight of the Intruder is a novel based on Stephen Coonts' first book. The movie touches on interesting premise as we see the effects on the American pilots (in this case, the A-6 pilots of USS Independence) due to the US government's decision to limit the targets in bombing North Vietnam. Brad Johnson is pretty much what I imagined for the character of Jake Grafton. Had the movie been successful the latter books could use Tom Berenger. This is one of those times when less than stellar effects do not get in the way of enjoyment. The opening bombing scene and the adventure in SAM city were awesome.

Sadly, the story doesn't hold much and the ending is not so great. The daytime climax is really cheesy and doesn't fit well with the rest of the movie (and this climax itself doesn't flow well either). It's also pretty much a given when you have soldiers, pilots, and/or sailors in bar, chances are there'll be a barfight. The very short moments with Grafton and Cali were cool though and the movie could have utilize this subplot well.

The verdict: 3 of 5 stars.