Stealth

Although Stealth may be little more than a popcorn-chomping Top Gun rehash in which a pilot-less futuristic fighter jet has gone rogue (á la HAL 9000 from 2001: A Space Odyssey), it's that little bit more that makes the movie smarter and more ambitious than it initially appears. Amid the music video dogfight sequences and gratuitous shots of requisite hottie Jessica Biel in a bikini, screenwriter W.D. Richter (Big Trouble in Little China) slips in undercurrents about the dangers of win-at-all-costs counter-terrorism and a solid search-and-rescue third act that has little to do with the crazy runaway plane. Biel (Blade: Trinity), Josh Lucas (Sweet Home Alabama), and Jamie Foxx (hired before Ray put him on Hollywood's A-list) play hot-dogging Navy pilots who bomb terrorist camps in ultra-high-tech jets (their battles are often off-the-charts ridiculous—especially when the team is forced to accept that flashy new computerized plane into their ranks). Still, despite the fact that director Rob Cohen (The Fast and the Furious) is far more concerned with making a cool rather than a smart movie, Stealth earns guilty pleasure status for its pleasant surprises—such as the surprisingly realistic storyline in which Biel is abandoned by central command after her plane is shot down over North Korea. A strong optional purchase. [Note: DVD extras on this two-disc set include a 76-minute “Harnessing Speed” “making-of” documentary, two very detailed scene deconstructions (49 min.), a 24-minute featurette on “The Music of Stealth,” two multi-angle scene breakdowns (5 min.), the music video “Make a Move” performed by Incubus (4 min.), and trailers. Bottom line: a fine extras package for a better-than-average action flick.] (R. Blackwelder)