Stealth film review

certificate_12A

STEALTH

Poor Jamie Foxx. It took him years to be taken seriously as an actor and then, just when he arrives on the A-list, Oscar in hand, his next film is Stealth, a worthless piece of junk. Quite what propelled Foxx to take the role of US navy fighter pilot Henry Purcell is a mystery. It certainly wasn't the dialogue. Or the chance to get inside his character who was two-dimensional at best. The only consolation was that Foxx was only in the first half of the film, which was good for him, but bad for the audience and the remainder of the film.

Directed by Rob Cohen, Stealth is like a high altitude version of his breakout film The Fast And The Furious. In an effort to be faster and and more furious, Cohen this time focuses on Stealth bombers and a plot that inevitably undermines global stability. But faster isn't always better, certainly Stealth is evidence of that. At one point Purcell's commanding officer, Captain George Cummings (Sam Shephard), concedes, "Things go wrong." He was referring to a mission, but the phrase could be applied to Stealth which substitutes speed for substance.

One problem is that nothing seems real. All the sequences involving the planes look like they've flown straight out of a computer. This does nothing to impress or engage. Secondly, and perhaps more critically, the plot is far fetched to begin with, but is so badly realized as to become almost laughable.

The story centres on a trio of elite navy pilots. Alongside Purcell is team leader, the cocky Ben Gannon (Josh Lucas) and Kara Wade (Jessica Biel), who is being groomed as a poster woman for the military. Cummings informs the crack team that they are about to be joined by a fourth member. The only difference is their new wingman isn't human, but an artificial intelligence-based UCAV (Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle) nicknamed 'EDI'.

After first impressing with its maneuverability and tactics, EDI gets struck by lightning which affects its circuitry after which the plane takes on a will of its own and endeavours to launch unprovoked nuclear attacks. The trio are then given the task of preventing a possible world war and shooting down EDI. Having a robotic plane as the baddy is one thing, but when it speaks like a camp Stephen Hawking, it's hard to take seriously as a legitimate threat.