Released in theaters at the start of Desert Storm, Flight of the Intruder, a bombs-over-Vietnam adventure hoped to catch America in a fighting mood. Instead, it was thoroughly overshadowed by real events. And seen on its own terms six months later, it's still nothing special.
The movie sticks a good cast in some stock military roles: Brad Johnson is the ace fly-boy, Willem Dafoe the hardened veteran, Danny Glover the tough but compassionate commanding officer. For romantic interest, Rosanna Arquette is around as a lonely war widow. For substance, there's an unauthorized raid on Hanoi that's meant to point up the absurdity of Vietnam and at the same time blow off some steam. But it's hard to care about any of it. Director John Milius (Conan the Barbarian, Red Dawn) keeps his manly emotions so battened down there's virtually nothing to relate to. Nor is there any release in the aerial action sequences: On the small screen, they're literally lost in the clouds. What's left is a routine war movie that's worse than untimely; it's unexciting. C-
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