Surface to Air (1997)

If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

Good movie but grossly overrated

As Good As It Gets

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

SURFACE TO AIR is another war thriller made on a low budget by former actor Andrews Stevens, this time with a Middle Eastern setting. It's a vehicle for no less than two children of famous stars, with Melanie Shatner and Chad McQueen teaming up alongside B-movie veteran Michael Madsen for a story about a man kidnapped by a terrorist group and his brother's attempts to retrieve him.This low rent thriller ploughs the usual furrows with a lot of weaponry and military vehicle fetishism, with inordinate shots of helicopters the order of the day here. Madsen is on autopilot as always although McQueen and Shatner seem to be trying their best. The action is sporadic and disappointing, but at least this thriller has a kind of momentum to see it through.

When a rogue band of Iraqi soldiers begin an offensive close to the northern border, the US military sends in an aircraft carrier to monitor the situation. Brothers Zach & Dylan Massin, who both despise each other, are thrown together by fate. When Dylan's fighter jet is shot down over the hot zone, Zach (who is a Marine) goes in to rescue his brother & co-pilot.Another of the numerous military-themed actioners from 1990s' B-grade studio Royal Oaks, Surface to Air is probably one of the weakest. The threat has not been properly written in – it is never clear why the Iraqi soldiers are doing in the area, with one scene suggesting that they were ordered to attack the area, while another contradicts this & suggests an attempted coup. But this pales in comparison to the generic plot given to it. Royal Oaks has probably had some kind of deal with the US military in order to make these films, judging by the sheer number they put out during the decade. Whatever the case, Surface to Air is pretty poor. The only thing that makes the film worth a once-over is probably the impressive stock footage of the military in action.

This film is a fair film. Michael Madsen, Chad McQueen, Melanie Shatner, Teri Thompson, and Larry Thomas are all good in the film. The film has good action scenes. It was different seeing how close McQeen's character was with Thompson's character. There is a brief nudity scene but not much. The musical score by David Wurst and Eric Wurst was good. But I noticed a lot of the score sounded like Jerry's Goldsmith's score from First Blood which is odd. Near the end I laughed when Michael Madsen got a cigarette out and asked his brother if he wanted a smoke and he took it and smoked it. It was funny because it seems Michael Madsen is always smoking a cigarette no matter what his character is. If you like Michael Madsen, Chad McQueen, the other cast members, and want to see a different type terrorist and war film then see Surface to Air!

I saw this film recently on SKY, and I must admit that initially I had high hopes, what with it starring Michael Madsen and Chad McQueen. However, 10 minutes in I had that awfull sinking feeling that this was going to be yet another badly acted, just-in-it-for-the-money duds that seems to be the norm these days. Without running into spoiler territory, the plot runs something like this: Half brothers who fell out years ago receive postings to the same carrier vessel, one's a pilot and the other a gunnery sergeant in the marines. One gets lost flying over enemy airspace (guess which one.... duh....), and the other must put their differences aside in order to attempt a rescue mission.Now for the bad bits. Was Michael Madsen actually awake during this movie? He seemed to be annoyed and very irritated at the fact that he was there at all, whereas Chad delivered his (mostly) ludicrous dialogue with so much zeal that he came off as a square-headed, bird-brained numb-skull as opposed to the passionate professional that one assumes he was hoping to portray.The production values, music, action, and to a lesser extent attention to detail got my vote, it was just that the few names that one recognised in the cast seemed to be embarassed at delivering their incredibly inane lines (during the conflict, the senior officer aboard ship lethargically wanders onto the bridge and asks "what's going on?" as if he'd just woken up, and really couldn't be bothered by the whole thing. Even I know that, surely, the USN doesn't operate like that!!). Still, Melanie Shatner (daughter of Capt. Kirk) was nice to look at, but I couln't get over how wet she came across, especially for a RIO!One final moan, what is it about this type of film that constantly shows fighter pilots flying (and, some how, communicating) with the masks of their helmets flapping loosely about their necks? I know we have to distinguish between each character, but when there's only Chad and Ms Shatner talking, this lapse in logic does seem a bit contrived, doesn't it?!!