Falcon Down (2001)

You won't be disappointed!

Such a frustrating disappointment

Absolutely the worst movie.

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

I won't recap. Others have already done that.The Sci Fi channel often has really, really bad stuff. "Falcon Down" is only half bad.Having some competent actors is a plus. Cliff Robertson is clearly over the hill, but Captain Kirk is in fine fettle. And Judd Nelson does his usual competent job.And having a couple of very attractive, hot women on board is always a definite plus, even if they are a little over the hill to be labeled "babes." (I know, that's not PC.) Now the parts I don't understand near the end: If the mini-sub is tethered to the big sub (with no release mechanism? com' on), and it's clamped to the Falcon, how does the mini-sub free itself and yet the big sub remains attached to the Falcon? And, since the Falcon crushes at 300 ft (I don't think any airplane is built like that), and the sub at 1200, how does the plane drag the sub down to the sub's crush depth? The Falcon is crushed, so it weighs no more than when the Chinese sub planned to tow it.Why would the Baltimore PD arrest someone trying to interview the Chinese ambassador? It's not like the CIA was stealing the Falcon. I like a good (fictional) conspiracy as much as the next guy, but this makes no sense whatsoever.But it was only half-bad.

Film...the final insult. These are the voyages of the aircraft "Falcon." Her 2-hour mission: To revisit tired, old clichés, to seek out the phone-it-in skills of William Shatner and Judd Nelson, to hammily go where too many action films have gone before!Seriously, folks, AVOID THIS FILM AT ALL COSTS. I saw it on the Action Channel, and although it purported to be a thriller, it was bloody funny. Not that it intended to be, mind you. However, with the talents of William Shatner (Does anyone even remember he debuted with Yul Brenner in "The Brothers Karamozov?") and Judd Nelson (the jock in "The Breakfast Club," now playing a computer geek with a gun), a penchant to use every cliché convention in the book (the psycho cowboy who lives only to shoot, the overbearing use of "videotaped" confession segments --often with NO RELATION TO THE DAMN PLOT), and writers who have no conception of the laws of physics or how a bloody airplane works, I can do nothing but laugh or whimper -- "limper," maybe? In the end, all I can say is that it made no sense. It was, to steal from a far superior writer "A tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing."

The blurb on the DVD case lied when I saw this in the shop but thank goodness I had only paid 9 dollars for it. If ever one could win an award for making an awful movie this is it. The blurb told me it would be a somewhat exciting film but it was in my opinion woefully disappointing. The action scenes didn't contain much action, and the little video segments bordered on the hilarious.In short don't waste your money buying this film but if you must see it rent it.

First of all: the story with the „microwave - weapon' and the super - plane „Falcon' isn't very realistic in my opinion. But that doesn't really matter, because the rest of the story is mostly complex and logical. In fact I was afraid of seeing once again a film like „Land of the free' which was highly unrealistic, but that didn't happen. „Falcon Down' is exciting, there are many action scenes, but they are realistic. Furthermore the important thing about the movie is not boring fight scenes, but solid excitement and entertainment. The special effects , the shots of the plane and the explosions are well done and give a dark and mystique touch to the movie. Unfortunately all characters are full of cliches and they lack depth. The center of the film is Dale Midkiff and the excellent special effects, all the other actors have more or less minor roles. Midkiff plays the fired pilot very well and the cast is positively supported by the wonderful Jennifer Rubin. And William Shatner is just excellent as the strict and egoistic Major Carson. The „over - acting' Shatner is often blamed for will not be found in this movie. And another positive aspect: The music beautifully supports the excitement and is a joy for the ears. So: „Falcon Down' is an exciting and entertaining Thriller and is besides of „Miss Congeniality' and „Free Enterprise' one of the best movies Shatner has acted in since „Star Trek Generations'. It is a pity that the movie hasn't been published in the USA yet but I'm sure here in Germany it will be a success.