Active Stealth Reviews

Set in the fictional Central American locale of San Cedros, a Yankee squadron leader Rifkin (Hannes Jaenicke) gets left behind in the wake of an anti-drug raid. Acting unofficially, General Reynolds (Fred Williamson) engages his ace pilot Captain Murphy (Daniel Baldwin) and co-pilot Hollywood Andrews (Paul Michael Robinson) to spearhead a rescue mission using America's radar-eluding Stealth plane. Accompanied by a standard jet serving as a decoy, Murphy's team lands in unexpectedly hot water. To their shock, Reynolds has used them as sacrificial lambs to deliver the coveted Stealth-craft into the hands of his drug cronies. Unsure whether Rifkin is a captured hero or a co-conspirator with Reynolds, Murphy and company seize control of a nearby naval submarine to retrieve the stolen aircraft and settle the score with their rogue commanding officer. Though predictable, this macho flyboy adventure does a serviceable job of drumming up excitement, thanks to crisp aerial photography and lots of showy stunt work. Unfortunately, Reynolds' devious nature is transparent, so the film's suspense quotient is minimal. Equally unfortunate, the script tosses in a hapless guerrilla mother and her mute son, who're apparently supposed to single-handedly save their country for Democracy. Consequently, cheap sentiment vies for our attention with potshots at the drug oligarchy, who seem to have stolen the thunder of Russian Commies as the villains of choice for the current crop of jingoistic action movies.