Flight of the Intruder

1991
PG-13
1h 55m

IMDb RATING

5.8/10

7.9K

YOUR RATING

Willem Dafoe, Danny Glover, and Brad Johnson in Flight of the Intruder (1991)

During the air war over Vietnam, a U.S. Navy A-6 Intruder bomber pilot schemes with a hardened veteran to make an unauthorized air strike on Hanoi.

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Jungle Adventure Survival Action Drama Thriller War

During the air war over Vietnam, a U.S. Navy A-6 Intruder bomber pilot schemes with a hardened veteran to make an unauthorized air strike on Hanoi.During the air war over Vietnam, a U.S. Navy A-6 Intruder bomber pilot schemes with a hardened veteran to make an unauthorized air strike on Hanoi.During the air war over Vietnam, a U.S. Navy A-6 Intruder bomber pilot schemes with a hardened veteran to make an unauthorized air strike on Hanoi.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

5.8/10

7.9K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Trivia
Near the end of the film, the phonetic alphabet phrase "Alpha Mike Foxtrot" is spoken over the radio. This is an abbreviation for "Adios Motherfucker," which is said over the radio by downed aircrews, when they know death or capture is imminent.

Goofs
In several scenes, the North Vietnamese are shown firing Sa-2 "Guideline" SAMs at Intruders flying at tree-top or roof-top height. As the Sa-2 has a minimum engagement altitude of 250 metres (820 feet), it would be impossible for them to engage such a low-flying target.

Quotes
Admiral: What we're going to tell you Commander, may come as a surprise, but it must be held in the utmost secrecy, and its importance will become obvious. I think you'll understand.
Court-Martial Captain: All charges against your boys have been dropped.
Cdr. Camparelli: Sir?
Court-Martial Captain: They're gone, dropped, never happened.
Cdr. Camparelli: What do you want me to do, Captain?
Court-Martial Captain: Cover it up, sweep it under the rug. Take your men back to your carrier first thing in the morning, keep their mouths shut. Beyond that, you can do what you want to with them, but this affair's over.
Cdr. Camparelli: May I ask the captain, why?
Admiral: Because the President of the United States, Richard M. Nixon is quite irritated at the opposition for leaving the peace table. He has just ordered Operation Linebacker II; the unrestricted bombing of all military targets in North Vietnam.
Court-Martial Captain: We'd look like real idiots if we court-martialed an A-6 crew for doing what the President of the United States just told us to do. If even a rumor got back to the press, you can understand the ramifications.
Cdr. Camparelli: Yes. Yes, sir.

Crazy credits
PROLOGUE: " The A-6 was the U.S. Navy's medium attack bomber during the Vietnam conflict. It flew at tree-top level in any weather at night and alone. The aircraft had no defense weapons."

"It was called --- The Intruder."

"Off the coast of North Vietnam after 7 years of war ..."

Connections
Edited into Hot Shots! (1991)

Soundtracks
Bo Diddley
by Bo Diddley (as Ellas McDaniel)
Performed by Bo Diddley
Courtesy of MCA Records

User reviews56

Review

Featured review

5/10

Flight of the Intruder: I appreciate it, but it's not my thing

Top Gun clone? Absolutely not, this is considerably better than that monumentally overrated snorefest.

Telling a rather generic story set during the Vietnam war this feature stars Willem Dafoe, Rosanna Arquette, Tom Sizemore, Ving Rhames and Danny Glover so it's roster is pretty outstanding.

Now I'm rather bias when it comes to war themed movies, namely because I'm a great big anti-war guy so I tend not to see the appeal. That's not to say I'm anti-war movie, I just tend not to find them enjoyable.

Flight of the Intruder suffers from the standard genre tropes, is cheesy, macho-nonsense but does have a charm to an extent. The ending is strong which certainly makes up for everything else but it can only go so far.

With that amazing cast and very impressive flight visuals you can't take away from the film just how much they've accomplished here, it's just not my bag.

The Good:

Very impressive visuals

Wealth of talent present

The Bad:

Oddly structured

Love interest was needlessly tacked on