So, in 1990, director Lewis Teague brought us this offering, and on paper this sounds like a home run. Take a small team of good-looking young actors, make them look sexy and cool in various military outfits. Plenty of wicked quips, slick action, cool war machines, and another solid soundtrack. What could go wrong? Frankly, I don't really know. In my humble opinion, this flick is a winner, offering everything an action fan could want.
Granted, this is clearly more of a 'Top Gun' rip-off or clone rather than a homage. It's essentially Top Gun with boots on the ground, in the air, and in the sea. The movie is almost a beat-for-beat remake to be honest; heck they even used some of the cast! We are introduced to this young team of successful SEALs. They are in and out before anyone knows they were there. The team are your typical bunch: Charlie Sheen is the second-in-command, a young womanising hotshot with a quick trigger finger. Michael Biehn is the cool and calm team leader who clashes with Sheen's reckless character. Rick Rossovich ('Slider' in Top Gun) is the sensible buff medic. Dennis Haysbert is the steady third-in-command. Paul Sanchez is the large, quiet communications and Arabic interpreter. Cyril O'Reilly is the explosives and weapons tech, whilst lastly, good old Bill Paxton goes against his usual character personas as the quiet sniper.
Plot-wise, it's pretty simple stuff. Whilst on a rescue mission, the team miss an opportunity to take out a terrorist and some Stinger missiles. Following poor intelligence and a failed mission, Varrens, a Middle Eastern affairs journalist (Joanne Whalley-Kilmer), is brought in to help. Of course, Curran (Biehn) slowly starts to fall for Varrens (think Pete Mitchell and Charlie). On another mission, Hawkins (Sheen) disobeys orders and ends up getting Graham (Haysbert) killed (think Goose). This results in Curran and Hawkins falling out. Eventually, after locating the missiles, the team are deployed to Beirut, where we get the big finale.
So yes, this is indeed a bit of a rip-off flick. This is entirely cemented when the SEAL team take a break, and all go on a madcap golfing afternoon accompanied by a toe-tapping 80's pop track (think the volleyball beach sequence). The only difference here is the hijinks on display are more boyish and juvenile, whereas the Top Gun scene was a bit more, dare I say, sexual in nature? There is also a very heavy instrumental synth-rock score that runs through the movie, very similar in tone to said jet fighter flick. And as already mentioned, the sequences involving the accidental death of Haysbert's character all play out very much in the same tone as said jet fighter flick.
All that being said, I can't deny that this movie offers some truly great action sequences. What you get isn't mindless gun-toting mayhem though; the action is handled with a sense of realism. Mind you, I've no idea how accurate, but it certainly looks and feels quite grounded. You do get a good sense of teamwork from the guys, and you do care about who lives and dies. All the stunts are well shot and don't stick out with obvious stuntmen, due to the military gear. The final mission is quite a large part of the movie, but it's worth the wait. Everything is well shot and choreographed; it looks slick and realistic, and most importantly, I felt engaged. The final destruction sequence of a terrorist stronghold was a real demolition, and it really is a solid highlight.
Naturally the movie suffers from typical action movie flaws (what do you expect with Sheen and Paxton on the roster). At the start Sheen's character jumps off a moving vehicle, whilst crossing a bridge, into a river. Why? There is literally no reason for this; it's merely to show us that his character is the wild, unpredictable one. At the end, the remaining SEALs enter the ocean to escape and are followed by the terrorists on a boat. The SEALs surprise and take the boat, but destroy it. Surely they could have used the boat instead of destroying it and then floating aimlessly at sea. Also, before all this, the US sub Captain ordered the sub to leave because dawn was breaking, risking the boat. Yet, the sub does surface (right next to them). So what happened there? The Cap change his mind? Although, another terrific and well-shot stunt.
This movie was considered a commercial disappointment at the box office, but I'm not really sure why. Yes this isn't the realistic military film I think it was supposed to be. Yes it is a bit of a cheesy action flick in places. But in all honesty, it's not really any different from that Tom Cruise jet fighter flick. Both are highly stylised, romantic, testosterone-fuelled, military wet dreams with fantastic casts. To be really honest, I think this movie is better than Top Gun in the sense that it's grittier, the characters are a bit more grounded, and it packs more punch all round. Plus, you know people will die, but you're not really sure who will bite the dust. You can't really say the same with Top Gun. Top Gun was just a long sunset set training movie with a faceless enemy; this is an actual mission movie with real opposition.
9/10
