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Stealth"The Naval air force. The near future." Three elite pilots have been chosen to fly new technology to "counteract terrorism". As the film progresses, WD Richter's script offers a smorgasbord of enemies who dare to act against the Land of the Free. From three terrorist cells meeting in Rangoon, to a target in the hills of Tajekestan to a finale in North Korea, motives for selecting these foes are as concealed as the high-tech planes themselves. Still, if you're not up to speed with who's in and who's out of favour with Uncle Sam, we're informed there are no "diplomatic relations" with North Korea, just in case you are confusing the country with its Southern neighbour.
Stealth is one of those hypocritical Hollywood films that wears its conscience on its sleeve while simultaneously revelling in the pyrotechnics of destruction. "I don't think war should be some video game," we're told - but that's exactly what the film feels like, with its CG-backdrops and flight-simulator style antics. Fetishising its futuristic hardware, at its worst, Stealth is a boys-own film trapped in adolescence. But given that Cohen's previous film was 2002's xXx, that's hardly a surprise.
Fortunately, a series of likeable performances rescue the film from the muddy political and moral waters it's treading. Leading the cause, as Ben Gannon, is Undertow's Josh Lucas, who does a decent impression of the square-jawed hero. Kicking some serious ass is Jessica Biel - who already proved her mettle in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake - as his colleague, Kara Wade, who also holds a torch for Gannon. And then Jamie Foxx, fresh from playing Ray Charles, injects the film with some much-needed funky energy.
The plot truly takes shape after our trio are informed by their commanding officer, Captain George Cummings (Shepard), that they are to be joined by a so-called UCAV (Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle) - nicknamed 'EDI' (Extreme Deep Invader). Designed by the cocky Seattle-based genius Keith Orbit (Roxburgh), the plane is flown entirely by an on-board computer with the intelligence to make considered decisions. It doesn't take a boffin to work out that before you can say 'HAL', the UCAV's circuit boards go haywire and it begins to disobey team orders. With the Russians getting nervous, Gannon and his fellow pilots must reign in the rogue craft before it's too late.
While this all sounds rather mundane, the flight sequences are exhilarating, the plot takes the odd unexpected turn and the conclusion turns out to be a gripping search-and-rescue operation, after Wade crash-lands - complete with a spectacular parachute sequence - over enemy lines. Keeping the pace as frenetic as you would expect, Stealth doesn't give you time to think over its flaws until its well and truly over - the secret, you might say, of any successful Hollywood action movie.
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