The Fire Birds

 

 The Fire Birds

 

 The Fire birds (released under the alternate title Apache wings) is a 1990 American military action film directed by David Greene and produced by William badalato, Keith Parrish and Arnold kobelson. The story was choreographed by retired lieutenant colonel step Tyner and John K. Swenson and retired sea captain Dale Day  and developed into a screenplay written by Paul F. Edwards, Nick Thiele and uncredited David Taylor. The film stars Nicolas Cage, Tommy Lee Jones and Sean Young. Cage is cast as a helicopter pilot trying to help dismantle a drug cartel in South America. Jones plays his pilot instructor and chief military officer during his flight training, while young portrays his love interest

The film's production was a co-production between Walt Disney Studios and Nova Films International. It was released commercially under Disney Touchstone Pictures label. The film included elaborate aerial stunt sequences, involving combat helicopters

Firebirds premiered in theaters nationwide in the United States on May 25, 1990 grossing a modest USD 14,760,451 in domestic ticket receipts. The film was met with negative critical reviews before its initial screening in cinemas; generally due to its gloomy dialogue and striking plot similarities with the more famous 1986 action film Top Gun, starring Tom Cruise and Kelly McGillis

Filming of Firebirds took place primarily on location in Tucson Arizona at Pima Community College as well as at Fort Hood, a Texas Army installation, home of the army's Apache training brigade (21st Cavalry Brigade (Air Combat)  large-scale aerial stunt sequences were coordinated with the United States National Guard, the United States Army and the United States Air Force. among technical consultants, acrobatic businessmen and pilots, more than 100 individuals were directly involved in aspects of the film's production.[6] AH-64 Apache, AH - 60 Black Hawk, AH-1 Cobra, d-500 helicopters and OH-58 Kiowa helicopters, as well as Saab 35 draken aircraft were used during filming. Technical assistance from McDonnell Douglas service representatives was also used during production. the aerial stunt sequences were designed for helicopter training by Richard T. Stevens who also coordinated visuals for the film, Top Gun. scenes from the film, also features stills from the MicroProse battleship 2000 computer game

Today in the cage club we are fighting the war on drugs in the "Firebirds". This is a very simple movie but that doesn't detract from it's entertainment value. It's a very thin plot with not a whole lot of conflict but for some reason it didn't really get all that boring. Perhaps this is because Nick Cage is present in this film as well as Tommy Lee Jones. The two play each other very well and although their story is not really interesting, somehow their charisma combined with lots of helicopter shots flying around the desert makes for an engaging movie that ultimately works

The film begins with a quote from George Bush 1 regarding the global war on drugs. America has decided to lend its armed forces to any friendly country that wants to help destroy the drug threat and, most importantly, the cartel. In this film, Nick Cage plays Jake Preston, a helicopter pilot who clashed with the enemy in South America and whose name is Stoller. Stoller is an ice Scorpion helicopter pilot working for the cartel and Jake's squad was shot dead. Jake will spend the rest of the film at an Apache helicopter training camp learning to fly a new helicopter and training for the mission to return to South America to take out the cartel once and for all. This task is called Operation: Firebird. Along the way he meets the not-so-tough and very fair coach Brad Little played by fast-talking Tommy Lee Jones and Jake's maybe-on-again-off-again girlfriend Billie played by Sean Young. Billy is also a pilot who flies to monitor the main fighter helicopters and is there to train for the mission as well. There is pretty much zero conflict between everyone and they all get along rather successfully. The only major conflict that arises is that Jake discovers that he has an "eye dominance" problem when he tries to fly using only the target computer. However, this problem is being addressed with the help of Brad Little without much persuasion because it turns out that he has the same eye problem as young people too. It seriously only takes about three minutes of screen time for Jake to fix his eye problems and then endanger Billy, so I think they're back together. Everyone passes the flight school and heads to South America to fight the cartel and the big villain, Stoller. When they reach SA they are ambushed and must be taken to the sky immediately in an improvised air combat battle against the cartel's fighter planes and the Scorpion helicopter piloted by, you guessed it, Stoller. Brad Little was blown out of the sky but survived thanks to Billy and some quick thinking. It's actually my favorite moment when Brad has to instruct Billy on how to assemble the rocket launcher before the fighter plane shoots them to death. Thanks to Jake's ace maneuvers he is able to get a jump on Stoller and blast him to the next kingdom. The American saves the situation and destroys the entire cartel and thereby ends the war on drugs forever

This movie is incredibly simple and devoid of any real driving conflict throughout, but still a really fun time. The DVD box says if I liked "Top Gun" I will like this movie, but this is not exactly Top Gun with helicopters. The plot is also very thin and there is nothing to put this film above average. While watching this my conspiratorial mind began to form a theory for the creation of this film. I think that this film may actually be a form of American propaganda of the professional army aimed at teenagers who liked "Top Gun" as a mass recruitment device. It's kind of great marketing for the military and I wouldn't put it past some professional War producers to make a movie that's basically a long anti-drug commercial. The army is also depicted as a really nice place. Your coaches are strict, but fair and never scold you for misses off. The helicopter simulator is basically a huge video game just like in the domestic arcades. Plus, now there are girls in the army and if you are the best in the class there is a chance that she will sleep with you. The film makes the army look great and depicts the cartel as this simplified organization similar to Cobra or Hydra, this always cartoon cult of destroying America by making children addicted to drugs. This movie is set in the same year that the Gulf War started, so call me crazy if you want, but I think I'm on to something. You should check out the podcast episode for more in-depth plot analysis

In conclusion, despite all the shortcomings and possible brainwashing, this film was still very interesting. I really enjoyed some of the moments, especially the scenes in the simulator. While talking about this for the podcast, Joey and I came up with some little beats that could improve the film, a few moments from which the story could benefit. First, there must be a rival pilot who was also in cage's place in the mission. This would add a lot of natural conflict to work with such as a possible fist fight scene deep into the second act. The coach played by Tommy Lee Jones needed to be less of a nice guy and actually scold cage when the character deserved it instead of laughing at him from ignoring him. There had to be at least one or two scenes illustrating the cartel. They are faceless and anonymous aside for Stoller and there because I don't really perceive them as a real threat or caring when they get killed. Perhaps you will also be able to flesh out the relationship with Billy also a little more, a love triangle between her, cage and the rival pilot is possible. It's really not that much of a rewrite but then again I don't really think the people who made this wanted to see much more than a lot of shots from helicopters

That's about doing it for the "fire bird". The movie has a real family feel so friendly which means it's not in the same category as Top Gun, but that's not a bad thing. It's not as cool or fantastic as most movies but it has a lot of charm and that goes a long way. The shows felt elevated material giving it a serious and real tone. It's a very professional US Army and I've got a scary propaganda atmosphere from it but not so much that it spoils the entertainment intention. Next week Nick Cage returns to the streets of Louisiana and meets with the best bud Brad from Ridgemont High. Cage and Judge Reinhold get together as they compete for the affection of the girl after whom the film is named "zandali"