A tough cop teams up with a professional skydiver to capture a renegade computer hacker on the run from the law.A tough cop teams up with a professional skydiver to capture a renegade computer hacker on the run from the law.A tough cop teams up with a professional skydiver to capture a renegade computer hacker on the run from the law.
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe character of Jess Crossman was originally written as a man. After the character was made a woman and Yancy Butler was cast in the role, the filmmakers wanted to remove the part where Nessip hits her after she drops him out of the plane. However, Butler insisted that the "hitting" scene be left in, and it was.
- GoofsWhen one of team has a chute that fails to open he falls to the ground much faster than the rest of the team whose chutes opened as expected. When he hits the water, everyone on the ground immediately runs to his aid, including Jessie who should still be up in the air hanging from a parachute.
- Quotes
Jessie Crossman: People probably told you that Jessie Crossman was the only person skilled enough to jump from a 747.
Pete Nessip: Well, the actual phrase used was "dick brain".
- Alternate versionsAll UK versions were originally cut for violence by the BBFC.This cut version was released in Europe and Australia. The footage missing includes:
- The stamp to Swoop's face has been removed in the toilet scene.
- The sound effects in the ensuing fight have been reduced in volume.
- Kara having a photocopier machine lid slammed down upon her head has also been cut to remove the second shot of her bloodied face on the glass.
- When we see the photocopies of her dead face coming out of the machine, the number of sheets that come out has been reduced.
Featured review
A great aviation action drama...
It's always fun to watch these films focused around a particular subculture, in this case the subculture surrounding skydiving enthusiasts. And this one has plenty of action and stunts, many of them way over the top -- a prerequisite for any great action film. It reminded me of a typical James Bond film, without all the arrogance and bombastic dialogue.
The cinematography was spot on and the score was fantastic. The acting varied from great to mediocre -- about what you'd expect from a well-funded, major-studio, action-genre project. Wesley Snipes was great as the main character who was investigating the parachuting crime gang. Gary Busey (who played the bad guy) was a little over the top -- common for bad guys in this type of film. The dialogue was not forced and the editing was pretty good too, considering the difficulty of maintaining a smooth flow with all those incredible stunts.
The plot moved along at a good pace although it wasn't always credible, but that's par for an action movie -- if you're going to stretch credibility for all those stunts, who cares if the plot wanders from reality now and again? You're watching it for the action, not cerebral stimulation.
The violence was way too much, though. The plot could have been advanced and the characters developed without all that excessive violence. Less violence and less graphic, wanton violence would have made for a lighter feel for this film and been more consistent with its overall tone.
One thing I like about this film is the fair treatment for people of color. It was racially balanced with several black characters in the film, including the lead (Wesley Snipes), but it was not a "black film." (I don't like the way that producers arbitrarily segregate films into the category of "black film" for a black audience -- I thought we got rid of segregation back in the 60's). Also, the black characters were not relegated to playing subservient characters like waiters, porters or assistants -- they had substantial roles as protagonists. And they weren't forced to speak with substandard grammar and pronunciation as many filmmakers impose upon black characters.
Overall, if you like action films or movies about aviation, (and you can handle the wanton violence) this should be on your watch list.
Triggers: graphic wanton violence: guns, knives, hand-to-hand fighting, violence against women by the protagonist; some text (signage); airline disaster; drug crime and drug use
7/10 (submitted 12 June 2020, 4:50 p.m. EDT)
The cinematography was spot on and the score was fantastic. The acting varied from great to mediocre -- about what you'd expect from a well-funded, major-studio, action-genre project. Wesley Snipes was great as the main character who was investigating the parachuting crime gang. Gary Busey (who played the bad guy) was a little over the top -- common for bad guys in this type of film. The dialogue was not forced and the editing was pretty good too, considering the difficulty of maintaining a smooth flow with all those incredible stunts.
The plot moved along at a good pace although it wasn't always credible, but that's par for an action movie -- if you're going to stretch credibility for all those stunts, who cares if the plot wanders from reality now and again? You're watching it for the action, not cerebral stimulation.
The violence was way too much, though. The plot could have been advanced and the characters developed without all that excessive violence. Less violence and less graphic, wanton violence would have made for a lighter feel for this film and been more consistent with its overall tone.
One thing I like about this film is the fair treatment for people of color. It was racially balanced with several black characters in the film, including the lead (Wesley Snipes), but it was not a "black film." (I don't like the way that producers arbitrarily segregate films into the category of "black film" for a black audience -- I thought we got rid of segregation back in the 60's). Also, the black characters were not relegated to playing subservient characters like waiters, porters or assistants -- they had substantial roles as protagonists. And they weren't forced to speak with substandard grammar and pronunciation as many filmmakers impose upon black characters.
Overall, if you like action films or movies about aviation, (and you can handle the wanton violence) this should be on your watch list.
Triggers: graphic wanton violence: guns, knives, hand-to-hand fighting, violence against women by the protagonist; some text (signage); airline disaster; drug crime and drug use
7/10 (submitted 12 June 2020, 4:50 p.m. EDT)
- ulisses_phoenix
- Jun 11, 2020
- Permalink
Details
Box office
- Budget
- $45,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $28,735,315
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $6,143,566
- Dec 11, 1994
- Gross worldwide
- $28,735,315
- Runtime1 hour 41 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.39 : 1
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