Where to watch Fire Birds
1 1/2 Stars
The U.S. Government is willing to help any country that requires help in ridding themselves of drugs with support from the Army. Unfortunately, the drug cartels have countered that offer by hiring one of the best air-combat mercenaries and have armed him with a Scorpion attack helicopter. The army decides to send in its best people from its Apache Air Combat school. But first they have to be taught how to fly air-to-air combat missions
Despite the wave of movies inspired by Top Gun, none were able to capture the cinematic magic conjured by Tony Scott and Tom Cruise. The worst of the knockoffs is undoubtedly Firebirds, featuring two future Oscar winners, Nicolas Cage and Tommy Lee Jones. The scenes that bring both actors together are strong and are the tendons that connect many other disjointed scenes of characters acting alternately angry, immature, or just obnoxious. Cage brings his welcomed, high energy to the role of a cock-sure helicopter pilot, and watching him chew the scenery with a mixture of Elvis and Maverick is one of the film’s small pleasures.
Firebirds does contain a lot of laughable elements, most of which haven’t aged well, but its patriotic gung-ho spirit is charming as a nostalgia relic of the era. Tommy Lee Jones’ minimalist, tight-lipped, rapid-fire dialogue delivery suits his role as a military man, and he is well-cast in a bad movie. The flying machinery that is the primary selling point of the film has been photographed nicely, but without a story of any interest, it’s all just the equivalent of looking at a commercial for the armed forces.
Directed by: David Green
Written by: Step Tyner, John K. Swensson, Dale Dye
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Tommy Lee Jones, Sean Young