They really should have taken a knife to this film and cut out all the teenage nonsense that turns this from a serious action movie into a silly, unrealistic mess. Air Force colonel Tim Thomerson is sentenced to be hung in a fictional Middle Eastern country for flying in their airspace and his teenage son Jason Gedrick sets out to rescue him with a video game style mentality and the help of fellow Air Force (reserve) Colonel Louis Gossett Jr. This becomes "War Games" meets "Footloise" meets "Top Gun" meets a Bowery Boys movie, and you've got one of the silliest action movies of the 1980's, not to mention any decade.

Try not to spit your drink at your television set during the dance segment at a high school prom, which of course is followed by Gedrick playing some type of video game inside an overly large contraption that eventually leads him to Gossett. The Oscar Winning Louis Gossett Jr. Wasn't exactly being offered the best material after his win, and while he's an officer here rather than a drill sergeant, it still becomes "An Officer and a Gentleman meets The Brat Pack", waiting to a convoluted mess of a plot that benefits nobody.

I was happy in spite of how bad this was to see stage veteran Caroline Lagerfelt as the mother, and only wish that her film debut had been in something better than this. She was getting better parts on daytime soap operas and sitcoms than the cliched good wife and mother roles she gets here, but perhaps her resemblance to Meryl Streep and Patricia Clarkson kept her from finding that one film role to make her a household name. The problem isn't with the acting however, although Gedrick and Thomerson get some truly bad dialogue, and the presence of "Cousin Oliver" Robbie Rist will have some eyes rolling. Even when the film goes into high gear with the action sequences, it's completely silly and is frankly half-an-hour overly long.

U.S. Air Force pilot Col. Ted Masters is shot down by enemy MiGs from the Arab state of Bilya over the Mediterranean. He is captured and sentenced to hang. Meanwhile, his restless son Doug Masters (Jason Gedrick) is rejected by the Air Force Academy. With the government unwilling to mount a rescue, Doug plans his own rescue mission with his young friends from the Eagles Flying Club. He convinces Vietnam vet Col. Charles 'Chappy' Sinclair (Louis Gossett Jr.) to train him and join him on the mission.

I probably saw this after 'Top Gun'. Despite coming out a few months earlier, I doubt that many people saw this in the theaters. It was always a step down but seeing it now, the silly unrealistic story cannot be ignored. The action is inferior to 'Top Gun' but it's still functional. There are nice planes flying around. The miniature models being used are obvious. The explosions are static. This was good fun back in the day but it is not more than 80's cheese today.

After a young man's father is captured by an unidentified Middle Eastern country, the youth must suit up and save his father from a brutal execution.

This film fails in almost every possible way. No decent music, a weak and unbelievable plot, and actors you will never see again (although a young Shawnee Smith -- Amanda from "Saw" -- appears). Louis Gossett is not a star, regardless of what you think.

The unidentified country is an interesting plot device. One would suspect it is Iraq or Iran, but no name is ever given. All we know is that now that the "peanut farmer" is out of the White House and the "Raygun" is in power, America won't take any crap from anyone. (This is an assertion I strongly deny. The film's pro-Reagan bias is astounding.) I also enjoyed the first third of the film, but only because it reached that "so bad it's good" status. We have a very one-dimensional teen villain and an epic race between a plane (Cessna) and a Honda motorcycle. We have black man who is the token black man, playing a 1980s black man with signature dance moves. And we have the commentary on the "great" music, which was like something I'd expect to hear on a Pat Benetar album that was too poor to release.

I could say the flight scenes were interesting. They were alright. But this film was released in 1986, the same year as "Top Gun". So, if you want to watch the Air Force shoot down MiGs you're going to want the better soundtrack and the Cruise, Kilmer, Edwards combo. Do you want Louis Gossett as your wingman? I certainly don't.

This film would be great to get really stinking drunk to if you want a few laughs at three in the morning. But don't expect a memorable 80s film or anything remotely resembling quality acting.