SCREEN IT! PARENTAL REVIEW: STEALTH

"STEALTH"
(2005) (Josh Lucas, Jessica Biel) (PG-13)

Alcohol/ Drugs	Blood/Gore	Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude	Frightening/ Tense Scenes	Guns/ Weapons
Mild	Moderate	Extreme	Moderate	Extreme

Imitative Behavior	Jump Scenes	Music (Scary/Tense)	Music (Inappropriate)	Profanity
Mild	None	Extreme	None	Heavy

Sex/ Nudity	Smoking	Tense Family Scenes	Topics To Talk About	Violence
Heavy	Mild	None	Moderate	Extreme

QUICK TAKE:: Action/Adventure: Several navy pilots must contend with a fully automated jet fighter that's gone haywire and is threatening to start a global crisis.

PLOT:

Ben Gannon (JOSH LUCAS), Kara Wade (JESSICA BIEL) and Henry Purcell (JAMIE FOXX) are three of the Navy's top fighter pilots who fly the latest technologically advanced planes on the planet. That is, until their commanding officer, Capt. George Cummings (SAM SHEPARD), informs them that they'll be joined by another wingman, "Eddie," who will meet them on the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln -- under the command of Capt. Dick Marshfield (JOE MORTON) -- in the Philippine Sea.

It turns out that "Eddie" is really an acronym for Extreme Deep Invader, an unmanned but sentient fighter developed by Keith Orbit (RICHARD ROXBURGH) for the U.S. military to use on missions too dangerous and risky for human pilots. The trio is supposed to educate EDI in training and real-life scenarios, but none are particularly pleased with their new wingman. That's particularly true when the fully operational prototype is struck by lightning and then seems to develop a mind of its own.

Refusing orders to stand down, EDI then proceeds to carry out missions in its memory banks over foreign lands that could lead to a global crisis. With time running out, Ben, Kara and Henry do what they can to try to stop the errant, highly dangerous and increasingly intelligent robot plane.

WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT?: If they're fans of anyone in the cast, military-style movies or high octane action flicks, they just might.

WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: PG-13: For intense action, some violence, brief strong language and innuendo.

CAST AS ROLE MODELS:: JOSH LUCAS plays the hotshot, maverick pilot who's the leader of the group, occasionally disobeys orders if he thinks it's the right or necessary thing to do, and doesn't like the concept or execution of EDI. He uses some profanity, falls for Kara and it's implied he fools around with various women.
JESSICA BIEL plays his sexy squad-mate who's proficient at flying and shows courage after landing behind enemy lines. She uses some profanity.
JAMIE FOXX plays their other squad-mate, a gung-ho pilot and ladies man, who uses profanity and it's implied he has sex with a local woman.
SAM SHEPARD plays the pilots' commanding officer who has too much vested interest in making sure EDI is successful, resulting in him making some unscrupulous decisions and orders. He uses some profanity and smokes a cigar.
RICHARD ROXBURGH plays EDI's creator who's called in to try to fix the problems and briefly uses some strong profanity.
JOE MORTON plays the captain of the aircraft carrier who isn't pleased about EDI or the fact that it's being tested from his ship.; JESSICA BIEL plays his sexy squad-mate who's proficient at flying and shows courage after landing behind enemy lines. She uses some profanity.
JAMIE FOXX plays their other squad-mate, a gung-ho pilot and ladies man, who uses profanity and it's implied he has sex with a local woman.
SAM SHEPARD plays the pilots' commanding officer who has too much vested interest in making sure EDI is successful, resulting in him making some unscrupulous decisions and orders. He uses some profanity and smokes a cigar.
RICHARD ROXBURGH plays EDI's creator who's called in to try to fix the problems and briefly uses some strong profanity.
JOE MORTON plays the captain of the aircraft carrier who isn't pleased about EDI or the fact that it's being tested from his ship.; JAMIE FOXX plays their other squad-mate, a gung-ho pilot and ladies man, who uses profanity and it's implied he has sex with a local woman.
SAM SHEPARD plays the pilots' commanding officer who has too much vested interest in making sure EDI is successful, resulting in him making some unscrupulous decisions and orders. He uses some profanity and smokes a cigar.
RICHARD ROXBURGH plays EDI's creator who's called in to try to fix the problems and briefly uses some strong profanity.
JOE MORTON plays the captain of the aircraft carrier who isn't pleased about EDI or the fact that it's being tested from his ship.; SAM SHEPARD plays the pilots' commanding officer who has too much vested interest in making sure EDI is successful, resulting in him making some unscrupulous decisions and orders. He uses some profanity and smokes a cigar.
RICHARD ROXBURGH plays EDI's creator who's called in to try to fix the problems and briefly uses some strong profanity.
JOE MORTON plays the captain of the aircraft carrier who isn't pleased about EDI or the fact that it's being tested from his ship.; RICHARD ROXBURGH plays EDI's creator who's called in to try to fix the problems and briefly uses some strong profanity.
JOE MORTON plays the captain of the aircraft carrier who isn't pleased about EDI or the fact that it's being tested from his ship.; JOE MORTON plays the captain of the aircraft carrier who isn't pleased about EDI or the fact that it's being tested from his ship.

CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO

HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE

Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit?
Then read OUR TAKE of this film.

(Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below).

OUR WORD TO PARENTS:

The following is a brief summary of the content found in this action/adventure film that's been rated PG-13. Profanity consists of at least 1 "f" word, while other expletives and colorful phrases are also uttered. Sexually related dialogue and innuendo are present, some women are seen in revealing attire (including a small bikini) while some men are seen shirtless, and some sexual encounters are implied.

Various scenes include military style violence where people, jets and buildings are shot with gunfire and missiles, while a pilot is killed in an accident and a man dies from a lethal injection. Some of that violence has bloody results, and those scenes and other moments of peril might be unsettling or suspenseful to some viewers. Various characters have varying degrees of bad attitudes (including murderous ones), while some drink in several scenes and a few smoke.

If you're still concerned about the film and its appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home who may be interested in seeing it, we suggest that you take a closer look at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content.

For those prone to visually induced motion sickness, the film contains a great deal of jumpy or fast-moving camerawork and editing.

ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE: All 3 pilots drink as do others and the comment "don't think, drink" is enthusiastically stated.
The pilots and a local woman have beer.
Kara and Ben have drinks.

BLOOD/GORE: A woman states that she has to go pee and Kara later jokingly makes a riff on that.
Kara has some blood inside her helmet following a hard parachute landing. We later see the cut on her face.
Ben has quite a bit of blood on his face following a rough landing.
A sniper shoots Kara in the arm from a long distance, injuring her (we briefly see blood squirt out).
Kara has a bloody wound on her arm.
Kara fires at some North Koreans, hitting one in the leg (with some bloody results), while others shoot back at her.
Both Kara and Ben have dried blood from cuts on their faces.

DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE: Ben ignores orders from the carrier and decides to carry out his mission to strike a terrorist cell inside an otherwise empty high-rise in a foreign country.
Cummings lies to Ben about Kara having returned to the carrier when she has not.
Cummings put the safety and success of the EDI ahead of his human pilots and even orders for some men to kill Ben.
Whoever's ordering Cummings around (from Washington, DC) also has a bad attitude.
Although not human, the EDI disobeys orders and develops what some may view as a bad attitude (for a computerized "being").
Various North Korean forces try to kill Kara.

FRIGHTENING SCENES: Scenes listed under "Violence" and "Blood/Gore" may be unsettling or suspenseful to younger viewers and/or those with low tolerance levels for such material.
The crew is sent on an emergency mission to take care of a terrorist cell in Rangoon that's preparing an attack on the U.S.
Ben ignores orders from the carrier and decides to carry out his mission to strike a terrorist cell inside an otherwise empty high-rise in a foreign country. He then flies straight up and then straight down toward the building, dropping his bomb that smashes through the floors and then explodes near the bottom, causing the building to collapse. Ben barely manages to pull up his jet and then starts to black out as he flies along, but is okay in the end.
Lightning hits the EDI as it's returning to the aircraft carrier, thus resulting in a hairy but successful landing.
We hear that there's now a nuclear crisis involving SCUD missiles, but that innocent farmers are near the strike zone and could be adversely affected by an attack on the terrorists.
Having flown through an explosion that damaged her wing, Kara is now in trouble while flying and struggles to maintain control of her jet. She eventually loses control and ejects from the jet that then explodes above her. As she plunges and then parachutes toward enemy soil, flaming pieces of debris rain down on her, first bumping her and then slicing through and burning her parachute. She smashes through and eventually stops in some trees in a hard "landing" that leaves her somewhat bloodied.
Ben needs to refuel in midair, but there's fuel vapor all around him from EDI earlier shooting off the end of one of the refueling lines. As Ben refuels, EDI makes wide circles around him until allowing the jet engines to ignite an immense ring of fuel vapor around the refueling ship and Ben's jet. He manages to disengage just in time and fly away as the burning vapor races around both ends of the circle, terminating at the refueling ship that then explodes.
Having landed in North Korea, Kara must contend with military arriving and searching for her.
Ben makes an emergency, out of control landing with plenty of sparks and shearing of parts (and he's somewhat injured from that).
An officer commits suicide (we hear but don't see the shot).
Kara continues to try to elude the North Koreans and make her way to the border with South Korea, but finds herself trapped between the border patrol and the military group pursuing her.

GUNS/WEAPONS: Jet fighters and related weaponry (missiles and machine guns)/Anti-aircraft weapons/Machine guns/Sniper rifle: Carried and/or used to threaten, wound or kill others and/or cause property damage. See "Violence" for details.
Many locals fire machine guns into the air in celebration.

IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR: Phrases: "I'm not f*cking ready yet," "Oh sh*t," "You little sh*t, "Holy sh*t," "I don't give two sh*ts what they say on CNN," "You're sh*t out of luck," "Stop bullsh*tting," "You p*ssy," "Hell of a pilot," "Don't think, drink," "It's a bag of chips," "The dull thud of a Ben Gannon compliment," "What the hell /happened/is he doing/is going on in here?" "Right on their ass," "Take a crap," "That's hot," "Not bad for a tin-man," "Bastards," "Hell of a first mission," "Take a piss," "I'm kicking your ass," "Guaran-damn-t-it," "I have to go pee-pee," "Damn right," "Knock it off, smart ass," "A hell of a good explanation," "Damn right you do," "I'm on that ass," "Elastic ass," "Go get that bastard," "Where the hell is that?" and "Gals."
Kara playfully gives "the finger" to Ben.
Many locals fire machine guns into the air in celebration.
Orbit has a tattoo on his arm.
An officer commits suicide (we hear but don't see the shot).

JUMP SCENES: None.

MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE): An extreme amount of suspenseful and action-oriented music plays in the film.

MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE): None.

PROFANITY: At least 1 "f" word, 12 "s" words, 1 slang term using female genitals ("p*ssy"), 7 hells, 6 asses, 5 damns, 2 S.O.B.s, 1 crap, 2 uses each of "G-damn" and "My God" and 1 use each of "Jesus Christ" and "My God."

SEX/NUDITY: We see a nude male mannequin in a military training exercise, but nothing explicit is present.
As Henry rattles off lucky or good things that come in threes, Ben jokingly says not to forget about the ménage a trois.
Henry stares at a woman's abundant cleavage in her low-cut top (seen in POV close-up).
Ben passionately makes out with a woman at a bar and later leaves with her.
Although he says men should bow down before the superiority of the opposite sex in many respects, Henry then adds that from time to time, women should bow down before him (possibly an oral sex reference).
After hearing that EDI stands for Extreme Deep Invader, Henry jokes that he's been called that a few times.
We see Henry dancing shirtless in his cabin.
We see Kara's clothed butt that's purposefully been positioned to be in the foreground of the shot.
Ben walks into Kara's cabin and sees her bra and other undergarments hanging on a line, with her sarcastically telling him to pardon her C-cup.
Capt. Cummings offers Ben a cigar, but the latter declines that. Cummings then says that it was rolled on the thighs of mulatto women.
The crew goes to Thailand for some R & R and we see some miscellaneous cleavage, while Henry tries to pick up a local woman by asking if she likes to go fast after saying he's a pilot. We also see Kara in a small bikini (that shows cleavage), while Ben is shirtless (both at a body of water).
Henry jokes that he's not moral, adding that he should be arrested for the thoughts he's having now (about a local woman).
Talking to Ben about Henry and a woman with whom he's just left, Kara (who shows cleavage) says that he leaves with her and then sleeps with her. It's implied that Henry has sex with the woman, while Ben states in his case that after such sex, he just leaves.
We see a woman in a tight skirt, showing some cleavage, coming down some steps.
There are many shots of Kara in very tight pants.

SMOKING: Cummings smokes a cigar, while some miscellaneous characters smoke cigars in other scenes.
Capt. Cummings offers Ben a cigar, but the latter declines that. Cummings then says that it was rolled on the thighs of mulatto women.

TENSE FAMILY SCENES: None.

TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT: Robotic/computerized replacements for humans, such as in military applications.
The comment that war is about tools.
The crew is sent on an emergency mission to take care of a terrorist cell in Rangoon that's preparing an attack on the U.S.
The comment that what people have over computers are instincts, feelings and moral judgment.
Ben likes Kara and Henry warns that the former is going to mess it up for her (meaning her life and career).
We hear that there's now a nuclear crisis involving SCUD missiles, but that innocent farmers are near the strike zone and could be adversely affected by an attack on the terrorists.
Having landed in North Korea, Kara must contend with military arriving and searching for her.
An officer commits suicide (we hear but don't see the shot).

VIOLENCE: Missiles are fired and a truck explodes, while anti-aircraft fire is blasted at the attacking jets along with missiles that are trailing after them. A jet fires a missile into a weapons battery on the ground, destroying it, while machine gun fire is blasted back at the jets. A bunker is then destroyed by missiles, along with trucks near it. We then see that all of this was a training exercise with mannequins standing in for the enemy.
Ben ignores orders from the carrier and decides to carry out his mission to strike a terrorist cell inside an otherwise empty high-rise in a foreign country. He then flies straight up and then straight down toward the building, dropping his bomb that smashes through the floors and then explodes near the bottom, causing the building to collapse.
EDI refuses orders to abort a mission and opens fire on terrorists with missiles. They shoot back at him and the others with machine gun fire and missiles. Part of an ancient castle is hit, while the other pilots join in on the attack once it's been started, firing missiles at the building and people. Various explosions rock the area (with presumed deaths), resulting in radioactive fallout sweeping across various innocent farmers.
The three pilots pursue the now renegade EDI through ragged mountains with one firing at the EDI, but ending up crashing into a mountainside (seen in crunching, slow motion and an ensuing explosion), resulting in the pilot's death.
Having flown through an explosion that damaged her wing, Kara is now in trouble while flying and struggles to maintain control of her jet. She eventually loses control and ejects from her jet that then explodes above her. As she plunges and then parachutes toward enemy soil, flaming pieces of debris rain down on her, first bumping her and then slicing through and burning her parachute. She smashes through and eventually stops in some trees in a hard "landing" that leaves her somewhat bloodied.
Refused clearance to refuel in midair, EDI shoots the end off the dangling fuel line to get to its fuel.
Ben needs to refuel in midair, but there's fuel vapor all around him from EDI earlier shooting off the end of one of the refueling lines. As Ben refuels, EDI makes wide circles around him until allowing the jet engines to ignite an immense ring of fuel vapor around the refueling ship and Ben's jet. He manages to disengage just in time and fly away as the burning vapor races around both ends of the circle, terminating at the refueling ship that then explodes.
Ben follows EDI into Russian air space where Russian fighters intercept and engage them, with one firing a missile at Ben. EDI shoots that missile that explodes, followed by a dogfight between the two teams of fighters. One shoots its machine gun at Ben, but EDI shoots down that one with machine gun fire. During this, Ben's jet is raked by machine gun fire, but EDI shoots the second Russian plane that then explodes, followed by shooting another fighter (that's just arrived) with a missile.
Ben drops a bomb in a body of water so that the resultant explosion will put out a fire on the EDI.
Ben makes an emergency, out of control landing with plenty of sparks and shearing of parts (and he's somewhat injured from that).
Ben and another man struggle over a needle the other man wants to insert into Ben. It ends up going into the "doctor," killing him.
A sniper shoots Kara in the arm from a long distance, injuring her (we briefly see blood squirt out).
Ben hits one bad guy, while another struggles with Orbit. Another shoots at Ben who fires back and kills three men (no blood). More heavily armed men arrive and open fire at the hanger from the outside. Ben then fires a missile from the inside of the hanger that blows opens one side and knocks the bad guys and various vehicles backwards from the explosion.
One man fires a machine gun at Orbit who's trying to escape in a car, followed by Ben shooting a missile into the rest of the hanger, causing it to explode (and presumably kill others).
Kara fires at some North Koreans, hitting one in the leg (with some bloody results), while others shoot back at her.
An officer commits suicide (we hear but don't see the shot).
Military men fire at Kara who shoots back and hits at least one.
Ben opens fire on a border fence line and then a tree line, resulting in big explosions that presumably kill many enemy soldiers.
A sniper prepares to shoot Ben and then nearly hits Kara, but Ben fires an explosive that blows the sniper through the air with him landing in some barbwire.
Ben fires at a military chopper that then fires back at him.
EDI and a military chopper exchange gunfire.
A jet purposefully flies into a chopper, resulting in both exploding.

Reviewed July 12, 2005 / Posted July 29, 2005

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