Yawn. Poorly Filmed Snooze Fest.

What makes it different from others?

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

I won't recap. Others have already done that.The Sci Fi channel often has really, really bad stuff. "Falcon Down" is only half bad.Having some competent actors is a plus. Cliff Robertson is clearly over the hill, but Captain Kirk is in fine fettle. And Judd Nelson does his usual competent job.And having a couple of very attractive, hot women on board is always a definite plus, even if they are a little over the hill to be labeled "babes." (I know, that's not PC.) Now the parts I don't understand near the end: If the mini-sub is tethered to the big sub (with no release mechanism? com' on), and it's clamped to the Falcon, how does the mini-sub free itself and yet the big sub remains attached to the Falcon? And, since the Falcon crushes at 300 ft (I don't think any airplane is built like that), and the sub at 1200, how does the plane drag the sub down to the sub's crush depth? The Falcon is crushed, so it weighs no more than when the Chinese sub planned to tow it.Why would the Baltimore PD arrest someone trying to interview the Chinese ambassador? It's not like the CIA was stealing the Falcon. I like a good (fictional) conspiracy as much as the next guy, but this makes no sense whatsoever.But it was only half-bad.

I tuned into FALCON DOWN looking for some hot supersonic action, but what I got was a very talkative and very little action STV picture about a guy (familiar TV face Dale Midkiff) who at the government's urging helps to steal a new stealth-type bomber, only to find himself double- and triple-crossed when some bad guys plan to sell the thing to the Chinese. Jennifer Rubin, Whilliam Shatner and Judd Nelson are along for the ride. Well, actually, Shatner stands in one place in an ill-defined military office and talks to Midkiff on and off throughout the movie. I thought maybe when the aircraft crash-landed on an Arctic ice floe and then ended up underwater, something might finally happen, but very little actually does. Stick with STEALTH with Josh Brolin or that neat little high-flying knockoff of DIE HARD, 1992's INTERCEPTOR with Andrew Divoff.

Just a comment on the trivia bit: The Valkyrie supersonic bomber is a long fuselage with a delta wing at the root and canards at the cockpit area. The Valkyrie is 180 feet long; the Falcon is 49 feet. The Valkyrie has six engines, the Falcon has one. The Valkyrie does not resemble the Falcon in the slightest, not even the Dassault Falcon. I do believe that the trivia bit just may be a little off.Now I have to come up with more lines of text so that it will make 10 lines -- go figure. Now I have to come up with more lines of text so that it will make 10 lines -- go figure. Now I have to come up with more lines of text so that it will make 10 lines -- go figure. Now I have to come up with more lines of text so that it will make 10 lines -- go figure.

It's long been considered that Government organizations cover up many incidents. Probably the most infamous are the whispers that The Government actually has proof of alien beings and has their DNA, spacecraft and who knows what else hidden in an area in Roswell, New Mexico called Area 51. Then there are some of the 'apparently' factual incidents investigated by TV shows such as "The X Files". As for the military's involvement, there's only speculation - but it's believed they are present in most of these theories in some respect.In "Falcon Down", it's the Military and the Government that are responsible for such a large scale cover-up. So large scale, that eye witnesses who have claimed to witness something related to the operation have been erased. Many of these people claimed that it was some kind of Alien spacecraft that was being kept quiet by the Government. In the film, we discover that it's something a little more close to home. Or Earth if you will.Two airforce pilots come face to face with an unforseen terror in the skies. One of them suddenly goes blind and his jet falls to a fiery death. Nearby, a commercial airline also goes down.Wanting answers and bewildered by what has happened, the surviving airforce pilot, Hank Thomas (Dale Midkiff) is discharged from service following a fiery meeting with the rather suspicious, Major Robert Carson (Shatner). Several months later, Hank is bullied into leading a top secret operation, run by his old foe, Carson. The mission involves stealing a super-jet called the 'Falcon' (complete with underneath weapon, hence the blinding of the pilot) and then, as he is ordered, take it to a rendevous point where it will be dismantled so no one else can be harmed by it's terror.Joined by a group of mercenaries - one a 'trigger-happy' Rambo-type, another an intellectual yet green faced player (Judd Nelson), a straight player and femme fatale (Rubin) - Hank skillfully takes control of the stolen jet and finds himself followed by the U.S airforce and other unforseen threats. With fuel running out, it seems the only option Hank has is to land the plane on Ice. And as we know, Ice eventually melts.Labelled as a B-Grade film, the most surprising thing about "Falcon Down" is that it is notches above it's direct-to-video companions. The visual effects are well done, the characters are more than the one-dimensional lot we usually see in films like this, and overall, it's an entertaining ride. Just when it looks to let up, it throws in another surprise, or plot twist. It also provokes a talking point..do top-secret cover-ups like this happen?