good film but with many flaws

Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

I bought this movie on DVD as I am a big fan of Iron Eagle and Flight Of Black Angel was suggested as a similar type movie.Firstly, I must say that I approached this with an open mind. I realized that this wasn't a big budget movie and didn't expect it to wow me, but reading the reviews here made me hopeful that this might be pretty good.The movie starts very slow. The acting in the opening scenes is mediocre at best. The direction is pretty good, but relies heavily on slow zooms to invoke suspense and atmosphere - this works to some degree but is overdone to the point of becoming boring. The lighting is pretty bad on some scenes.As the story develops, it starts to gather some momentum. The acting seems to improve a little and the script is OK for the most part. The flight sequences are taken straight out of Iron Eagle which kind of works, but having seen Iron Eagle, I couldn't help make comparisons and it becomes evident that compared to that, the script and acting doesn't come close. Another annoying thing form me is that some of the scenes show the bombing of US troops and anti-aircraft weapons - these are taken straight from Iron Eagle and you can see the uniforms of the middle eastern enemies from IE who are meant to be US in this movie, but if I hadn't mentioned it you may not have noticed :-) The second half of the movie works much better, the pace is just about right and the introduction of new characters lifts the whole thing.Overall I would say this movie is maybe worth a look if there is nothing else on TV but I wouldn't suggest going out of your way to see it.

This films tells the story of air force pilot who cracks under peer pressure,it was unclear if his parents pushed him to far,or what,he simply had to be the best,Barry Zetlin,who produce this film,assembled a good cast. The pressure was too much,he cracked under it all. The fight scenes in the air was well done,I suspect that quite a bit of stock footage film was used. This is available on DVD in either the UK or Australia. Before you order it,make sure your DVD player will play it,DVD's players in Canada and the US are region one,in Europe and Australia,they use region 2 and 4 which is Pal System.Region free DVD players can be purchased here in Canada and the US,if you do not wish to purchase one,go on to the internet and type in DVD players hackers list,this web site will give you instructions on how to change the region settings on your DVD player,not all DVD players can the region codes be changed. Another interesting item,Barry Zetlin,who produced this film appeared in it,a cameo appearance,he has also done this in other films he has produced. Alfred Hitchcock used to do the same thing.

Is it possible these days to tell a story -- a taut, relentless, no-fat-no-frills story -- in contemporary Hollywood? This 1991 effort by writer/director Jonathan Mostow reminds me of Steven Spielberg's "Duel" in its relentless pursuit of a linear take-no-prisoners storyline. No real characters, but who needs 'em? Let Merchant/Ivory wander through sanguine tepidity ... Mostow wants to grab you, must compel your attention -- he plies his craft for the MTV 15-second-attention-span generation.I stumbled across this unknown gem flipping through cable stations one meandering Saturday afternoon, and immediately wondered why Hollywood hadn't discovered this amazing director. Then I searched IMDB and learned he recently finished directing "Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines." Hmm ... guess he was only anonymous to me.The aerial dogfights are simply great. The maniacal plan of the wacked-out Crazy Christian Crusader main character is riveting, and Mostow's script seems plausible in its attention to military technology detail.Highly recommended.

Before he had the big budget of U-571, director Jonathan Mostow proved back in 1991 that he has what it takes to create a gripping movie. I rented this because I was writing a screenplay with a similar premise. The aerial combat sequences here are just as -- if not more so -- thrilling as anything in TOP GUN. I wish they would have got someone else to play Cpt. Gordon aka "Black Angel" -- still, the thesp gets across a spooky desperation. The script doesn't fully explain his motivation, but it's clear he has some kind of God-complex. Peter Strauss is also believable as the Mentor.If you like military or doomsday thrillers, this is worth a rent or watching on cable.Also of note: screenwriters John Brancato and Mike Ferris (THE NET, THE GAME) are billed as assoc. producers, though I don't know what their role in the production was.