"Man, that brunette can take my joystick anytime!" says French fighter pilot Fahrenheit Valois to his buddy, Walk'n Marchelli. There is no evidence that Jean-Luc Godard ever had the courage to write dialogue this heartfelt, much less direct a movie that...gasp...was as entertaining. Sky Fighters (Les Chevaliers du Ciel) is a fightin', flyin' French film that shows Top Gun a thing or two. Not only is the acting better (Benoit Magimel stars as Walk'n Marchelli), but the movie was made with the full cooperation of the French Air Force, down to assigning fighter pilots and their jets to take part. There's little or no CGC (Computer Generated Crud), just fast and dangerous flying where the laws of physics had better be respected.
It all starts at the Farnborough Airshow where arms dealers and manufacturers show off their high tech deadly toys and make deals with generals and, probably, terrorists. During one flyover a top-of-the-line Mirage 2000 suddenly breaks formation and departs for places unknown. Something rotten is going on because we saw the original pilot shot. Luckily, Walk'n and Fahrenheit (Clovis Corillac) are on air patrol off the North Sea. They spot the plane, carefully hiding itself just below an A380. Only the fifth contrail gives it away. Instead of landing as ordered, the pilot swings into action and nearly shoots down Fahrenheit. Only Walk'n's fast reflexes slam out his missile first. The rogue Mirage explodes and falls into the sea. Walk'n and Fahrenheit are heroes, right?
No, because now we're in the world of French Special Missions, which was testing how easily it would be for a terrorist to highjack a fighter at an air show. The cool, elegant Maelie Coste (Geraldine Paihas), who represents the French premier in Special Missions operations, doesn't know that a terrorist actually did it. Walk'n' and Fahrenheit are made scapegoats and are assigned to training duty. Then we learn there will be an intense one-on-one competition between a new French Mirage and a new American fighter for a big sales contract. In the middle of all this, Walk'n and Fahrenheit meet two hotshot American pilots who are in France for NATO training. Yes, they're women...Captain Estelle "Pitbull" Kass (Alice Taglione). and Captain Leslie "Stardust" Hedget (Rey Reyes). It's not long before the brunette Stardust and Fahrenheit are practicing barrel rolls together, but Pitbull and Walk'n, who had met before, are wary of each other.
Here's the deal. The American fighter and the French fighter, each with two fighters along side, will leave from separate bases to fly more than a 1,000 miles with no clearances, no advance notice, across the Mediterranean, over an unfriendly Libya, with mid-air refueling down to East Africa and over "enemy" territory. The first fighter to cross the target undetected will win the contract. And off we go. Walk'n is flying the new Mirage, accompanied by Fahrenheit and Pitbull. But along the way things go wrong...terribly wrong. At an isolated airstrip where they were forced to land with no fuel, they find vicious mercenaries. Pitbull is smacked around and taken away for evening entertainment. Walk'n and Fahrenheit are smacked around, chained, and stuck in a ramshackle hut.
What's going on? All I can say is that they'd better escape fast. Terrorism and treason are in the air...and there are going to be a lot of world leaders meeting in Paris in a few days. Part of the ceremonies will include high-performance Mirage fly-overs...just the place for a rogue Mirage to fit in. It's likely that only Walk'n's and Fahrenheit's bravery, initiative and flying skills can save the day. Plus Maelie Coste's realization, at last, of the shocking truth.
Is this movie anything but glossy, exciting entertainment? Nope. The story is smile-worthy but not, unfortunately, improbable. The acting is better than you'd expect. The flying scenes, whether getting from place to place or aerial combat, are first rate. I'm fairly sure Jean-Luc Godard refused to have anything to do with Walk'n Marchelli and Fahrenheit Valois. But then he also probably refused to have anything to do with Maverick Mitchell and Iceman Kazansky. Thank goodness that in the real world there is room for meaningful films and meaningless entertainment. If only we could always tell the difference.
It all starts at the Farnborough Airshow where arms dealers and manufacturers show off their high tech deadly toys and make deals with generals and, probably, terrorists. During one flyover a top-of-the-line Mirage 2000 suddenly breaks formation and departs for places unknown. Something rotten is going on because we saw the original pilot shot. Luckily, Walk'n and Fahrenheit (Clovis Corillac) are on air patrol off the North Sea. They spot the plane, carefully hiding itself just below an A380. Only the fifth contrail gives it away. Instead of landing as ordered, the pilot swings into action and nearly shoots down Fahrenheit. Only Walk'n's fast reflexes slam out his missile first. The rogue Mirage explodes and falls into the sea. Walk'n and Fahrenheit are heroes, right?
No, because now we're in the world of French Special Missions, which was testing how easily it would be for a terrorist to highjack a fighter at an air show. The cool, elegant Maelie Coste (Geraldine Paihas), who represents the French premier in Special Missions operations, doesn't know that a terrorist actually did it. Walk'n' and Fahrenheit are made scapegoats and are assigned to training duty. Then we learn there will be an intense one-on-one competition between a new French Mirage and a new American fighter for a big sales contract. In the middle of all this, Walk'n and Fahrenheit meet two hotshot American pilots who are in France for NATO training. Yes, they're women...Captain Estelle "Pitbull" Kass (Alice Taglione). and Captain Leslie "Stardust" Hedget (Rey Reyes). It's not long before the brunette Stardust and Fahrenheit are practicing barrel rolls together, but Pitbull and Walk'n, who had met before, are wary of each other.
Here's the deal. The American fighter and the French fighter, each with two fighters along side, will leave from separate bases to fly more than a 1,000 miles with no clearances, no advance notice, across the Mediterranean, over an unfriendly Libya, with mid-air refueling down to East Africa and over "enemy" territory. The first fighter to cross the target undetected will win the contract. And off we go. Walk'n is flying the new Mirage, accompanied by Fahrenheit and Pitbull. But along the way things go wrong...terribly wrong. At an isolated airstrip where they were forced to land with no fuel, they find vicious mercenaries. Pitbull is smacked around and taken away for evening entertainment. Walk'n and Fahrenheit are smacked around, chained, and stuck in a ramshackle hut.
What's going on? All I can say is that they'd better escape fast. Terrorism and treason are in the air...and there are going to be a lot of world leaders meeting in Paris in a few days. Part of the ceremonies will include high-performance Mirage fly-overs...just the place for a rogue Mirage to fit in. It's likely that only Walk'n's and Fahrenheit's bravery, initiative and flying skills can save the day. Plus Maelie Coste's realization, at last, of the shocking truth.
Is this movie anything but glossy, exciting entertainment? Nope. The story is smile-worthy but not, unfortunately, improbable. The acting is better than you'd expect. The flying scenes, whether getting from place to place or aerial combat, are first rate. I'm fairly sure Jean-Luc Godard refused to have anything to do with Walk'n Marchelli and Fahrenheit Valois. But then he also probably refused to have anything to do with Maverick Mitchell and Iceman Kazansky. Thank goodness that in the real world there is room for meaningful films and meaningless entertainment. If only we could always tell the difference.