Captain Eddie Gordon is a member of the US Air Force. As a bold and brilliant pilot of fighter planes, he earns much of his pay impersonating "the enemy" during training exercises. However, his superiors and colleagues worry about his cold, reclusive demeanor. Meanwhile even his closest relatives do not succeed in touching his emotional core. It seems as though there's something nasty brewing behind Gordon's all-American good looks...
"Flight of Black Angel" is a decent thriller / action movie with a particularly chilling premise, to wit one of the more competent pilots of the US Air Force turning on his fellows and going rogue while in possession of enough advanced weaponry to flatten a small country. As befits the theme, there are a number of spectacular stunts and aerial dogfights to be enjoyed. Moreover, actor William O'Leary is quite creepy as a man who looks normal enough, but whose mind has become overrun with toads and snakes.
On the other hand there are a number of missed opportunities. For instance, the movie insists that Gordon is some kind of maniac, presumably of a religious nature, but it tells us little about the growth and nature of his delusion(s). Moreover it's mainly a case of telling instead of showing. Why not show us, say, Gordon getting into a screaming quarrel with some random preacher he thinks is too soft on sinners ? Or why not show us Gordon "interacting" with Saint Lucy, the archangel Michael, Martin Luther, pope Pius X or whoever else is supposed to give him his orders ? And let's face it, choosing Las Vegas as a place of depravity to be destroyed through cleansing fire is rather a cliché. (Indeed, I would not be surprised if the Las Vegas tourist office milked this "sin city" image for all it's worth.) Imagine how much more interesting the movie would have become, if our rogue pilot had wanted to destroy some semi-forgotten town known mainly for its production of cheap after-shave and for its annual Goat Cheese Festival...
Still, a good way to pass the time during a rainy afternoon.
"Flight of Black Angel" is a decent thriller / action movie with a particularly chilling premise, to wit one of the more competent pilots of the US Air Force turning on his fellows and going rogue while in possession of enough advanced weaponry to flatten a small country. As befits the theme, there are a number of spectacular stunts and aerial dogfights to be enjoyed. Moreover, actor William O'Leary is quite creepy as a man who looks normal enough, but whose mind has become overrun with toads and snakes.
On the other hand there are a number of missed opportunities. For instance, the movie insists that Gordon is some kind of maniac, presumably of a religious nature, but it tells us little about the growth and nature of his delusion(s). Moreover it's mainly a case of telling instead of showing. Why not show us, say, Gordon getting into a screaming quarrel with some random preacher he thinks is too soft on sinners ? Or why not show us Gordon "interacting" with Saint Lucy, the archangel Michael, Martin Luther, pope Pius X or whoever else is supposed to give him his orders ? And let's face it, choosing Las Vegas as a place of depravity to be destroyed through cleansing fire is rather a cliché. (Indeed, I would not be surprised if the Las Vegas tourist office milked this "sin city" image for all it's worth.) Imagine how much more interesting the movie would have become, if our rogue pilot had wanted to destroy some semi-forgotten town known mainly for its production of cheap after-shave and for its annual Goat Cheese Festival...
Still, a good way to pass the time during a rainy afternoon.