Stealth (film)

Name	Stealth
Caption	Promotional poster
Alt	An aircraft with three people in flight suits standing in front of it
Writer	W. D. Richter
Starring	Josh Lucas Jessica Biel Jamie Foxx Sam Shepard
Producer	Arnold Messer Neal H. Moritz
Music	BT
Director	Rob Cohen
Cinematography	Dean Semler
Editing	Stephen E. Rivkin
Distributor	Columbia Pictures
Released
Runtime	121 minutes
Language	English
Country	United States
Budget	$138 million
Gross	$76,932,872

Stealth is a 2005 science-fiction action film starring Jessica Biel, Josh Lucas, Jamie Foxx, and Sam Shepard. The film was directed by Rob Cohen, director of The Fast and the Furious and xXx.

The film follows three top fighter pilots as they join a project to develop an automated robotic stealth aircraft.

Released on July 29, 2005 by Columbia Pictures, the film cost $138 million to make, but was panned by critics, and was a colossal box office bomb making only $76,932,872 worldwide, one of the biggest losses in cinematic history.

Plot

In 2016, the United States Navy develops a program to deal with international terrorists and other enemies of the state quickly and quietly; in addition, the program is authorized to test new technology that will achieve these objectives. This includes three new single-seat attack jets with impressive payload, speed, and stealth capabilities known as the F/A-37 Talon series. Over 400 pilots apply to participate, but only three are chosen: smart hotshot Lieutenant Ben Gannon (Josh Lucas), tomboyish Lieutenant Kara Wade (Jessica Biel), and street-wise, philosophical Lieutenant Henry Purcell (Jamie Foxx). Their first test mission scores 100/100, based on maximum inflicted casualties with minimum collateral damage. In addition, the U.S. Navy develops an Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle (UCAV, pronounced "you-kav") codenamed "EDI" (for "Extreme Deep Invader") and piloted by artificial intelligence. This autonomous fighter jet is placed on the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in the Philippine Sea to learn combat maneuvers from the pilots. This sparks a conflict between two schools of thought: The first argues that human pilots are superior to machines in that they possess both creativity and moral judgment, whereas a machine cannot fully appreciate the ugliness of war; additionally, if robots take humans' places on the front line and no one ever died in war, then war would no longer be terrible and could end up as a sort of sport. In contrast, a machine pilot is not subject to the physical limitations of a human pilot, can calculate alternatives to achieving objectives faster and more accurately, and is (theoretically) not subject to ego.

The team is sent to train the EDI to practice air combat maneuvers, or ACMs, when they are suddenly reassigned to take out the heads of three terrorist cells at a summit in downtown Rangoon. EDI calculates that mission success can only be achieved through a high-risk strike, which could be fatal for a human pilot and create numerous civilian casualties in the process. Command orders EDI to take the shot, but Gannon belays the order, defies command, and takes the shot himself. While the mission is successful, EDI learns and takes note of Gannon's defiance. The mission is a success, and the planes return to the carrier.

The UCAV-EDI plane is hit by lightning, and while seemingly damaged it quickly recovers, but its neural network is affected. Already a sophisticated AI, the EDI begins to learn exponentially, developing a rudimentary ethical code and an ego. Its handlers and technicians are unsure of how to handle the situation, but refuse to take him offline.

On their second mission, Wade calculates that the mission objectives (neutralizing several stolen nuclear warheads held by a warlord in Tajikistan) cannot be achieved without unacceptable civilian casualties. The mission is scrubbed but the EDI disobeys orders and fires missiles at the nuclear warheads, causing the predicted radioactive backlash. Control steps in and orders the Talons to bring the malfunctioning UCAV-EDI back to base. Gannon asks for permission to destroy the aircraft, which is eventually accepted. Purcell, being the closest to the ship, is given the order to shoot. Eddie (EDI) dodges this rocket as Henry dodges the explosion but flies straight into another mountain side. The other two try to track down and either destroy or commandeer the UCAV. But when Wade loses control of her left wing and canard and subsequently ejects over North Korea, only one pilot is left to stop the EDI from executing a twenty year-old war scenario called "Caviar Sweep".

In an attempt to complete his mission, the remaining pilot is forced to work with the UCAV in order to both keep it from falling into enemy territory as well as rescue his fallen comrade in North Korea. After the crash of the final Talon, Gannon is almost assassinated by a secret corporation in Alaska under the orders of his CO. However, he escapes in EDI and after flying a dangerous mission into North Korea, manages to rescue his downed wingman. Out of ammunition, the EDI sacrifices itself by flying into a Korean People's Army helicopter, allowing the two pilots to escape into South Korea. After the credits, Eddie (EDI) is shown to be still online, but in pieces.

Cast

Josh Lucas as Lt. Ben Gannon (BIG)

Jessica Biel as Lt. Kara Wade (GUNS)

Jamie Foxx as Lt. Henry Purcell (E-Z)

Sam Shepard as Capt. George Cummings

Richard Roxburgh as Dr. Keith Orbit

Joe Morton as Capt. Dick Marshfield

Ian Bliss as Lt. Aaron Shaftsbury

Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Tim

David Andrews as Ray

Wentworth Miller as EDI

Megan Gale as Dr. Orbit's secretary (cameo)

Michael Denkha as Naval Controller

Rocky Helton as Master at Arms

Clayton Adams as USS Abraham Lincoln Sailor

Maurice Morgan as USS Abraham Lincoln Sailor

Woody Naismith as USS Abraham Lincoln Sailor (as Christopher Naismith)

Charles Ndibe as USS Abraham Lincoln Sailor

Nicholas Hammond as Executive Officer

Locations

Stealth features several shots of action on aircraft carriers. Scenes featuring the cast were shot on board the US Navy Fleet Carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, while additional scenes were shot on board the USS Carl Vinson.

The movie was filmed in Australia (Blue Mountains National Park) and New Zealand.

Featured technologies

Stealth featured many presently used, futuristic, or theoretical technologies at the time of release. These include:

Computer technology (all wildly mixed)

* quantum computer

* Artificial neural network

* artificial intelligence

Airplanes

* pulse detonation engine

* scramjet

* VTOL

* aeroelastic control surfaces

EDI (Extreme Deep Invader) viewed from above.]]

Sukhoi Su-37 Terminator. The aircraft featured in the film are shown as having two crew members, although the current prototype Su-37 is a single-seat aircraft. , however, there are only two prototype Su-37 aircraft in existence, never having been bought as a production aircraft.

The fictional F/A-37 Talon. The aircraft mock ups for the Talon were so realistic that photos of them on the deck of an aircraft carrier were circulated online, claiming they displayed an actual experimental aircraft.

* Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet

* F/A-18 Hornet

* High-altitude airships (Camelhumps) used for aerial refueling

Weapons

* Firearms in the movie Stealth

Warships

* The aircraft supercarrier featured in the film, USS Abraham Lincoln, is shown to have three different Naval Registry numbers during angles from different scenes.

Litigation

In March 2005, Leo Stoller, who claims to own trademark rights to the word "stealth", served Columbia Pictures with a "cease and desist" letter threatening litigation if they did not rename the movie to something "non infringing". Columbia responded with a lawsuit seeking a declaration from the court that their movie does not infringe on the trademark (which is not registered in any category remotely similar to motion pictures).

The Environmental Defender’s Office, a community legal centre specialising in environmental law, successfully represented the Blue Mountains Conservation Society Inc. in its attempts to prevent filming of Stealth in the Grose Wilderness area of the Blue Mountains National Park, NSW, Australia, in May 2004. Justice Lloyd of the New South Wales Land and Environment Court ruled that the proposed commercial filming of scenes in the area was unlawful, in a significant statement on the value of wilderness areas and the protection that should be afforded to them. The Society claimed that the authority and consent for the commercial filming activities were in breach of the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974 and the Wilderness Act 1987. Justice Lloyd accepted the Society’s arguments that the proposed commercial filming in a wilderness area was completely against the intended use of the land, concluding his judgment with the words, "wilderness is sacrosanct".

Soundtrack

# "Make a Move" - Incubus (3:12) # "Admiration" - Incubus (4:13) # "Neither of Us Can See" - Incubus (4:04) # "(She Can) Do That" - BT & David Bowie (3:15) # "Dance to the Music" - Will.i.am & Sly & The Family Stone (4:06) # "Bullet-Proof Skin" - Institute (4:24) # "L.S.F." - Kasabian (3:18) # "Bug Eyes" - Dredg (4:16) # "Over My Head (Cable Car)" - The Fray (3:56) # "One Day" - Trading Yesterday (4:21) # "Different" - Acceptance (4:09) # "Nights in White Satin" - Glenn Hughes, Chad Smith & John Frusciante (4:56) # "Aqueous Transmission" - Incubus (7:48)

Cultural references

Cohen has admitted that his main influence for Stealth was Macross.

In the air battle between the Su-37 Terminators, Talon, and EDI, the Talon performs a variation Pugachev's Cobra maneuver called the Kulbit Maneuver to evade the tailing Su-37. This maneuver is an essentially a post-stall maneuver in which the jet actually performs a back-flip in mid-air.

As a marketing gimmick to try to gain back losses through home video sales, the UMD version of the film for the PSP includes 3 stages of the video game Wipeout Pure with a Talon jet playable in the game.

The AI code shown on screen is TeX code.

Vanessa Trezise from Sky News Australia appears as herself as a news presenter from the then Sky News set.

Advance interest in Japan was high for this film, and a book of the screenplay was commissioned especially for the Japanese market. Edgar Award winning author Burl Barer, who also wrote the novelization of THE SAINT, penned the novel in English. It was translated into Japanese under the auspices of Sony Entertainment via licensing to Owls Agency in Japan.

Box office

The film cost $135 million to produce (which does not include advertising costs) and was released in an ultrawide 3,495 theaters, but had an opening weekend of only $13,251,545 for an average of only $3,792 per theater, and good enough for only 4th place. It then lost 55 percent of its audience in its second weekend dropping to 7th place to $5,923,794, while remaining at 3,495 theaters and averaging just $1,695 per theater. In its third weekend, it lost 1,455 theaters, and a further 64 percent of its audience, dropping to 11th, with just $2,151,768, for an average of just $1,055 from 2,040 theaters. It ended up making $32,116,746 in the United States and Canada, and $44,816,126 internationally for a total worldwide gross of $76,932,872, making it the biggest money loser in a series of financial failures released by Columbia Pictures in 2005.

Critical response

Stealth was panned by movie critics. Rotten Tomatoes gave it 13%, with an average score of 3.8/10 and only 18 out of 136 reviews being positive. It holds a rating of just 7% when narrowed down to professional "top" critics, with an average score of 3.6/10 and only 2 out of 30 reviews being positive. Metacritic gives the film has a rating of 35% based on 31 reviews, which indicates "generally negative reviews". Stealth holds a rating of a D+ on Yahoo Movies.

Roger Ebert commented that the movie was "a dumbed-down Top Gun crossed with the HAL 9000 plot from ."

See also

Intelligent Fly-by-Wire

References

External links

Maritimequest Filming Stealth photo gallery

The science of Stealth

Category:2005 films Category:2000s action films Category:Action thriller films Category:Aviation films Category:Films directed by Rob Cohen Category:Films set in Myanmar Category:Films set in North Korea Category:Films set in South Korea Category:Films shot anamorphically Category:Films shot in Australia