"Tactical Assault"-
 
This movie is a nice change of pace from RP's usual freaks and 
sleezebags. 

He plays Colonel Lee Banning, a fighter pilot in the US Air 
Force and a loving husband with a baby on the way. The only 
problem is: he shot down one of his own men - his best friend 
Captain John Holiday (played by Rutger Hauer)- during a mission 
over Iraqui air space and John ended up in a sanitarium. Of 
course, he *had* gone completely nuts, but he didn't see it 
that way and now he wants revenge. 

Much of the movie consists of fighter pilot scenes complete 
with jargon that means diddly squat to me, but sounds cool. 
I'm guessing Top Gun is no different, so if you liked it in 
that movie you'll probably feel right at home here. 

All the pilots in the squad have those fun nicknames that they 
have printed on their helmets. To name a few: Cougar, Doc, 
Scout, Tiger, Hawk, Dutchman and Irish Setter (I'm not 
kidding!). Which one do you suppose is Robert's character? I'm 
sure all the rabid RP fans out there are saying "sexy" but I 
don't think the "don't ask, don't tell" policy is quite that 
extreme (I'm not even sure if it applies to the Air Force). Of 
course, his name is "Tiger". 

For much of the movie I found myself thinking about the List of
Hollywood Clichés that I read somewhere. For example, the 
cliché "during a chase where the leads are on foot, the male 
must drag the female by the hand, even if the male is slow and 
fat and the female is a track star." Of course, in this case, 
RP is definitely not slow and fat and the female is supposed to
be pregnant, but I thought of it anyway. 

Another cliché: When you think you've killed the bad guy, think 
again. He always gets at least three resurrections. Actually, 
this movie breaks that rule. I believe it is for this reason 
that the ending seems abrupt. We naturally don't think the 
movie should be ending yet because the bad guy has not had his 
three resurrections. But this is not a bad thing. A third 
resurrection would, no doubt, have been overkill. Quit while 
you're ahead as the saying goes. 

And then there's the stupid female factor...when Lee finally 
figures out that John is after him and his family he gets a 
fellow officer to guard his house and protect his wife Jennifer 
while he's off flying a mission. When Jennifer goes out to this 
man's jeep to bring him coffee, she finds him dead. What is the 
first thing she should do, given the results of similar 
dilemmas in the typical Hollywood movie? She probably shouldn't 
go back in the house right? What do you suppose is the first 
thing she does? That's right, she runs into the house - 
thinking, of course, that she is safer in there - and comes 
face to face with John who was, of course, waiting for her in 
the house.

I was happy to see one cliché turn on its head when Jennifer, 
wisely following her husband's advice ("Run!"), leaves him in 
the house with John while she goes to get the jeep started. 
Therefore, in the chase sequence that follows, a pregnant woman 
is *driving* the "getaway car" instead of cowering in the 
passenger seat, eyes fixed on the pursuer, saying useless, 
annoying things like "they're gaining on us!" Then John leaps 
into the jeep and engages in a fist-fight with Lee, who tells 
Jennifer to "keep driving!" I'm sorry, but I think I would be 
hard-pressed to concentrate on the road when two full-grown men 
are throwing each other around my car and smashing through the 
windshield onto the roof! 

At any rate, if you liked Top Gun, you would probably like this
movie as well. It may seem to have a truncated ending, but it's
still good overall.

~Diandra Hollman