Stealth (film)
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Stealth is a 2005 action/adventure thriller starring Josh Lucas, Jessica Biel and Jamie Foxx. The movie is directed by Rob Cohen. Stealth was a that lost $99.6 million, one of the biggest box office losses of all time. [link]
Plot
In the near future, the U.S. Navy develops an Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle codenamed "EDI" (for "Extreme Deep Invader") and piloted by an artificially intelligent computer. This autonomous fighter jet is placed on an aircraft carrier (the USS Abraham Lincoln) in the Pacific to learn combat maneuvers from the human pilots aboard. Fatefully, the plane is hit by lightning, and soon develops a mind of its own.After disobeying direct orders and firing missiles at nuclear warheads (which results in a spread of radioactive material across a wide area), the humans are charged with stopping it before it incites a war. After losing one of the trio's pilots, the other two must track down and destroy or commandeer the UCAV. But when yet another of the group loses control of their left wing and canard and subsequently ejects over North Korea, only one pilot is left to stop the EDI from executing a 20 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 rescue it from falling into enemy territory as well as rescue his fallen comrade in Korea. After the final crash of the final Talon, the last pilot is almost assassinated by a secret corporation in Alaska, under the orders of his crooked CO. However, he escapes with the help of the EDI's designer. After flying a dangerous mission into North Korea, he manages to rescue his downed wingman. The EDI, in a final act of selflessness, sacrifices itself by flying into a North Korean Army helicopter, allowing the two pilots to escape into South Korea.
Featured Technologies
Stealth featured many new, future, or theoretical technologies at the time of release. These include:- A quantum computer-powered, pulse detonation engine
- Artificially intelligent UCAV (Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle)
- high-altitude airships (Camelhumps) used for aerial refueling
- The G36 rifle
- The MP7 personal defence weapon
- Sukhoi Su-37 Terminators
- The fictional F/A-37 Talon
- scramjet
- aeroelastic control surfaces
- Fuel-air explosives (mentioned)
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 "noninfringing". 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). [link] [Leo Stoller's blog]Soundtrack Listing
- Incubus
- * Make a move
- * Admiration
- * Neither of us can see
- * Aqueous Transmission
- Kasabian
- * L.S.F. (Lost Souls Forever)
- Institute featuring Gavin Rossdale
- * Bullet-proof skin
- Acceptance
- * Difference
- Dredg
- * Bug eyes
- Trading Yesterday
- * One day
- David Bowie and BT
- * (She can) Do that
- Sly and the family stone with Will.i.am
- * Dance to the music
- Glenn Hughes with Chad Smith and John Frusciante
- * Nights in white satin
Quotes
- "Goodbye, Henry." - EDI.
- "Tin Man will prosecute." - EDI
- "Where are you...I know you're out there." - Ben
- "I will blast your aeroelastic ass right out of the sky!" - Henry
Trivia
- Though they do possess some additional features (such as 'switchblade' wings that swing forward to join the canards) the Talons, though more angular, bear a striking resemblance to the Northrop Switchblade and the YF-19 prototype variable fighter from the Japanese animated OAV series Macross Plus released in 1994-1995 and the X-02 Wyvern from the Ace Combat video game series for the PS2. Further, the advanced UCAV EDI is in concept reminiscent of the unmanned Ghost Fighter (the X-9 Ghost) from that series, and has a number of features (aeroelastic wings) in common with the other fighter prototype, the YF-21. Also the scene in which the pilots are going over the data files on EDI is quite similar to one in which Isamu Dyson is examining the specs on the YF-21, and EDI's single red eye design and attempt to fight it's creators are reminiscent of Sharon Apple, the main protagnonist in the series. If there was any inspiration taken from this ten year old anime title, it has neither been mentioned in credits or bonus material on the Stealth DVD.
- The more recent anime OAV Sentou Yousei Yukikaze has numerous similarities worth noting, as its signature craft the FFR-31MR/D Super Sylph is similar in pilot/aircraft relationship as the Talon, as well as an uneasy alliance betweeen the principal pilot and an AI plane, in this case the protagonist Rei Fukai and the flight computer Yukikaze.
- 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.
- At the end of the movie, after the credits, there is a brief scene where the camera slowly zooms in on the wreckage at the DMZ. It zooms in on EDI's CPU, which suddenly lights up...showing that EDI is still "alive." This may or may not signal that there's more in the future.
- Wentworth Miller is the voice of EDI, in the movie.
See also
- Intelligent Fly-by-Wire
External links
- [Official website]
- [}}}] at Rotten Tomatoes
- [}}}] at Box Office Mojo
- [SoundtrackINFO]
- [STEALTH BLOG] [Maritimequest Filming Stealth photo gallery]
- [The science of Stealth]
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