Watch Fighter Pilot: Operation Red Flag For Free

Too much of everything

Redundant and unnecessary.

Must See Movie...

I wanted to but couldn't!

There are so many flaws in this film. I am a military buff and I've worked at an IMAX for years, so I've seen this film hundreds of times. I'm just going to list a few of the errors I've found in the film.Fake explosions. Clearly pyrotechnics during the last bombing run. When the A-10 shoots at the tank a fireball appears from the ground.Some scenes they reuse. They a mirror image in one scene fire the rockets at the air. I can tell because the writing on the rockets is reversed.They show a female pilot boarding a plane that says Captain Jim Worley on the side.They show American pilots boarding an Israeli Air Force F-16.In one scene they say "break left" they show the pilot move the stick left, but they then show the plane from the outside and its turning right.They show an F/A-18 approaching the runway head on, then they switch to a different camera and now all of a sudden its switched to an F-15 thats touched down on the runway.They are not using aggressor F-16s. Agressor F-16s would have blue or brown camouflage. Most scenes the aggressors are gray.They reuse scenes by filming a scene and inserting different CGI aircraft in. One scene they are flying over a bunch of tanks. They reuse this multiple times and simply insert different CGI aircraft to make it look like different shots.They show John Stratton flying an F-15C but from the outside often he is shown in an F-15E."Tractor" the aggressor is supposed to be flying an F-16, but in shots from the cockpit you can clearly see the twin tails of an F-15.At the end they do the picture with everyone and John Stratton blinks during the group portrait. It looks stupid, why couldn't they have freeze framed the shot a second earlier so his eyes were open? Or simply retaken the shot? Is it that hard? On a side note. Why do they keep dumping flares even when in a gun fight? Why do they never dump chaff or shoot beyond visual range missiles? I feel like they are excessively dumping flares because they think it looks cool on camera.All in all I think this was a poorly and hastily down film. They thought they could entertain the audience with fast jets and pyrotechnics. Perhaps they did, I thought it was OK the first time I saw it, but the more you see it the more you can see its faults all to clearly. I know most people only see an IMAX once, but I have seen other IMAX films many times as well, and have not caught nearly as many sloppy or technical errors as on this film.

If you don't understand what the directors when through then why do you automatically downplay the movie? This movie revolves around Captain Stratton a fighter pilot new to Operation Red Flag at Nellis air force base in Nevada outside Las Vegas.For the cinematography, it was excellent and well done. Of course not all the scenes where real, they couldn't have been. Do you really expect the air force to let a filming crew into a war zone with 120 million dollar fighters from over 5 different countries? The only CGI in the film was the '3D' fighter sequences onboard the AWACS and there was no CGI 'fire' when the fighters blew up tanks. Most everything was real with exceptions to the opening scene when they go through briefing the first time. With all the scenes using munitions, the camera crew was in fact there. In the 'bonus features' on the DVD if you rented it they even show how close they stood to one of the bombing runs.As for the rescue sequence when the pilot was 'downed' as part of the excercise, come on, do you really think the air force would conduct a rescue operation with a bunch of IMAX cameras hovering around a 'hidden' pilot and still called the mission 'practice for the real thing'? Obviously some things were 'staged' in this movie but what the film should be notorious for is the angles with which the camera captures. I guarantee you will see nothing on par with this in other films and the way the director accomplished this is truly 'stunning'.

(this movie has a an HD option which is playable on your windows XP PC.however,i just watched it on my standard TV.)i just finished watching this 48 minute feature.it wasn't quite what i had hoped.***possible spoiler ahead***the back cover of the DVD promises "thundering,roaring,screaming sound and stunning aerobatics that will blow you away" that's exactly what it says on the back cover of the DVD.i didn't see any of that.the movie is more about the training mission itself than anything.i still found it interesting though.Operation Red Flag is apparently the gold standard,when it comes to training,not just the pilots,but also the ground crew,for combat situations.although i don't think the movie delivered what it promised,i still thought it was entertaining and informative.there is also a 10 minute 'making of' feature which has some interesting things.anyway,my vote for Fighter Pilot:Operation Red Flag is a 6.5/10

Notwithstanding the outrageously low score awarded to this film by at least one self-proclaimed "frustrated" reviewer, this is a terrific flick.Obviously (and thankfully) exploiting the spectacular IMAX technology, director Stephen Low provides us, the uninitiated, with shot after shot of awesome and awe-inspiring aerial combat and the planes that participate in it. This is a movie that simultaneously wows us with aesthetics and excitement. Indeed, isn't that what fighter pilots have said so often - that 'it's beautiful but scary up there'.In addition to the breathtaking cinematography and heart-stopping action sequences, I was especially impressed by some of the less glamorous depictions. The shots inside the AWAC plane are simply exquisite. In fact, I would have guessed that the luscious views we see of the computer displays on board that intelligence craft would have forever remained off limits to us civilians. Likewise, we are treated to stunning panoramas of the airfield and runways at Nelles AFB. Wow! A super example of something that must be seen to be appreciated.And that's just it. 'Fighter Pilot: Operation Red Flag', Low's brilliant work, allows us to SEE modern air warfare first hand and up close. The IMAX process has never been put to better use.