Stealth... because someone had to start the topic

Not that there would be many people in the theater to see this movie, but why would you ruin other people’s movie experience?

I had the EXACT same experience.

Actually, heckling might make the movie more entertaining.

  • Alan

Wasn’t Macross Plus’s flight innovation planes that could fly via direct command from the pilot’s brainwaves? I thought Stealth’s idea was that AI planes replaced pilots in the cockpit? Its been a long time since I’ve seen it, but if I remember correctly Macross Plus was more centered around Sharon Apple, wasn’t it?

In any case, when I saw the trailer to Stealth, I thought it was a great premise…for an 80’s comedy! Think of it! Iron Eagle meets Short Circuit (and maybe a little, just a litte now, of Flight of the Navigator)! They could even have a scene where Stealth gets curious about human emotions and they have a party out on the airstrip, when someone decides to give him some alcohol in his fuel slot and that night Stealth gets cocky and goes bombing China in a drunken lark. In the morning, World War 3 has started. Stealth gets berated by everyone and is loved by no one, and really sad, sappy music starts playing when the requisite cute blond girl comes out with her teddy bear and wraps her arms around his wheel, saying, “I still love you Stealth.” (Cause of that scene where Stealth rescued her cat when it was about to fall off the skyscraper.) So anyway, Stealth then leaves forever, dejected and there’s the scene of everyone regretting treating him so badly, “Stealth’s gone…‘I’m going to where I won’t bother anyway.’”

So Stealth flies around the world when his fuel goes out and he crash lands…in China! Wherein an old Chinese pilot finds him and he brings joy to an orphanage by giving the children free rides at Mach 3! He even helps save the orphanage when they create a carnival and charges tickets to ride Stealth. Eventually the Chinese government finds out and Stealth wins them over too and they decide to cancel World War 3 because riding Stealth is just too much fun. And then the Chinese even decide not to be Communists anymore and back home Stealth is greeted to a great 80’s clap scene as everyone acknowledges how he saved the day. Then Will Smith comes in at the very end and jams with Stealth.

And then there can be a sequel where Stealth saves the world from aliens! ^_^

-Kitsune

Holy shit, I just snarfed orange juice. That burns.

Where were you when they were making this movie? Your movie sounds way better than what they actually ended up making.

Wasn’t Macross Plus’s flight innovation planes that could fly via direct command from the pilot’s brainwaves? I thought Stealth’s idea was that AI planes replaced pilots in the cockpit? Its been a long time since I’ve seen it, but if I remember correctly Macross Plus was more centered around Sharon Apple, wasn’t it?

Macross Plus had both. It was a competition between a new design for a conventionally piloted jet, one controlled via a direct interface with the brain and the spoiler was a totally automated jet piloted by an AI. And yeah, a lot of it was about Sharon Apple and the singing and the fucked up youth of the pilots. My copy’s on VHS and my VCR’s broken so I haven’t seen it in a while either, though.

There’s a very particular reason why Foxx gets third billing in what happens in the movie. I wouldn’t want to spoil an already spoiled movie for you however…

Macross Plus did not suck - it was bad ass. The plot is somewhat similar - an advanced un-manned combat aircraft is introduced just as new manned fighter concepts are being tested by UN Spacey (note that UN Spacey has been using un-manned Ghost fighters since before the time of Macross - they are shown briefly in the TV series and in Macross Zero).

At the same time, a computer AI pop idol is making the popular rounds (Sharon Apple), though secretly the AI is actually created by using Myung’s (who used to sing when she was young) brainwave patterns. Myung was once and essentially still is involved in a love triangle with Guld and Dyson, both of whom just happen to be competing test pilots with UN Spacey - and eventually get relegated for the new advanced Ghost concept. Dyson, being the rebel, decides to upstage the Ghost during its unveiling ceremony on Earth, Guld follows to stop him - mainly just to work out his frustrations/hate for Dyson (a childhood friend). At the same time, the Sharon Apple AI works out Myung’s hidden love for Dyson in rather psychopathic ways, integrating with various defense networks and taking over the Ghost fighter.

So basically they are similar but in Stealth the advanced AI plane gets struck by lightning and observing the human pilots’ rogue-ish behavior basically goes and does whatever it wants. At the end it… well… it’s pretty dumb all around.

— Alan

So they design and spend billions on the ultimate AI weapon but don’t shield it from lightning. Makes sense. The screen writers must have been inspired by the Star Trek school of electronic circuitry.

Astro boy!

The AI is John Carptenter’s Dark Star wasn’t particularly evil was it?

Then there’s A.I.

— Alan

Then there’s A.I.

I still want that damn teddy bear from that movie. I would kill for that thing.

“Don’t. You’ll break.”

I don’t know why the Hell I like A.I. I wish Kubrick had lived long enough to finish it. Apparently, he couldn’t figure out how to end the thing, so he gave it to Spielberg, who piled on a millenia of schmaltz. So, you got Kubrick fans (like me) making a face at the ending and you got Spielberg fans making lots of faces through the beginning and most of the film.

See, I have a pet theory. It’s my belief that although Kubrick’s films are widely disparate in setting (probably deliberately) they mostly all have one connecting theme or intent: to make the viewer uncomfortable as Hell. It’s obvious and integral in fims like Full Metal Jacket or A Clockwork Orange (or any of his earlier war films), but you can see it other films as well, just not as a major component of the main plot or theme. Disturbing situations and themes like insanity (Jack Torrance, HAL-9000, General Turgidson, Private Pyle), war, prizefighting, deceptively dystopian futures. Kubrick, like any director who gives a shit about the films he makes, wanted to evoke a response from his audience. He preferred to disturb them, tempering that with humor and deliberately bizarre situations. The ending of Dr. Strangelove is as disturbing as it is funny.

So it was with AI. But, Kubick let the story get away from him and he knew it. Plus, it was more or less your usual Robots Aren’t Human…Are They? stuff we’ve seen a bajillion times. The Pinocchio angle was kind of neat, but overdone by the end. And Robin Williams as the Oracle or whatever was awful, like Chris Rock’s robot,which just made that whole Carnival of Flesh or whatever scene all the more mawkish.

Meanwhile, I loved Eyes Wide Shut. What a great theme. Which is more infidelitious, intent without action (as in the case of Tom Cruise’s character) or action without intent (Kidman’s character’s dreams)? Admittedly, the film did not need 3 hours to tell its story, and most of its menace was artificial. I loved the orgy scene, it was utterly bonkers and I’m glad Stanley got to toss out one more curveball before he died.

Anyway, Robots. Yeah.

I am gonna have to watch AI again. I so want that teddy bear :(

Maybe we should start a new topic about it, but I hated Macross Plus. The whole singing thing really ruined it for me, but even the fighting scenes and such weren’t great, IMO. Overall, I was disappointed. But I am NOT an anime expert or anything.

I think they should have hire Kitsune as the screenwriter for Stealth because that was the funniest thing I have read all week. Good job!

As for Stealth, I really only have two observations. First, how much money can you sink into advertising and hope that it turns steaming shit into shining gold? Apparently an unlimited amount judging by how many hundreds of times a day I saw a preview for Stealth on EVERY channel on cable. May it die a swift death. And two, Jamie Foxx should bitchslap his agent very hard for letting him wade into this pile. He was starting to build some credibility as an actor with great roles in Collateral and Ray. Hopefully he steers back on track sooner rather than later.

Hey Bill, I’m too lazy to Google it, but I remember reading a lot about A.I. and the story back when the movie came out and I’m pretty sure the ending (including the part with the mom) was there when Kubrick was still working on it. Turns out I’m the only person who actually liked the ending. Anyway, stop blaming Spielberg. He made the only movie this summer that you have to see to believe.

Yup, I’ve also hear that AI’s ending is straight from Kubrick. Don’t have any links handy though.

Deep at the heart of any Macross show is music; in some shows it is the underlying heart, others it’s just themeatic (sometimes in the same show it’s both).

On a list of the least silly to most silly implementation of music (song) in the series I’d go:

  • Macross Plus - Mainly an emotional trigger used to connect the main characters
  • Macross - where music the embodiment of culture - or in this case “protoculture” - lost by the Zentradi/Meltradi
  • Macross Zero - kind of a combination of the two above, with the added case that song is the vocal component of a much stronger force
  • Macross 7 - goes way overboard with song being an extremely strong force that saves the galaxy, the universe, and everything

— Alan

I also heard the AI ending was Kubricks and also have no link to back it up. :)

He was starting to build some credibility as an actor with great roles in Collateral and Ray.

IIRC, he signed on to do Stealth before both of those came out. Next up for him is “Jarhead,” directed by Sam Mendes, which is a bit more prestigous.