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John Badham month: Drop Zone

A review by Brooks Rich

Oh yeah. One of my favorite action films of the nineties and one of my favorite Wesley Snipes films. This movie is just a great time. It's not art house cinema but it's not trying to be. This is one of those films I could finish and then immediately start back up and watch again.  It's Wesley Snipes tracking down a group of skydiving criminals led by Gary Busey. It doesn't get more nineties than that.

Snipes is US Marshal Pete Nessip. While escorting a federal witness with his partner, who also happens to be his brother Terry, played by Malcolm Jamal-Warner, Theo Huxtable himself, hijackers take over the plane, make off with the witness, and kill his brother. Snipes tracks the hijackers into the world of skydiving and teams up with a ragtag group of skydivers to help take down the hijackers and prevent them from stealing the identities of undercover federal agents.

Badham is at his best in this film. The aerial stunts are impressive and the skydiving feels real. This film would be a complete failure if this was just a bunch of green screen work. What green screen work there is blends in seamlessly with the aerial footage. Badham should be given full credit for the realism of the jumping scenes. He's got an aerial stunt team working their asses off to make sure the footage in the sky comes across as authentic.

Snipes and Busey are the heavy hitters here when it comes to acting in the movie. Busey is having a ton of fun as the villainous Ty Moncrief. Busey is always at his best when playing villains and although Moncrief is not as intimidating Mr. Joshua in Lethal Weapon, probably Busey's best villain, he's a fun character and a perfect foil for Snipes. Snipes is great and likable as always as Nessip. The supporting cast is also impressive with Yancy Butler as Snipes partner Jess, Andy Romano as Nessip's superior, the late great Michael Jeter as the escaped fugitive Leedy, and one of my favorite film characters ever, Kyle Secor as the daredevil skydiver Swoop. I needed a sequel with this guy. He's too much fun.

Drop Zone is a great action film that has sadly been forgotten and overshadowed by some of the other action heavyweights of the nineties. Check it out, sit back, and just have a great time.



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