Gene Hackman plays an Admiral who is a Battle Group Commander of an aircraft carrier. He has to deal with a yo-yo higher up admiral who is willing to sacrifice Burnett for the sake of the fragile treaty. But the bad guys, who are trying to hunt Burnett down are lying through their teeth to the peace keepers, mercilessly kill his copilot and start chasing the surviving downed airman..

The story keeps a steady pace that maintains interest throughout the film(...)There are a few yards of experimental footage, where the camera shots are really jagged and bouncing. We didn't like it. It didn't seem to do anything except pull you out of the story and that's usually not a good thing. Of course it may have been that we arrived at the theater just in time and had to take a seat in the third row. That was not a bad sign, since the theater was filled.

My 95 year old Dad said he was going to see either this film or Spy Games. I suggested this one. I liked Spy Games better. It was smarter and a bit more complex. But this one, with it's more direct plot, without the flashbacks of Spy games, will be easier to follow. This film is also better for kids. Although there is enough war-oriented violence, it has no momentary flashes of nudity, which ruin some otherwise good films for kids (in my opinion as a parent of an 11 year old.)

Throughout the movie I was also reminded of the airman who got caught behind enemy lines for about a week, a few years ago. Apparently, this is not his story, but it added an interesting dimension to think about how there must have been some similarities between his experience and this movie. I had greater respect for him.

This was an enjoyable movie-- a good evening out-- but it was not a masterpiece. That's why I give it 4 stars.