Aces: Iron Eagle III

This film incorporates most of the clichés, (republican) political themes,and formulae of modern military fiction, and tells a story about aging planes and the aging men who fly them fighting to avenge the honor of a fellow pilot and put a dent (more of a bomb crater) in the drug war. The film also adds some characterization and entertaining action sequences, and attempts, though not very effectively, to employ comic relief (Phill Lewis' character).

Lou Gossett Jr, Sonny Chiba, Chris Cazenove, and Horst Bucholtz play a team of exhibition fliers who put on air shows in authentic and semi-authentic WWII planes. Gossett also has a 'day job' at an air force base which is due to be closed. When one of Gossett's younger colleagues loses his plane and the wreckage is found to have been stuffed with cocaine, Chappy (Gossett) goes into action.

Meanwhile in Peru - where all of this will ultimately lead - our female lead, Anna escapes imprisonment by an ex-Nazi drug-lord who has taken over her small town. Anna is an athlete and appears to be about 23 years old. The character is played by Rachel McLish - who is, as of 2007, 51 years old. The film is 15 years old, so she was in her mid-30s when she made it. I had to look up her age three times before I could believe what I was seeing. McLish is not a bad actress, though not quite up to the level of the rest of the cast. She is, however, excellently physical, and would have made a great action star (I wouldn't be surprised if this option were still open to her).

A quarter of the way through the film, these two plots are about to coalesce.

If you're a fan of military fantasy, you just might enjoy this fairly silly but very pretty film. Others should probably avoid it.