December 13, 2004 - Fighter Pilot: Operation Red Flag follows the story of Captain John "Otter" Stratton, a 30-year-old F-15C Instructor Pilot, Flight Examiner, and Flight Commander within the 58th Fighter Squadron at Elgin Air Force Base in Florida. Stratton comes from a military background, determined to uphold the standards set by his grandfather, a decorated WW II flying ace. In the course of his impressive military career, Stratton has served three tours in Asia and logged 900 hours in the F-15C. The film centers around a training exercise called "Red Flag," in which pilots participate in a training mission intended to simulate aerial combat. This is the final training phase before pilots are sent into combat.

Fighter Pilot starts off with some background on Stratton's life as well as talk of his own and his grandfather's accomplishments. Soon after, we move into shots from within the cockpit of an F-15 as the jet glides across some breathtaking landscapes. There are some beautiful shots here, and the giant format of IMAX pulls you in so that you feel as though you are in the pilot seat. The next portion moves into instruction and set-up for the exercise. This is interesting at first, but gets a little dry as it goes along. The film starts to feel more like a training video for the military (which I believe is also one of its intents) than anything that will interest laymen beyond a very basic level.

As the story moves towards the aerial combat, things get a little more exciting. It's fascinating to see how the training exercises are set up. The jets launch into the sky, with each representing a different country, or team. Of course, this is simulation, so they aren't using actual ammunition. When one jet fires on another, its representation is shown on computer screen in the control room. These flight scenes give the chance for the IMAX format to again strut its stuff, as the jets maneuver through the simulated combat scenario, often narrowly avoiding collisions and enemy attacks. There are moments that look so chaotic, it's hard to imagine what it would be like to partake in a similar scenario outside of a training exercise's more controlled environment.

The IMAX format has always made aerial shots entertaining, pulling you in and even making audiences queasy at times. On the whole, however, Fighter Pilot seems less like a film intended to entertain mass audiences and more like a film for military enthusiasts and pilots in training. There are long and technical scenes that explain the training and the duties of the pilots. This is interesting on a surface level for anyone, but as they go more in-depth I felt very detached. IMAX films seem to exist largely on two levels, based on the ones I've seen. The first are ones with cheesy stories that serve as little more than an excuse to get to the 3-D effects, and the second are documentaries that attempt to thrill as they educate. Fighter Pilot is of the latter category, and while there's nothing revelatory here, it should provide occasional thrills. Likewise, my advice for checking out this film falls into two categories: For military laymen, this is a very reluctant recommend. For flight fans and those interested in military and aerial training, it's a high recommend.

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