Plot: Elite Apache helicopter pilots are tasked with destroying powerful armed drug cartels operating in South America.
I was wondering why I had never heard of Fire Birds before, but then I watched it and remembered in the UK it was called Wings of the Apache. This was actually a favourite of mine growing up and stars Nicolas Cage, Tommy Lee Jones and Sean Young. It’s basically a recruitment video for the US Military and by the time the end credits role I was always ready to become an Apache helicopter pilot.
Nicolas Cage plays the arrogant Jake Preston who is actually quite insufferable for a lot of the runtime, but we still root for him because of Cage’s gonzo antics. He has a few classic Cage moments like kicking the sky when he’s rejected by Billie (Young) and you occasionally wonder why no one tells him to shut the fuck up, occasionally.
Tommy Lee Jones plays Preston’s new mentor Brad Little who wants to get in on the action, but he’s considered too old and valuable, so he’s stuck being a trainer. As this is a movie, for the finale, he of course gets to fly into battle with Preston and gets shot down like a loser. Brad is still one of Jones’ most likeable characters who is always good natured and never loses his temper with Preston because he sees what a gifted pilot he is.
The first half is the training part of the movie then the final half hour is Preston and the gang going into battle to take out the cartels and it’s the real highlight with some fantastic aerial dogfights. There are plenty of explosions and thrills and the runtime of 85 minutes is pleasingly brisk. It’s well paced and the kind of movie that’s easy to watch no matter how many times you’ve seen it. I’d love for it to get a proper 4K remaster with some special features as it’s a movie that isn’t talked about much these days.
Keep an eye out for Marshall R. Teague who plays Doug Daniels and the always reliable J.A. Preston as General Olcott.
Overall, after 35 years Wings of the Apache AKA Fire Birds is an entertaining military actioner with Nic Cage doing what he does best and Tommy Lee Jones on surprisingly cheerful form which is most unlike him. The final half hour has some great action scenes making this a movie that deserves a bit more love.