Today’s quick review: Drop Zone. U.S. Marshal Pete Nessip (Wesley Snipes) is transporting Earl Leedy (Michael Jeter), a convicted hacker, to another prison when Ty Moncrief (Gary Busey) stages a daring midair jailbreak, causing an explosion and parachuting out of the plane with Earl in tow. Not convinced that Earl died in the blast, Pete asks Jessie Crossman (Yancy Butler), an ace skydiver, to help him find the person responsible.
Drop Zone is an action thriller starring Wesley Snipes. When he superiors refuse to investigate the brazen crime he witnessed, a U.S. Marshal enters the world of skydiving in search of answers. Drop Zone features a solid setup for an action movie, but it takes a while to get going. After a few missteps coming out of the gate, it settles into a competent thriller with a unique gimmick.
Drop Zone fumbles some of the key elements of the action genre, beginning with its hero. Pete has no clear identity for the first half of the movie, getting stuck between an action hero and an ordinary man. Instead of establishing his skills, Drop Zone throws him loss after loss, even making him the butt of a few jokes. This would work fine in a more comedic movie, but with the serious tone it’s going for, Pete just looks inept.
Thankfully, Drop Zone straightens out as the plot gains speed. Pete grows a personality and gets to show off his fighting prowess. The skydiving moves from an uncomfortably drawn-out lead to a central component of the plot. And while Ty and his crew never become the villains the movie wants them to be—thanks to their unstable personalities and lackluster plan—they do pose enough of a threat to get the action moving again.
The result is an imperfect but ultimately satisfying action thriller. How much you get out of Drop Zone will depend on how well you like the genre and how patient you are willing to be with the movie’s flaws. Fans who are a little forgiving will appreciate it for its decent plot and skydiving action. However, fans who are more critical can do better without much effort.
For another action thriller about extreme sports, try Point Break or xXx. For a similar action thriller about the fallout of a midair robbery, try Cliffhanger. For an over-the-top action movie about a hijacked prison flight, try Con Air. For a more polished action thriller with Gary Busey as a traitorous hijacker, try Under Siege.
[5.6 out of 10 on IMDB](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0109676/). I give it a 6.0 to 6.5 for a shaky start and a decent finish.