Today’s quick review: Stealth. Navy pilots Ben Gannon (Josh Lucas), Kara Wade (Jessica Biel), and Henry Purcell (Jamie Foxx) are part of an elite unit equipped with the latest stealth fighters. Their mission changes when Captain George Cummings (Sam Shepard) assigns them a new wingman: an advanced AI named EDI (Wentworth Miller). But when EDI malfunctions and goes rogue, it is up to the human pilots to stop it before its actions kick off a war.
Stealth is a sci-fi action thriller about a drone AI that begins picking its own targets, forcing its fellow pilots to take desperate measures to bring it down. Stealth uses this setup as an excuse for action. Dogfights in futuristic planes, risky bombing runs, and the question of what to do with EDI all give the movie plenty of cheap thrills. The movie supplements these with some brief speculation on automation and the future of warfare.
However, Stealth’s main failing is that it doesn’t have much tact. The plot is simultaneously far-fetched and predictable, relying on contrived logic that has too much in common with other rogue AI stories. The characters are similarly shallow, with just a smidgen more development than the minimum required by the plot. None of this keeps the movie from being enjoyable for the right viewer, but it does make Stealth much more flash than substance.
Give Stealth a shot when you are in the mood for pure action with a simple plot. Stealth does not bring anything new to the table either in terms of its style or its story, but between its aerial combat and an amusing premise, it will entertain action fans who have their expectations set accordingly. Skip it if you are looking for a cerebral thriller or an in-depth look at the perils of AI.
For a more creative thriller about a rogue military AI, try WarGames. For a far-flung science fiction film about an AI that turns on the humans it is meant to serve, try 2001: A Space Odyssey. For a more colorful movie with a similar flavor of adventure, try G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra.
[5.1 out of 10 on IMDB](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0382992/). I give it a 6.0 to 6.5 for a decent action and a basic but serviceable plot.