Wizard-8
The fact that "Freedom Strike" was released by Royal Oaks Entertainment should tell you what this movie is like, but if not, let me enlighten you. The budget for this movie was rock bottom, with the filmmakers having to resort to techniques ranging from excessive stock footage use to Los Angeles locations used in a (failed) attempt to replicate Syria. But the biggest crime the movie makes is that it is incredibly dull. The action sequences are slow and clunky, and fail to raise tension in what should have been a nail-biting experience. (And I'm puzzled why the movie got an "R" rating, when the movie is clearly at a PG-13 level.) Dudikoff seems pretty bored, and second-billed Tone Loc is given very little to do. For some time, I have wondered why action star Michael Dudikoff had an over ten year gap on his acting resume where he didn't appear in any movies at all. After watching this movie, I have a pretty good theory - he was being offered nothing but garbage projects like this one.
tom-1081
well this movie is so crap. The story was rubbish, the actors were all b rate. The only plus side is that they have used a whole lot of unused aerial shots from the filming of top gun. There was even one shot that was in top gun that they used. This was a highlight being a top gun fan and an f14 fan. The tomcat was the only thing that made me watch past 5 minutes. I believe the f-14 squadron who did the flying looks to be the red lightnings that were disbanded in the early 1990s. I would love to watch all the aerial cinematography that they filmed for top gun but didn't use. Does any one know of any way this can be done???any way freedom strike was overall really really really bad. avoid it if you are not an f14 fan.
noelcox
This film is unbelievable on any level. It fails as an action film because no one would be fooled for a moment that the props, actors and scenery are realistic. It fails because even the most gung-ho would see through the hollow chauvinism portrayed by the film, a hypocritical might is right mentality.I'm afraid that I was also unable to enjoy this movue as an (unintended) comedy; it was too lame for that. This is a rewal pity, bebause with a bit of care and intelligence with the script, and more careful production and direction, it might have reached a 5 on the IMDb scale - I doubt that it could ever get much over that, given the inadequacy of the storyline.
MichaelM24
Even though I own the DVD and am a Michael Dudikoff junkie, I don't think I'd call this one of his bests. The story is average (U.S. forces fight against terrorists), the execution lackluster, with some limp direction (and editing) here and there. The quieter moments between Dudikoff and beautiful co-star Felicity Waterman are nice, showing a slightly-romantic side of Dudikoff that is rarely seen. I think he would do well in a romantic comedy. Tone Loc is okay, and the guy who plays the terrorist leader hams it up well enough. The action scenes are typical for these kind of low-budget movies (gunfire from ordinary machine guns seem to cause explosions upon impact, lots of bad guys die, some characters do stupid things like hesitate too long before firing, etc. etc.), the direction looks like it was phoned in, and it seemed like the writers changed plots twenty minutes into the film. Not among Dudikoff's best, but it would beat an infommercial late at night.