Bullet Points: Final Mission (1994)
Here at Bulletproof Action, we pride ourselves on covering the world of action entertainment from A-Z.
This month has been a perfect example of that… we kicked things off with the Aaron Norris directed Delta Force 2: The Colombian Connection and we wrap up the month with a movie featuring Bulletproof Action favorite Zags (or Frank Zagarino for those not in the know).
It’s 1994’s Final Mission and it is our final post for Actionversary Month…
- Virtually Everywhere: The 1990’s were all in on virtual reality becoming a big part of the future, it popped up in numerous movies with Final Mission being another example. In Final Mission, virtual reality technology is being tested by the United States Air Force for a top secret project… however it doesn’t take long to realize that there’s something not quite right about this project. One of the four pilots selected for the program, David “Hound Dog” Matthews loses control in a real life exercise and he pays with his life. The pilot who was out with “Hound Dog” for what ended up being his final flight was Tom “Outlaw” Waters (Billy Wirth, Parker Kane). Waters questions if the VR technology could have glitched causing the demise of his fellow pilot. But the head of the program, Colonel Greg Anderson (Steve Railsback, Private Wars) immediately shoots that theory down. The Colonel is backed up by General Breslaw (Corbin Bernsen, Depth Charge) who talks about the importance of the program and the Secretary of Defense’s one-man crusade to cut funding for electronics programs like this.
- Gaslighting: Tom isn’t the only one who has his suspicions about the death of David Matthews. David’s widow, tells Tom about the nightmares he started having after the VR project started and how he used to never have trouble sleeping before that. She believes someone did something to her husband, which is food for thought for Tom. However, Tom is soon going to have his attention divided when he meets the beautiful Caitlin Cole (Elizabeth Gracen, The Expert) at the gas station on his way home. Tom tries to impress her with some top flight pickup lines and while she resists at first, the two end up back at her place and things enter the realm of Skinemax… When Tom gets the journal that “Hound Dog” kept, he becomes fixated on a page detailing the nightmares “Hound Dog” was having, pulling Caitlin into his conspiracy theory… and Caitlin doing her best to steer him away from that line of thinking, almost like she was being paid too. Hmmm…
- Reality Check: When another pilot, Daniel “Cowboy” Riley ,starts exhibiting similar behaviors that “Hound Dog” was, Tom can’t help but say something to him. “Cowboy” denies there’s anything wrong and the two hop in their planes and pick up where the failed test ended earlier… and much like “Hound Dog” at one point, “Cowboy” goes into business for himself and ends up blowing up a police cruiser and then circling back and shooting the cop who was able to run away from his car before it exploded. Only to follow that up with killing himself inside the cockpit. Now Tom REALLY knows there’s some bullshit going on… while the Colonel and the General tell him that Riley was probably on drugs. Things get worse later that night when Riley realizes that Caitlin is in cahoots with Colonel Anderson! This leads to Tom leaving Caitlin’s abruptly and realizing he is being followed, the perfect setup for a car chase and Tom causing his pursuer to wreck. Meanwhile, Colonel Anderson gets a call in his office, he tells whoever is on the other end of the line that he’ll be right there… and that is the last we see of Colonel Anderson.
- Brainwashed: The next day, Caitlin is arrested for the murder of Colonel Anderson and this was about the time I asked myself wasn’t Frank Zagarino in this movie!?! Zags popped up in the briefing following the demise of “Hound Dog” and then there was no sign of him since. But with three members of the VR project dead, Frank “Flash” Toto (Frank Zagarino, Project Shadowchaser II) is called into action to fly with Tom AND suiting up for the big FINAL MISSION, General Breslaw himself. By this point we now know these pilots were being brainwashed and Breslaw is trying to use the brainwashing to KILL his political enemy the Secretary of Defense, which was the perfect topper for a convoluted third act.
Final Mission really needed to pick a lane. Was it gimmicky VR action movie? Was it an erotic thriller? Or was it an action thriller? If it would have selected one of these things to be instead of trying to be all three, it would have been a significantly better movie. It also needed more Zags and light… there were so many dark scenes. I assume this was an artistic choice to contrast the bright and colorful flying exercise and accentuate the “black project” these pilots found themselves a part of… but it didn’t do much for my viewing experience.
Hopefully these Bonus Bullet Points will do something for your reading experience…
- Familiar Face: Richard Bradford plays Maurice Vick. Vick was in near constant contact with Colonel Anderson. I assume he was a member of the intelligence community, listening in on Caitlin and Tom’s conversations or just missed when the movie made that clear. I recognized Bradford from his work in Little Nikita and The Untouchables.
- The Name Game: Not to be confused with 1984’s Final Mission directed by Cirio H. Santiago.
- Bastard Count: There were a total of three “bastards” in Final Mission. Two were directed towards Zags’ Frank “Flash” Tato and one was directed at Tom “Outlaw” Waters.
- The Password Is: The password to access Colonel Anderson’s computer is “Final Mission”.
