…one plot.
Unbelievably, I watched two movies that had more or less the same plot even though they were made by two different countries with presumably two different writers. Both of them are Top Gun knockoffs; Top Gun a la France as the French actor said, referring to his movie. The other is Top Gun… From Russia with Love.
In “Skyfighters”, hotshot French pilots unravel a terrorist plot where one of their planes would be used to attack the Paris Air Show and shoot down a tanker. The terrorists steal the Mirage by forcing the mirage down at an airstrip. How did they know which airstrip? By taking out the tanker so that the Mirages have no choice but to declare a fuel emergency and land there. Once there, the terrorists strike and kill one of the pilots in a fight. The other pilots are captured, except one is a traitor. The good guys escape and return home to fight the traitor. There is a climatic dogfight over Paris.
In “Mirror Wars”, hotshot Russian pilots unravel a terrorist plot where one of their planes would be used to attack the Moscow Air Show and shoot down Air Force One. The terrorists steal the Su-xx by forcing the Sukhoi down at an airstrip. How did they know which airstrip? By taking out the tanker so that the Su-xx has no choice but to declare a fuel emergency and land there. Once there, the terrorists strike and kill one of the pilots in a fight. The other pilots are captured, except one is a traitor. The good guys escape and return home to fight the traitor. There is a climatic dogfight over Moscow between the Su-XX and F-15s. The good guy who was drugged and strapped inside the Su-xx takes over and disengages from the dogfight.
Some more similarities: there is an unrealistic romance between two highly unlikely characters. There are international arms dealers. Most of the female characters in both movies have agendas – either in stopping the attack or taking part in the attack. They’re not like “Charlie” from Top Gun USA who has no bearing on the overall plot. And furthermore, both movies were kind of cheesy and over the top.
amicusveritae 