In the last few years the major networks have deserted original programming for Saturday night. Once there were ground breaking shows like ‘All in the Family’ but no this evening is delegated t reruns of series the networks are currently pushing. Since most of the target demographic is out that night there is little financial incentive for the networks to waste expensive original show then. One network has continued to air new material, well sort of. The Sci-Fi Channel has become known for something many people call their ‘Saturday Night Specials’. They are flicks in the horror or science fiction vein that are made on the cheap, typically for around five million dollars. Most have become infamous for less then state of the art special effects, wooden acting and overly used stories. They get some Sci-Fi fans to watch by filling the cast with well known actors of the niche. While none of these movies are ever going to be hailed as great and many make the worse films lists, a few are more than workable. One such member of this group is ‘Warbirds’ by Kevin Gendreau. This flick is nothing special but it is above the curve set by others that the Sci-Fi Channel has been offering up. It is corny and predictable and the dialogue is hackney but overall it was fun to watch. Perhaps members of the Baby Boomer generation are move forgiving of flicks like this. We grew up in the fifties; a time when some truly bad Sci-Fi and horror flicks were turned out on a regular basis. Back then this was pretty much all we had to watch on a Saturday afternoon matinee. You could see the zippers in the monster costumes and the special effects were cheap and obvious but they helped us form a life long love of the genre. We would relish in the cheapness of the productions and that was part of the entertainment. Now, many viewers have grown up in the post ‘Star Wars’ generation. They expect the best special effects possible, more compelling stories and better acting. While this is a realistic expectation they should just let loose and enjoy the type of flick we used to watch each week. Many of these films have found their way to DVD. Some, like this one, are just right for a casual evening at home with some friends and copious quantities of beer and pizza. If nothing else consider it the home game version of ‘Mystery Science Theater 3000’.

Kevin Gendreau wrote and directed this flick. It is his first time directing a feature length film but he has two previous Sci-Fi horror movie scripts to his name. Admittedly there are many short comings here but there is a nugget of solid entertainment if you take the time to look and keep an open mind. It is set in the spring of 1945. As the title cards explain the war in Europe is winding down to a close with the Allied forces winning. It is a different story in the Pacific theater. There the Americans are still fighting against the tenacious Japanese forces. The battle is in the air and one an endless stream of small islands and atolls. On one such speck in the middle of the ocean a group of Japanese soldiers are busy digging tunnels to entrench themselves on the island. While digging they find some eggs; only they are far too large for any known bird. Suddenly a giant flying dinosaur attacks the men. We then move to a group of female pilots in a bomber. They are all gussied up with impeccable bright red lipstick and in the fashion of the day wearing pants. The skipper is Maxine ‘Max’ West (Jamie Elle Mann), a self assured and very competent aviator. At her side is the number two in command, Vicky Teeling (Gizza Elizondo). In the back working the radio and navigating are Hoodsie Smith (Lucy Faust) and Lana (Stephanie Honore). Hoodsie is the youngest of the crew, barely out of high school and is considered a bit silly for her perchance to comic books. This is basically the character distribution that was in constant use in the old forties war flicks. This is part of what works here. We grew up watching those movies as well and this is a nice little gender turn about. In one scene later on Hoodsie goes up to a soldier, Sergeant Murphy (Jon Mccarthy) that she was flirting with and gives him the ‘this might be my last night’ chat. Of course all she wants is a kiss which was as far as the film could go and keep Hoodsie’s innocent persona.

No sooner than Max and the girls get the plane to the base they are sent out on a top secret mission. They are placed under the command of Colonel Jack Toller (Brian Krause). They are to bring Toller to his destination and not ask questions about what he is conveying. It doesn’t take a genius to guess what that object is giving the time period and location. While flying over the same island as before they are attacked by the dino-birds. Max is pilot enough to bring them in for a landing without inflicting any additional damage. Once there they discover the island is overrun with the deadly creature. Of course, Max and Jack are always bickering and pushing for dominance. The group runs across the Japanese survivors and takes them captive. The leader of the Japanese squad, Ozu (Tohoru Masamune) has plans to get into the downed bomber to find out what top secret it contains. This ploy is so transparent that even Jack figures it out in no time at all. There are a bunch of gun fights with the creatures and a few attempts to use the Japanese Zeros that just happen too be there as escorts to get the bomber out. There is a flimsy excuse as to why the Japanese never used there own planes to escape but it makes minimal sense. After all this action and adventure the ladies’ lipstick remained perfectly applied at all times.

What did work here is the fact that Gendreau did not overdo it with the effects. In a typical Sci-Fi Channel flick there is usually a lot of gracious blood shed and a few limbs ripped off. Here this is kept down to a bare minimum and even then only at the very end of the film. The special effects of the creatures are about the same as you would see in a History Channel re-enactment of pre-historic times. That is to say that the masters of the art that created the dinosaurs for ‘Jurassic Park’ have absolutely nothing to worry about. The cast and crew appear to take themselves too seriously for they own good. It they just let people know that they were just having some fun here the overall effect would have been better. Like many of its brethren this flick comes to DVD through Starz / Anchor Bay. The technical specifications are excellent considering the low budget origins of the movie. This is not great but it does provide some degree of entertainment.