Within mere minutes the first impression the movie makes is that it's extraordinarily bad at introducing characters - communicating who they are, or what they do or represent. Within the next several minutes it becomes equally clear that film editing, sound editing, and the sound design at large are all over the place, practically haphazard, and the picture is scarcely any better at exposition, plot development, scene writing, or dialogue than it is at doing anything with its characters. I'm not familiar with filmmaker Lawrence David Foldes, nor anyone else who contributed to the writing - save for Henry Edwards, whose only other credit as a screenwriter appears to be the bizarre, extreme mixed bag that was 1978's Beatles jukebox musical 'Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.' None of this inspires confidence, and by the time fifteen minutes have elapsed, I'm led to deeply question my decision-making skills, for 'The great skycopter rescue' is quickly proving to be flummoxing, all but nonsensical, and inspiring skepticism more than entertainment. That impression does not substantially improve.
This is truly strange. James Courant's story comes across as a grab bag of ideas that he had at varying points and decided to throw all together in one tale, and the screenplay whipped up between Foldes, Edwards, and Tony Crechales doesn't particularly alter that notion. Every constituent part of the narrative seems like it's from something else entirely: the bikers, the eventual plot, the aircraft, each major character, and so on. I can't tell if the figure more or less set up as the protagonist, "Jimmy Jet," is the worst or best example. At various points he comes across as just another wacky whim of the writing, or possibly - and more smartly - a very reluctant and jaded protagonist, thrown into the course of events for no apparent reason. The latter tack would be kind of brilliant, but would require this to be sufficiently well composed in the first place to have given such thought to an FM radio DJ who wears a fake space suit and pretends to be from another planet because that's what the job requires (wait, what?), and who becomes embroiled in A Plot just because that's what The Movie requires. Instead, as the length advances interminably, it's evident that such a tack is entirely too witty for what the title represents.
This isn't downright terrible, and the news isn't all bad. Stunts, effects, and action sequences are mostly done well. There are suitable plot ideas in here, and small sparks of cleverness; again, Jimmy Jet could've been something cheeky and special depending on what way the feature went. It's weird and silly, but it could have also been earnestly enjoyable. "Could have been" doesn't sell tickets, however, and as it exists, 'The great skycopter rescue' is a great curiosity. Some scenes are frivolous, some are heavy-handed, some are flagrantly thin, some are perfectly sincere, some seem intended as parody, some are allowed to linger too long - and some are all of these things during the course of their duration, a sentiment that likewise applies to the effusive footage of "skycopters" in flight. (And if you're astonished at the song that is chosen to play over the climax, congratulations on having been born yesterday.) The acting follows the same slant, save for that some players (even Aldo Ray) comport themselves, and deliver their lines, so feebly that one could be forgiven for thinking they were total non-professionals just pulled off the street. William Marshall is the only point of consistency, but even at that I'm unsure if his overly dramatic performance is a superb choice for this mess or simply over the top. The best I can say for Foldes as director is that his contribution in that capacity was inconstant. The result of all this is a feature that's all but impossible to pin down, to the point that any value it does grasp at becomes mired in the end product.
There were many bits and pieces that could have been the saving grace of the picture. It could have been more genuine; alternatively, it could have fully leaned into the ridiculousness. Had it not approached the plot so weakly, loosely, and indifferently, or its writing broadly, a solid foundation might have seen it through otherwise tawdriness (also including, for the record, gratuitous nudity and needless homophobia in the dialogue). As it stands: I can't say I didn't have a good time watching, but I'm inclined to think that any amusement stemmed more from pure escapism, distracting me from a very bad day, than it did from actual quality. I'd rather outright hate a movie than be bored by it, and I wasn't bored by this, yet "like" surely isn't an appropriate word, either. This is so flimsy and uneven in every way that even forming a singular opinion becomes difficult. I appreciate the effort, and what 'The great skycopter rescue' had the potential to be; I also don't know who I could honestly recommend it to, except perhaps for those who are already truly receptive to all the wide, ludicrous possibilities cinema has to offer. Leave it for a lazy day when you're feeling especially curious, then just kick back and try not to laugh out of bewilderment.
