A daring prison break from an airliner at 30,000 feet leaves U.S. Marshal Pete Nessip mourning a brother and gunning for revenge. After being ordered to turn in his badge, he seeks out Jessie Crossman, a noted skydiver, and offers to sponsor her crew for the annual Independence Day parachuting show in Washington, D.C., if she trains him. Meanwhile, the mastermind behind the mid-air jailbreak is planning a daring computer theft on Independence Day.
Practical Effects
Real skydivers filmed actual freefall sequences—no greenscreen cowards here
Stunts
Mid-air plane transfers and terminal velocity fights still slap
Acting
Gary Busey as unhinged villain Ty Moncrief—career peak unhinged
Director
John Badham
Wesley Snipes
Pete Nessip
Gary Busey
Ty Moncrief
Yancy Butler
Jessie Crossmann
Michael Jeter
Earl Leedy
Corin Nemec
'Selly' Selkirk
Kyle Secor
Swoop
Luca Bercovici
Don Jagger
Malcolm-Jamal Warner
Terry Nessip
Rex Linn
Bobby
Grace Zabriskie
Winona
Robert LaSardo
Deputy Dog
Sam Hennings
Torski
Claire Stansfield
Kara
Mickey Jones
Deuce
Andy Romano
Tom McCracken
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Director John Badham insisted on real skydivers for all major sequences; Wesley Snipes did limited jumps but most close-ups use doubles.
This film rode the early-90s extreme sports wave alongside Point Break, directly inspiring actual skydiver recruitment spikes in 1994-95.
US
