A joint task force operation between the Drug Enforcement Administration and the U.S. Army has been formed to dismantle one of the largest drug cartels operating in South America. Multiple attempts to assault the cartel's mountainous compound have been thwarted by a Scorpion-attack helicopter piloted by a cartel leader, Eric Stoller (Bert Rhine). After having several aircraft shot down, most notably a pair of UH–60 Black Hawks and their AH–1 Cobra escorts, the army turns to the new AH–64 Apache attack helicopter, which can match its enemies' maneuverability and firepower.
| Tagline | The best just got better |
| Release Date: | May 25, 1990 |
| Genres: | Action, Adventure |
| Production Company: | Nova International Films, Touchstone Pictures |
| Production Countries: | United States of America |
| Casts: | Nicolas Cage, Tommy Lee Jones, Sean Young, Bryan Kestner, Dale Dye, Illana Diamant, Peter Onorati, Marshall R. Teague, Gregory Vahanian, Cylk Cozart, Charles Kahlenberg |
| Status: | Released |
| Budget: | $22000000 |
| Revenue: | 0 |
**A miserably bungled Top Gun impersonation with helicopters… why?** Lame Top Gun with helicopters. Almost everything is a straight rip-off. Nic Cage is a much more exaggerated Maverick. Tommy Lee Jones fills the Viper role. Flight school. Overly cocky pilots. Contentious playful romance. Fire Birds so closely replicated Top Gun that it forced a comparison that Fire Birds lost miserably. The cheese factor was cringe. The soundtrack was nowhere near the quality of Harold Faltermeyer’s anthem. David Green couldn’t measure up to Tony Scott’s directing mastery. Even with some of the 90s’ bigger stars, Fire Birds couldn’t burn bright.
