Every so often, Hollywood astounds us by coming out with something truly remarkable. A film that challenges who we are as people, and asks pivotal questions about where we are going as a society. Those of us in the industry consider such films the highest form of cinema. It is apparent to us all that even within this highly select group of films, "Revenge of the Red Baron" is truly a stand out.Maguire's portrayal of troubled youth Jimmy Spencer is nothing short of spectacular. Unquestionably the film that made Maguire a household name, his performance is surpassed perhaps only by Kristin Horton's standout role as "...Nurse" in which she she brilliantly provides the loom on which director Robert Gordon weaves his carpet of brilliance."Dead neighbors make good fences..." & "Your security system is full of holes...", commentary made by the all too realistic looking Red Baron (John C. McDonnell), display the almost psychic ability of writer Michael McDonald to analyze the 21st century political agenda during the turmoiled 1994 year in which the movie was created. Terrifyingly accurate is disturbingly understated for the significance of this film.In a final move of brilliance, the movie closes with a shot of the red baron escaping from his plane via parachute, showing how then, as now, death & war are never truly over, and never truly forgotten. My only regret is that I will never be able to watch this movie for the first time again, and I can only hope that someday we may have a sequel.

I knew things were going to be bad when I saw the atrocious opening title sequence. I should've changed the channel right then and there, but in an act of intellectual masochism I kept on watching. Of all the historical figures they could've used for a horror flick, they chose the Red Baron? That level of stupidity alone is enough to drive most people away, but with a cast this good how could I resist (he said sarcastically). For his part Rooney is mostly unintelligible, and none of the actor's did a good job. The musical score was horrible, the effects were horrible, and I still haven't figured out what the deal was with all of the Baron's bad jokes. If you see this movie for free, you'd still have paid too much. Avoid at all costs. Since negative 5 isn't a choice, I'm giving this a 1 star rating.

Yesterday I saw this film on TV. The description (I have digital cable) said something along the lines of 'toy possessed by the spirit of the red baron stalks a family'. My thoughts: "Sounds odd, but I guess I can give it a whirl". What I wasn't prepared for though was that it was going to be one of the worst movies I have ever seen.The story: An old man (Mickey Rooney) who shot down the red baron years ago (and then built a toy airplane from the scraps of the 'barons' plane), and his family that he lives with begin to be attacked by said toy airplane after a big storm somehow magically transmits the 'barons' vengeful soul into said toy airplane.Yes, the concept is bad already, but the poor dialog, ultra cliché characters, overacting, poor special effects, and countless continuity errors strive to drive one thought into your head: "Why was this movie made"? For a "B" movie though, this does have its share of cheesy yet clever one-liners (mainly from the 'baron' as he needlessly slaughters many an innocent victim) that manage to evoke some pleasure from this film's viewing.This film has to have some of the most annoyingly cliché characters in the history of cinema. From the 'overly harsh' dad who doesn't make any time for his son, to the son (played by a young Tobey Maguire) who everyone else sees as 'troubled and untrustworthy', the the 'obnoxiously nosy' neighbor, to the 'fat cop' who is convinced 'the kid did it' even without a shred of real evidence, to the 'very rude' nurse and doctor. There are even a few more, but I think you get the idea. And with the exception of Maguire, Rooney, and Laraine Newman (the 'mom'), all of them make for some extremely unlikable characters.Special effects: strings. Yes, in almost every shot of the toy plane, you can see strings holding it up. Also, a few times the bullet holes in people don't show up at quite the right time when the 'baron' fires magically endless amounts of ammo from the small, fake, gun turrets on the plane.Speaking more of the magic bullets: one point in the film the 'baron' *SPOILERS* comes across a few shotgun shells. And somehow now he has unlimited machine gun ammo.I give this film 2* out of 10, only because a few specs of enjoyment can be scraped from its insanity.

Just got done watching this on cable. I really don't know what to think of it. It's very dumb, yet strange. A killer doll in a remote control airplane terrorizes a family and quips bad one-liners, that are never funny. Features a high body count, but no blood. Some of the murders are kinda mean-spirited. The scenes when the toy airplane goes after somebody are very bad, horribly done, yet funny. I guess it works for a boring Sunday afternoon. The random, senseless murders and shootings keep it going. The killer Red Barron doll is the worst villain I have ever seen in a horror film. A cast member from Mad TV wrote this movie. Go figure. Two stars.