''Red Sky'' (previously known as ''Kerosene Cowboys'') is a 2014

straight-to-DVD Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, television series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strateg ...

action/thriller film directed by

Mario Van Peebles Mario Van Peebles (born January 15, 1957) is a Mexican-born American director and actor. He is best known for appearing in ''Heartbreak Ridge'' in 1986, and known for directing and starring in ''New Jack City'' in 1991, and ''USS Indianapolis: ...

and starring

Cam Gigandet Cameron Joslin Gigandet (; born August 16, 1982) is an American actor whose credits include a recurring role on '' The O.C.'' and appearances in feature films ''Twilight'', '' Pandorum'', '' Never Back Down'', ''Burlesque'', '' Easy A'', ''Pries ...

Shane West Shannon Bruce Snaith (born June 10, 1978), better known as Shane West, is an American actor, singer and songwriter. He is known for his portrayal of Eli Sammler in the ABC family drama ''Once and Again'', Landon Carter in '' A Walk to Remember' ...

and

Rachael Leigh Cook Rachael Leigh Cook (born October 4, 1979) is an American actress and model. She has starred in the films ''The Baby-Sitters Club (film), The Baby-Sitters Club'' (1995), ''She's All That'' (1999), and ''Josie and the Pussycats (film), Josie and ...

.comingsoon.net - Threesome Joins Kerosene Cowboys
/ref>MovieWeb - 3 Ride to Kerosene Cowboys
/ref> Adam Prince and Van Peebles wrote the screenplay based on a story by Nikolay Suslov and Dave Riggs, who in turn based the story on characters from the novel ''Kerosene Cowboys: Manning the Spare'' by Randy Arrington. It is a Russian-American co-production ( Svarog Films and Afterburner Films), supported by both Russian and American military forces. The film has been described as a "''

Top Gun ''Top Gun'' is a 1986 American action drama film directed by Tony Scott and produced by Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer, with distribution by Paramount Pictures. The screenplay was written by Jim Cash and Jack Epps Jr., and was inspired ...

''-style pic" about pilots of an elite naval attack squadron.

Plot

In 2001 in Iraq, two

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest displacement, at 4.5 million tons in 2021. It has the world's largest aircraft ...

pilots—Butch Masters and Tom Craig—are ordered to bomb an abandoned plant. The order appears to be false. American experts get killed in the plant. A secret chemical device, called "Rainmaker", designed for the biological destruction of oil, gets stolen. The military court cannot prove the pilots' intentions, and gives them a dishonorable discharge. After seven years Craig is rich and famous. He manages a private pilot team, working for Top Gun and for movies. Masters is a grease monkey in a small airport. He still tries to investigate his old case, and dreams of his own pilot's team. In order to get a license to fly Russian jets, Masters goes to

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...

, where he meets old friends and new problems. At the same time, a

Kurdish Kurdish may refer to: *Kurds or Kurdish people *Kurdish language ** Northern Kurdish (Kurmanji) **Central Kurdish (Sorani) **Southern Kurdish ** Laki Kurdish *Kurdish alphabets *Kurdistan, the land of the Kurdish people which includes: **Southern ...

militant group plans to capture a part of Northern Iraq and found a new Kurdish state there. They plan to use Rainmaker to destroy oil fields there and make the territory uninteresting for Americans. The terrorists' base is located in

Northern Iran Northern Iran (), is a geographical term that refers to a relatively large and fertile area, consisting of the southern border of the Caspian Sea and the Alborz mountains. It includes the provinces of Gilan, Mazandaran, and Golestan (ancie ...

, and cannot be reached by the US military. There is a deadly side of the Rainmaker technology - its byproduct is a toxic and radioactive

aerosol An aerosol is a suspension (chemistry), suspension of fine solid particles or liquid Drop (liquid), droplets in air or another gas. Aerosols can be generated from natural or Human impact on the environment, human causes. The term ''aerosol'' co ...

which gathers in the atmosphere and can generate toxic rain which kills every living thing. Navy intelligence offers Masters to clear his name by performing a secret off-record mission to Iran with a team of retired pilots. Using unmarked planes, they have to bomb the base and destroy "Rainmaker". Doomed to death, betrayed by friends, and left in the

Syrian Syrians () are the majority inhabitants of Syria, indigenous to the Levant, most of whom have Arabic, especially its Levantine and Mesopotamian dialects, as a mother tongue. The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Syrian people is a blend ...

desert, Masters and his team find unexpected support from the

Russian Knights The Russian Knights () is an aerobatic demonstration team of the Russian Air Force. Originally formed on April 5, 1991 at the Kubinka Air Base as a team of six Sukhoi Su-27s, the team was the first to perform outside the Soviet Union in Septe ...

aerobatic team. Russians and Americans go to the final battle side by side.

Cast

as Butch Masters, a hot-shot pilot. *

as Tom Craig, Masters' one-time best friend-turned-nemesis. *

as Karen Brooks, an investigative journalist and the love interest of Gigandet's character. *

as Jason Cutter *

Bill Pullman William Pullman (born December 17, 1953) is an American actor. After graduating with a Master of Fine Arts degree in theater, he was an adjunct professor at Montana State University before deciding to pursue acting. Pullman made his film debut i ...

as John Webster *

Troy Garity Troy Garity (born July 7, 1973) is an American actor. He is known for his role as Isaac in the ''Barbershop'' film series and as Barry Winchell in the television movie '' Soldier's Girl'' (2003), where he was nominated for a Golden Globe Award fo ...

as Luke "Cajun" Babbineaux, a ragtag Navy fighter pilot. *

Jason Gray-Stanford Jason Gray-Stanford (born May 19, 1970) is a Canadian actor. He is best known for playing Lieutenant Randy Disher in the USA Network television series ''Monk'' and for voicing the role of Raditz in the Ocean Productions dub of '' Dragon Ball Z ...

as Arliss "Skids" Skidmore, a ragtag Navy fighter pilot. *

Jacob Vargas Jacob Vargas is a Mexican-American actor, producer, and dancer. Early life Vargas was born in Michoacán, and raised in Pacoima, Los Angeles. He was raised in a devout Roman Catholic family. He attended high school at San Fernando High School ...

as Jorge "P-Dawg" Vasquez, a ragtag Navy fighter pilot. *

JC Chasez Joshua Scott "JC" Chasez (; born August 8, 1976) is an American singer, songwriter, actor, dancer, and record producer. He started his career as a singer, actor, and dancer on '' The All-New Mickey Mouse Club'' before rising to prominence as a ...

as Alex Cruz * Kyle T. Heffner as Shadowy Government Operative

Production

Music

The film's music was scored by Timothy Williams. The soundtrack was released digitally on August 5, 2014.

References

External links

* * {{Mario Van Peebles 2014 films American aviation films Films directed by Mario Van Peebles Films set in the 2000s Techno-thriller films 2010s English-language films 2010s American films Films scored by Timothy Williams (composer)