Amy Adler Jimmy (Tobey Maguire) is a teen still seething from his parents divorce. All too often he gets angry at school and, finally, he is suspended for confronting a teacher. His mother (Laraine Newman) loses patience and forces Jimmy to spend some time with his wealthy but uncaring dad. Now, Jimmy has lists of chores to do and nothing is ever good enough for his working-on-my-tan father. The only bright spot is the chance to see his grandfather (Mickey Rooney), a semi-invalid who bunks with his son. When they get some free time, G-pa and Jim fly the older man's prize possessions, two remote control airplanes. One of the flying machines is a WW I American vessel, the other, a replica of the Red Baron's plane. One day, sadly, Grandpa has a fall and ends up in the hospital. After this, strange events occur. The Red Baron plane begins to fly on its own, with a nasty mini-German pilot with an urge to kill. Jimmy has a few narrow misses and his dad sends him to counseling, refusing to believe his story. Then, Dad gets attacked in his own swimming pool and dies. Jimmy is blamed and jailed. But, at a tense moment, his mother comes to realize her son is telling the truth and breaks her son out of lockup to escape. Will they? Can anything stop this Chucky in the air? This horrible film is for absolutely nobody. Children should definitely not be allowed to see it and fans of horror films probably won't like it either. Rooney, who is still charming, must have been out of his mind to agree to star in it, and Maguire, Newman, and all of the others were likely temporarily insane, too. With a different approach, such as the Red Baron just making messes instead of murdering folks, it might have worked. But, no costumes, script, direction, actors, or anything else could save this bomb. The best revenge here is to steer far, far away from this disaster of a flick.

Wizard-8 Most actors do not start off their careers by appearing in lead roles in "A" movies. Usually they have to get whatever parts they can get, and that includes Tobey Maguire, who appeared in this Roger Corman production before he was famous. After watching this movie, I am sure that today he is very embarrassed by this early effort, especially when it was re-released on DVD with his name prominently plastered on the front of the DVD case.What went wrong with this movie? Plenty! First of all, while this movie is marketed towards a family audience, it is NOT appropriate for children. The first clue should be its PG-13 rating ("For some violence", according to the MPAA) This movie has some scenes of violence that will freak some kids out, like the protagonist's father being electrocuted to death, people shot and sporting bloody wounds, and much more. But the movie also earns its rating with plenty of foul language, with characters using words such as "s**t" and "a**hole".So the movie is not for kids. But it's also not for adults. There is not one likable character in the movie. Even the paramedics are shown to be nasty! Add terrible special effects, unconvincing acting, really stupid decisions by the characters, and no explanation as to how the protagonists lose their "wanted" status by the police at the end of the movie, and you have one terrible movie. It's not even so-bad-it's-good to watch.

creadler 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.

Jay Harris The only reason I recorded & watch this film, was because of MICKEY ROONEY, & as usual the mighty Mick, does another good job, & why not he has been in films for 75 yrs. There never was a more talented actor.Another reason to watch is to see Tobey Maguire in one of his first films.The film itself is a silly stupid comedy, fantasy, IT IS NOT A HORROR FILM by any stretch of imagination.The rest of the cast is adequate to say the least.For fans of the 2 actors only & if you have nothing better to do.rating **1/2 /4----- 67/100 points IMDb 5/10