This supersonic adventure puts you in the hot seat of a Navy Stealth bomber and features cool humor as well. Within the Navy is a crack unit of three Stealth pilots (culled from thousands of applicants, we’re told) and their aircraft, charged with guarding the world from terrorism. We’ve seen a Stealth jet up close in flight twice and it’s indeed an impressive machine. The mod squad team is lead by Lt. Ben Gannon (Josh Lucas of "Wonderland" and "Secondhand Lions"), Kara Wade (Jessica Biel, "Blade Trinity" and "Cellular") and Henry Purcell (Oscar winner Jamie Foxx for "Ray"). They are quick thinking, top gun pilots who allow you to sleep at night in a scary world because they are on active duty. Their commander, Capt. George Cummings (Sam Shepard) is a military man who has been tested in battle many times. He works all kinds of deals to keep his elite group of planes and pilots front and center in the war to protect the world.

One of Cummings’ special projects is a "fourth man" that will join the squadron, which the trio does not look forward to. "Four is not a prime number…and is unlucky," insists Purcell. It lands on the aircraft carrier at twilight and when the hatch opens there is no pilot. The drone Stealth turns out to be far more than a robot. It has artificial intelligence with the ability to follow orders and, further, to learn from observing humans and its own experiences. Although Cummings works back door deals with Washington, DC beltway politicians, he’s hard core military when working with the man in charge of the aircraft carrier, Captain Dick Marshfield (Joe Morton, one of Hollywood’s most overlooked actors). It seems one of his missions is to keep Marshfield in the dark.

The Stealth’s conduct a number of critical missions to take out terrorists in the middle of a city with minimal collateral damage one-day and on another they are after nuclear warheads in a remote country. What we always fear is that because the three pilots are risk takers, that at some point, they might not return home. Each of the pilots as well as the drone have personal challenges that they meet in ways that we’ll not share with you as it would spoil your enjoyment in seeing the film. Hey, the drone Stealth has a character arc! We can’t remember that happening before, not even with the computer Hal from "2001: A Space Odyssey."

On target along with the action are the believable performances throughout. Josh Lucas offers a brash confidence as lead pilot Ben Gannon; much like the rock music he blasts. Jessica Biel is no cream puff pilot as she calculates the human toll on the ground. And her woman in combat portrayal is a charge. Jamie Foxx as Henry Purcell has a smart, scientific mind with an appreciation for the metaphysical, the poetic and hip hop. The three play off each other beautifully.

At a time when the right thing to do is be Mr. Teflon and not be accountable for one’s actions, it’s refreshing to see a film that puts that all on the table. A few congressmen and senators can admit to being wrong, but it appears that the competition to become president or mayor is such that once there, politicians have mastered the art of the spin (Clinton, Bush or long-time Chicago Mayor Daley). They would never give their adversaries the theoretical advantage of saying they admitted they made a mistake (Carter). Playing only by one’s own rules, where you are never wrong, is a questionable strategy on winning the war on terrorism or rooting out corruption in city hall.

The special effects in this film are Oscar caliber all the way. Some of the scenes fall into the unforgettable category. Without giving away too much detail, you’ll be on the edge of your seat, gaping at two plane crashes, the wagging tale of an airborne refueling station, a precision bombing in Rangoon and our favorite, the explosion of an air hangar in Alaska. In that hangar explosion, director Rob Cohen told George in a recent interview that it was a special effect done without CGI (computer generated images). It looked real because it was. Cohen has outdone "Mr. Boom-Boom, Blow ‘em up" Michael Bay of "The Island," "The Rock," "Armageddon," "Bad Boys I and II" and "Pearl Harbor."

This is easily the most fun and best popcorn movie of the summer. The story is solid, the acting first rate, the scenery is spectacular and the special effects are on par with "Lord of the Rings."

While all movies are political to some degree, this one is smart enough to not tell you what to think while making you think. And it’s highly entertaining. For the seemingly out of reach "better place" world that everyone likes to talk about, "Stealth" encourages us to ponder how we use technology and morality to help us not repeat the mistakes of the past. Based upon history, the future is not bright, but hopefully mankind will find a way to pursue peace in place of war.

The use of the earth’s resources can arguably be spent better on health care and feeding the hungry rather than dealing with the fear of annihilation. It would be good to find a way to trade expensive weapons programs for a major rise in the living standards of people around the world. The time for a paradigm shift on using the world’s resources is long overdue. It’s not easy but it can be done. Nothing is impossible.