Let's be realistic.

Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

Well. This movie was a waste of my time, even though I didn't had anything to do anyway when I saw it. Yet I watched it until the end so there has to be some good that goes with all the bad.The good: The skydive scenes were at times very decent, and that has to be the sole reason for me watching this through. Nice, colorful images and even though I'm no sportsman myself I think some parachute enthusiasts might be somewhat pleased with it.The bad: About everything else I guess. The story is a straight ripoff from Dropzone without adding anything new at all (it actually makes it even worse), which shows to me that the director didn't really want to tell a story anyway. Next there is bad acting, shallow characters, annoying music and some nice faces to attempt to make up for it. But it just won't do.Watch this if you really have to, but I say you don't.

**SPOILERS** Staking out an airfield outside Miami to catch a plane smuggling cocaine the US Custom Agents are shocked to find that all the plane had in it's cargo bay was hundreds of pounds of freshly caught shrimps!Feeling that their being made to look like mindless buffoons the custom agents headed by Let. Brian Margate, Ron Silver, and his very eager assistant, wearing a clip-on Abe Lincoln-type beard as a disguise, Vic Cooper, Stephen Baldwin, go all out in finding just how these drug-smugglers are making monkeys out of them and the US Custom Services. Vic almost by accident figures out, by mistakingly rescuing a paratroop GI Joe doll, how all this is done and then goes to infiltrate a local Miami skydiving team to get the goods, as well as the dope, on them!Not much of a story but loads of spectacular airborne action with Vic getting at first over his head and then with the program as he becomes the top flight diver of an eight man, really seven men and one woman, canopy formation act headed by skydiving legend Red Line, Tom Barenger. Vic secretly getting trained in skydiving by US Army skydiving team Captain Delmira, Casper Van Dien, whom Red Line's Miami skydivers are to later compete with quickly gets the hang of the sport. Vic is so good that he soon unseats the top diver, besides Red Line, Randy "Turbo" Kingston, Dennis Rodman, from his position as the #7 diver; Red Line is #8 or the anchor of the skydiving team. With Turbo mad as a hornet in getting dropped he and Vic have it out later in the movie in a kamikaze like dive where Turbo gets his neck broke in midair and dies before he ever hit the ground.What Vic was later to find out is that both Red Line and the late Turbo Kingston were the only two of the skydiving team involved in drug trafficking. They were using the money to finance their first and only love skydiving in supplying their teammates the equipment that they needed but for the most part, with them not having a job or cash to pay for it, couldn't afford. The movie "Cutaway" only comes to life when we see Red Line and his team, as well as later Captain Demira's Goldan Knights, in action. The big build up for the Championship of Skydiving Competition Contest, at Myrtle Beach S. Carolina, is well paced and doesn't drag the film down with drug angle kept almost out of the story until the last few minutes in the film.You don't have to be into skydiving to appreciate the heart-stopping scenes of Red Line's and Delmira's teams go into action as the two groups of skydivers break record after record competing against each other over the blue sunny and deadly skies of Myrtle Beach. Taking the lead over the Miami, or Red Line, team the Goldan Knights rack up an unbelievable score, in their four skydives, of an average of 13.08 seconds! That's the time it took the Goldan Knights to makes formation after the first man jumped, going at speeds of 160 to 180 MPH, out of the plane!With defeat looking him in the face Red Line finally realizes that Vic is an undercover US Custom Agent setting him up for a fall. It's then when Red Line, cracked ribs and all, gives it all that he's, as well as Vic and the rest of his team, got in a desperate and suicidal-like dive with Vic close behind.***SPOILERS*** That almost impossible effort on Red Line's part not only pulls out a victory from out of the jaws of defeat but also prevents him form falling into the arms of to law, with Let. Margate & Co waiting for Red Line on the ground to arrest him. P.S Red Line's passion and love of the sport of skydiving made a believer out of Victor Cooper who in the end gave up his career as a law enforcer and took to the skies. A place where a man, or woman, is completely free without, like back on earth, any strings attached. Except the strings of the parachute he or she's wearing.

This movie with its excellent skydive scenes gives the viewer a good idea of what this fun, exciting, and spectacular sport is really like. It would look even better on a big screen. Other movies, like Drop Zone or Terminal Velocity have a similar story complete with skydiving and cops chasing criminals, but Cutaway is better and more realistic than either. Even the part about having good freefall skills after all that wind tunnel training in Fort Bragg, S.C. is believable. Of course he (Officer Cooper) still had much work to do with this canopy control skills (Remember some of his landings!). All throughout the movie, the jump scenes were enjoyable to watch as they were so authentic looking. You could tell these scenes were actually filmed in the air above Florida and not in a studio or with a computer. The story itself is also quite believable; no doubt many kilos of drugs have been parachuted into Florida or elsewhere. Even the name of the movie was chosen well; you actually do cutaway if your main parachute malfunctions. Besides all of the above, it had some funny parts also.This movie never made it big like other movies in 2000, which is too bad. Nowadays, for an action movie to be popular it appears to need a lot of expensive special effects. Cutaway may have been too realistic for most of today's viewing audience. If you want to see those amazing special effects you won't like this movie, but if you want a good fun action movie with some element of reality, this one's for you.Presently, I am a skydiver with my A license. After watching this movie, I am eagerly looking forward to getting my B license so I can do relative work (or formation jumps). If you've never jumped before, watching this movie may well convince you to try this fun sport. If not, you'll certainly want to go out to a drop zone and watch others jump. Blue Skies!

This movie is a head rush. From the beginning scene to very end, the action is out of sight. The plot is basic, but still gets the point across. I loved watching how people trained to perfect their sport. I have been skydiving a few times and this movie sent chills up and down my spine. This movie is a worth see movie and if you don't feel like skydiving after seeing this movie, you'd better check your pulse to see if you are still living!