A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

If you're interested in the topic at hand, you should just watch it and judge yourself because the reviews have gone very biased by people that didn't even watch it and just hate (or love) the creator. I liked it, it was well written, narrated, and directed and it was about a topic that interests me.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

I liked this movie. It was fun to see Duvall, Williams, and Gleason on the screen together. I've been fascinated with Dan Cooper ever since my father bought me a "Greatest Mysteries" book when I was about 8. That book got me going on Oak Island, too. Anyway, this is obviously not a factual account of anything. For one, none of the money cooper stole has ever made it back into circulation. The serial numbers were all noted, and the money was never used. So, if you go into the movie with the understanding that it's fiction and not based on actual events, I think you'll enjoy yourself. I really liked seeing Gleason, too. He's not in many movies, and it was fun to see him in something besides "The Breakfast Club" and "Trading Places."

The mysterious hijacker with the alias D.B. Cooper (Treat Williams) jumps out of the back of the plane. The bomb is fake. Bill Gruen (Robert Duvall) is an investigator for the insurance company out $200k in ransom. He discovers that Cooper's real identity is his Ranger trainee and Vietnam hero Jim Meade. Meade had prepared by hiding equipment and a jeep. He drives out of the forest during deer season. Also on the chase for the reward is old war buddy Remson. Gruen zero in on Meade's wife Hannah (Kathryn Harrold).There is a fair cat and mouse chase with Williams and Duvall. It isn't all logical. It's not that intense. It rambles a bit. It has a light fun tone. It's inspired by the real case but isn't real even with the start. Duvall keeps this movie just compelling enough to watch.

It's really hard to take this movie seriously, especially to anyone who is fascinated by the D.B. Cooper story. I think my biggest problem with the movie is that it just starts with Cooper jumping out of the plane. There is no stage of the actual highjacking and little realism of the jump itself (it happened at night time during a storm). During the actual highjacking, the bomb was not left behind by the highjacker and there was never a stewardess locked in a bathroom. The movie seems to be a parody of the events with a cheesy-hillbilly soundtrack. You almost expect a Jerry Reed/Cledus cameo or even Cheech & Chong at some point. My problem is they had the opportunity to do so much more with it and failed miserably. In recent years, the alleged highjacker was supposedly identified (see Brad Meltzer's decoded). I, for one, love the D.B. Cooper story and hope that someone will serve the story justice, but may be somewhat undeserving seeing as how the "Dan Cooper" who made the infamous jump literally flew from justice himself.

You could do a lot worse than this slight yet amiable what-if fest that speculates on just how D.B. Cooper got away with all that money. Robert Duvall shines as the insurance company's bounty hunter but Treat Williams comes off somewhat bland as the title character. He's just too boringly cutesy, if that makes any sense. Yet if you told me to choose between this and say RULES OF ENGAGEMENT, D.B. sure gets my vote.