Summary
Overview
Paul, Jason, and June dissect the 1994 Wesley Snipes action film Drop Zone, a skydiving-heavy thriller where federal marshal Pete Nessup must infiltrate a team of extreme skydivers to stop Gary Busey's team of airborne criminals. The hosts explore the film's bizarre physics, confusing plot, memorable Busey performance, and its attempt to make skydiving culture seem like a dangerous subculture akin to Point Break's surfers.
Opening Hijack and Marshal Incompetence
The film opens with Wesley Snipes and Malcolm-Jamal Warner as U.S. Marshals escorting prisoner Michael Jeter on a 747 when Gary Busey's team executes a mid-air jailbreak. The hosts question the marshals' competence as they fail to notice multiple passengers putting on gas masks and loading guns. Warner's character is killed and blamed for the incident despite clear evidence of hijackers, while a plane full of witnesses somehow doesn't report seeing people jump out in skydiving suits.
- Wesley Snipes and Malcolm-Jamal Warner play U.S. Marshals transporting prisoner Michael Jeter on a 747
- Gary Busey's team executes a mid-air hijacking with explosives on the emergency door
- The marshals show poor awareness as hijackers openly prepare weapons and gas masks
- Malcolm-Jamal Warner's character is inexplicably blamed for the hijacking despite obvious terrorist involvement
- Michael Jeter's finger is bitten off to fake his death, yet authorities conclude he's dead from one finger
" You got to be sick of those tired two-month relationships. Problem is, you're not meeting the right kind of woman. A woman who'll run with the wolves. Somebody who'll at least keep you interested. Run with the wolves? Yeah. I mean, I told you about watching too much of that Oprah shit. Come on, Pete. A little excitement's not going to kill you. Terry, I like the women nice, quiet, and dumb. You know what I'm saying? Not like that Mongolian feminist that you set me up with. "
Skydiving as Extreme Subculture
The film treats recreational skydiving like a dangerous gang culture, complete with territorial bar fights and ritualistic death ceremonies. The hosts marvel at how the movie presents skydiving—invented centuries ago—as if it were a brand new extreme sport discovered in the 1990s. Despite being a legal recreational activity, skydivers are portrayed as an exclusive, violent subculture that will assault outsiders who enter their bars.
- The movie treats skydiving like rollerblading or extreme sports, as if it's a new cultural phenomenon
- Skydivers have their own bars where they watch skydiving videos and will fight non-skydivers
- When a skydiver dies, they ring a bell and say 'Blue Skies, Black Death' as if they're essential workers
- The film presents a skydiving competition in D.C. as a major national event, despite limited appeal
" I don't believe that parachuting is new, but it feels like they're talking about it like rollerblades. Yes. Like, do you know what this culture is? Have you heard of it? It feels like extreme sports, you know, or something like that. "
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