THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Tuesday, December 13, 1994             TAG: 9412130043
SECTION: DAILY BREAK              PAGE: E8   EDITION: FINAL 
TYPE: Movie Review 
SOURCE: BY MAL VINCENT, MOVIE CRITIC 
                                             LENGTH: Short :   48 lines

SNIPES DESERVES BETTER THAN ROLE IN ``DROP ZONE''

THE SKY-DIVING scenes in ``Drop Zone'' are filled with enough wind and sweep to almost save the otherwise silly plot.

Wesley Snipes, a charismatic and genuinely talented actor, should be spending his time on better projects. But his aim, at least for now, is to sell tickets. He plays an avenger who infiltrates a murderous sky-diving cult led by Gary Busey.

As long as the film is up in the air, it's OK.

Snipes' brother, played by an almost unrecognizable Malcolm-Jamal Warner, is killed during a jet hijacking. Snipes, a U.S. marshal, goes undercover to find the culprits. He enrolls in Yancy Butler's sky-diving school. She's had experience kicking around with action guys, including Jean-Claude Van Damme in ``Hard Target.'' Here, she wears flimsy T-shirts and tight jumpsuits but proves she can deliver a sockeroo right, too.

The cartoonish plot asks us to take seriously Busey's plan to get the names of all the country's drug undercover agents by kidnaping a computer whiz played by Michael Jeter. He uses computer games to spy on the government's records.

Snipes tries his best to add a bit of character to his action-hero role. He fights dirty and even takes a few punches. However, he is too good to be just a routine action star. The finale, a jump over Washington, D.C., would seem ludicrous if not for the recent real shooting outside the White House.

Nothing in the real world, though, will get you to tense up over ``Drop Zone.'' It is strictly a spectator sport. ILLUSTRATION: MOVIE REVIEW

Drop Zone

Cast: Wesley Snipes, Yancy Butler, Gary Busey, Michael Jeter,

Malcolm-Jamal Warner

Director: John Badham

MPAA rating: R (language, violence)

Mal's rating: **

Locations: Movies 10 in Chesapeake; Janaf and Main Gate in

Norfolk; Columbus, Kemps River and Lynnhaven Mall in Virginia Beach

by CNB