Must See Skydiving Movies

Get Pumped to Jump After Watching These Adrenaline-Fuelled Films Featuring Skydiving

Who doesn’t love a good action adventure movie? It’s the chase, the suspense, the fast-paced motion that keeps you on the edge of your seat that we love.

When you add jumping out of perfectly good aeroplanes to the mix, we get all edgy and anxious to be part of the action. We want what they have. We want that rush.

In this post, we tell you about 5 must see skydiving movies that will take you to the edge… and beyond. We have no doubt you’ll be booking a tandem skydive after reading this!

Point Break (1991)

Point Break may not be a skydiving movie per se but it is the most influential. The 1991 action flick spawned an entire generation of new Skydivers. You could even credit it with the rise in commercial tandem skydiving.

The first skydiving scene arrives 73 minutes into the movie when surfer Bodhi (played by Patrick Swayze) and his crew arrive at undercover FBI agent Johnny Utah’s (Keanu Reeves) apartment unexpectedly. Johnny thinks they want to going surfing.

“Surf? No, this is different, this is really different Johnny. You are gonna love it,” says Bodhi as he hustles Johnny to get dressed.

From there, the 5 adrenaline-junkie’s descent on the longest free-fall in history during Johnny’s first skydive. That scene, although far-fetched, is still talked about (and loved) today.

Terminal Velocity (1994)

Terminal Velocity stars Charlie Sheen, Nastassja Kinski and the late James Gandolfini. Sheen plays Ditch, a skydiving instructor who gets caught up in the world of espionage when Russian spy Chris Marrow (Kinski) fakes her own death.

The 1994 action thriller is full of cheesy one-liners and epic skydiving scenes. You may think Terminal Velocity is part of Sheen’s Hot Shots parodies, and maybe it should be, but sit tight for the free falling car scene.

Long before the Fast & the Furious franchise had 5 cars parachuting from a C-130 cargo plane, Ditch drove a red Cadillac out of a plane to save Marrow.

The late American movie critic Roger Ebert called Terminal Velocity “as dumb as a box of shredded wheat”. But he did praise the action. And let’s face it, any movie with that many skydiving scenes, is worth a watch.

Drop Zone (1994)

The second big-budget skydiving movie of 1994 was Drop Zone. The movie stars, Gary Busey (who played Johnny Utah’s FBI partner in Point Break) and Wesley Snipes.

Snipes plays Nessip, a U.S marshall escorting a computer genius to prison aboard a commercial airline. Busey’s character Moncrief, a rebel skydiver and former DEA agent turned criminal, is a passenger on the same plane. Next minute, Moncrief and the prisoner are gone.

Skydiving from a 747 only happens in the movies and usually by the bad guys.

To catch the baddies, Nessip has to learn to skydive. It’s a tough job but somebody has to do it.

Drop Zone produces ambitious free fall and parachuting scenes that will induce a virtual rush.

Cutaway (2000)

Cutaway is a well-known and used skydiving term. It means to disconnect your main parachute. It’s also used to describe the act of ‘letting go’ – of hard-feelings, dissatisfaction, stress, or any bad situation you may be in.

Just cutaway and move on to something good.

The 2000 movie, Cutaway uses the expression both ways throughout the dramatic skydiving film. It stars former NBA eccentric Dennis Rodman, Tom Berenger and Stephen Baldwin.

Baldwin is cop who learns to skydive as a way to infiltrate a suspected drug smuggling ring. The rush of free fall and new friendships has him questioning his path in life. He must choose between his profession and his new passion. Which path do you think he takes?

The Gypsy Moths (1969)

The Gypsy Moths transports us back to the 60s when skydiving was considered a sport for entertaining the masses, like a circus.

The 1969 drama is about a group of skydivers called The Gypsy Moths. They visit small-town USA and cause a bit of a raucous, not only with their skydiving antics.

Watch out for the cape-jump stunt. The black wings worn by main character, Mike (played by Hollywood legend, Burt Lancaster) could be a prototype for today’s popular wing suit.

When Point Break’s Bodhi character says “We stand for something; to those dead souls inching along the freeways in their metal coffins, we show them that the human spirit is still alive,” he may not have been specifically talking about skydiving but it’s safe to align that sentiment with the sport.

Skydiving movies and YouTube videos have tempted and inspired countless thrill-seekers to take the plunge and jump out of aeroplanes around the world.

Are you next? For more information on skydiving in and around Perth, contact our experienced team online or on 1300 449 669.