The harrowing true story of two elite US Navy fighter pilots during the Korean War. Their heroic sacrifices would ultimately make them the Navy's most celebrated wingmen.
Released: 2022-11-23
Runtime: 100 minutes
Genre: Drama, History, War
Stars: Ava Michelle Thompson, Alexander Goldstein, Jonathan Majors, Glen Powell, Christina Jackson, Thomas Sadoski, Joe Jonas, Joseph Cross, Daren Kagasoff, Serinda Swan, Nick Hargrove, Boone Platt, Matt Riedy, Logan Macrae, Spencer Neville, Kenneth Trujillo, Adetinpo Thomas, Emily Brinks, Aleks Alifirenko Jr., Elizabeth Harlow
Director: J.D. Dillard
Comments
r-fronimides - 27 June 2024 A missing apportunity, but a nice film. The truth is that this movie could have been a masterpiece, if it was written by a better scripter and directed by a better director.
The film is about a story of courage, brotherhood and sacrifice. The short series "Band of Brothers" had all these, in infinite doses! So, if Spielberg and his screenwriters had written and directed this film as well, we would be talking about a masterpiece... but unfortunately it is not.
It's the story of Jesse Brown, the first African-American pilot who killed in action during the Korean War and his White wingman Tom Hudner who deliberately crashed his plane next to his pal's plane and tried for many hours in 35-degree cold to safely extricate him but he failed; and for his heroic action & bravery, he received the Medal of Honor, the first American pilot to receive it in the Korean War!
What a great story! It actually features an African-American pilot from a poor family, who worked hard all his life to become a pilot! How many greate things the movie have to show... that didn't in the end???
It didn't show us at all how Jesse managed from being a poor kid, to overcome all the adversities and eventually become a pilot - we didn't watch that at all, a very important element of Jesse's story. We didn't watch (only a little) how completely devoted he was to his wife and his child, he didn't spending time by partying with his friends but he was spending every free minute he had with his family.
The movie was very slow... real slow!
And even though it's 2.5 hours, most of it is was spended on pointless stuff that could be totally left out from the movie - like going out to Cannes, the pilots endlessly walking around the city, meeting Liz Taylor, the endless scene in the casino etc. Pointless scenes, no reason for our story...
Too bad the movie isn't a masterpiece.
It's certainly not a war movie either - and rightly so, since Jesse and Tom went through a lot before they found themselves in the Korean War. And there, Jesse was killed relatively soon (early in the war), so it makes sense that the movie has not too many battle scenes. After all, the movie wasn't about that - it's a dramatic biography, but it failed to be a great movie.
Nevertheless, I personally enjoyed it, I liked it, I can't say I didn't have a good time, it's just... it's a shame it's not a masterpiece!
BoBo_Goal32 - 30 November 2023 Devoted to make more movies Jonathan Majors came into our lives on the year of 2018. Since then...he is not looking back, but maybe, just maybe, he will have to look back in prison, to see that no one is hiding behind him, trying to stab him and take his lunch.
Majors is now under serious accusation of sexual assault and all his future projects are under a deep and thick fog. Regarding what he has done until he got accused and investigated, no one can take or challenge.
This movie is struggling to make it on his own, but Majors is holding it with great and deep performance - his character's typecast is almost too generic, but a true story can use the same formula as many as he wishes to because it is based on true and past events.
Two pilots - one black and one seem to be privilege white type - are trying to make an example to a collaboration for future generations to come. The story and plot are almost a non-thinker due to the fact you've seen a lot of similar plot-line features as this one.
It starts tough, they become friends and towards the end, everyone excepts the black pilot as one of their own. Not something to be excited from except the fact it is based on facts, roughly.
When the movie reaches its final act and catharsis, it tends to be emotional and saves a lot of dreary moments, but all in all - stands for most of the runtime and wants the viewers will connect to the era and its difficulties to create and maintain this kind of friendship.
You know how it will go, you know the difficulties and some of the results and the production needs to do their best to tell an actual and emotional story and if they can, also shoot some Asian enemies - so be it. It is entertaining and watchable.