The older I get the more I love this flick. Had it not been forced into an early release "IRON EAGLE" would have been a $100M blockbuster instead of the (respectable) $24M it earned. I watch it once or twice a year now and enjoy it every time. (As a kid I preferred "TOP GUN"--but having teenage kids of my own this one has now moved ahead of that film on heartstrings alone.)
Suspension of disbelief is what movies are all about. The film takes itself seriously where it is supposed to, jokes to break the tension in like fashion, and draws you into the plot--if you'll allow it to. It's not a documentary. It's not supposed to be. It's a thrill ride where the good guys triumph over bureaucratic intransigence and difficult odds.
Boil it down and it's essentially the kindred spirit of "RED DAWN" but instead of the mountains in the Western US its setting is the cockpit of an F-16.
The acting is fine. (I don't understand the criticism of it.) Jason Gedrick does great as the anguished and determined teenager loyal to his father, Louis Gossett, Jr. lends his "Officer and a Gentleman" gravitas as the Lion in Winter warrior Colonel, and the rest of the cast does its job well enough. Tim Thomseron gets a nod here as well.
The special effects are better than today's still painfully obvious CGI plague. Yes, there are some goofs but they're the nature of the beast particularly with aviation films ("TOP GUN" has at least as many if not more) and could be fixed with some digital editing.
Finally, the soundtrack is outstanding. The score by Basil Poledouris is excellent and there are half a dozen songs by various artists that really get the heart pumping (notables: "Road of the Gypsy" - "Old Enough to Rock and Roll" - "Eyes of the World" - "Hide in the Rainbow" - "One Vision" - "This Raging Fire").
This is a beer and popcorn movie you can enjoy with your kids--beer for the grownups only, please.
One of the most underrated, unfairly disrespected movies ever made, particularly from the 1980s.
9/10
Suspension of disbelief is what movies are all about. The film takes itself seriously where it is supposed to, jokes to break the tension in like fashion, and draws you into the plot--if you'll allow it to. It's not a documentary. It's not supposed to be. It's a thrill ride where the good guys triumph over bureaucratic intransigence and difficult odds.
Boil it down and it's essentially the kindred spirit of "RED DAWN" but instead of the mountains in the Western US its setting is the cockpit of an F-16.
The acting is fine. (I don't understand the criticism of it.) Jason Gedrick does great as the anguished and determined teenager loyal to his father, Louis Gossett, Jr. lends his "Officer and a Gentleman" gravitas as the Lion in Winter warrior Colonel, and the rest of the cast does its job well enough. Tim Thomseron gets a nod here as well.
The special effects are better than today's still painfully obvious CGI plague. Yes, there are some goofs but they're the nature of the beast particularly with aviation films ("TOP GUN" has at least as many if not more) and could be fixed with some digital editing.
Finally, the soundtrack is outstanding. The score by Basil Poledouris is excellent and there are half a dozen songs by various artists that really get the heart pumping (notables: "Road of the Gypsy" - "Old Enough to Rock and Roll" - "Eyes of the World" - "Hide in the Rainbow" - "One Vision" - "This Raging Fire").
This is a beer and popcorn movie you can enjoy with your kids--beer for the grownups only, please.
One of the most underrated, unfairly disrespected movies ever made, particularly from the 1980s.
9/10