Plot Details: This opinion reveals minor details about the movie's plot.

Iron Eagle is like the teenage equivalent of Top Gun, and both movies came out in 1986. While Tom Cruise and his fly boys dominated the box office 20 years ago and gained all the notoriety, I always thought this was also a great movie. It is much more fun and less realistic than Top Gun, plus it has more action. There just aren’t any volleyball scenes and Jason Gedrick doesn’t look like Tom Cruise.

This movie opens with veteran character actor and Vietnam vet Tim Thomerson (Trancers) playing a pilot flying near the border of an unnamed Middle Eastern country. He is intercepted by some pilots of that unnamed country, and they accuse him of crossing into their airspace, then shoot his place down. Thomerson is then taken prisoner and given a quick trial that results in his scheduled execution in just a few days.

Back home, Thomerson’s teenage son Doug (Jason Gedrick) has high aspirations of following in his father’s footsteps and becoming a pilot. There’s a side part how his dad sneaks him into fighter planes and they go out flying and target shooting together. I seriously doubt that would ever happen, but it makes for a good story. It establishes that Doug knows how to fly, even though he’s having some trouble being accepted into the flight academy.

When Doug hears of his father’s fate, he refuses to wait while the brass try to handle the political situation. Rather than wait for them to make a decision, Doug organizes all of his friends to hatch a scheme that involves ‘borrowing’ a couple of fully armed fighter planes and going to rescue his father. To pull this off, he enlists the help of his father’s friend and pilot, Col. Chappy Sinclair (Oscar winner Louis Gossett, Jr.) and has only a few days to make it all work.

What I loved so much about this story is that it’s about a teenager with attitude problems who finally proves himself by saving his father’s life. Early scenes in the movie depict Doug as a daredevil pilot with a lot of skill, but he also has some problems with authority. This makes his father question whether or not he is really cut out for military duty, despite his flying ability. The way that Chappy whips them all into shape and gains their respect is a lot of fun to watch, too. Sure, this is a very unrealistic movie and most of the stuff that the friends pull to make the plot work would never happen, but it’s still a fun movie.

When I was growing up, I probably saw this movie at least twenty times. Although Top Gun is a great movie, I always liked this one better because it had more action and less cussing. My parents did not like my young ears hearing all the stuff coming out of Cruise and friend’s mouths. I also like that this movie was about people more my age at the time. This is one of those movies that builds and builds until the third act and then delivers a ton of action and explosions. It even shows them blow up a foreign oil refinery. Talk about a fireball!

Louis Gossett Jr. is great as Chappy Sinclair. His role is sort of like Tom Skeritt’s character in Top Gun. At first he’s their teacher and mentor, then he befriends the kids. I liked that he never forgets how dangerous it is for them, though he believes in the mission. Jason Gedrick did a good job as Doug Masters. His career never really took off after this movie, though he has done plenty of TV work. Other notable cast members include Larry B. Scott of Revenge of the Nerds (the gay black guy) fame and Melora Hardin, who currently appears as Jan Levinson-Gould on TV’s The Office. British actor David Suchet of A&E’s Poirot is excellent in an uncredited role as the Middle Eastern leader who picks a fight with the Americans. He even bears a slight resemblance to a younger Saddam Hussein.

Sydney J. Furie directed this classic 80’s action movie. The next year he did the lame Superman IV and his career never took off after that. He’s made plenty of movies since then, but mostly B-grade action movies and television work. He was also involved with some of the sequels for this film, but they aren’t really worth seeing.

Iron Eagle is a great action movie that was typical of the Reagan era. Where Top Gun might make you want to join the Navy, this movie will just make you want to learn how to fly. Given the fighting in the Middle East today, I find it especially satisfying to watch a movie where Americans go after a lookalike Saddam Hussein and teach him a lesson.

See also:
Iron Eagle II - http://www.epinions.com/content_224682806916


Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: VHS