Devotion

When I first saw the teaser trailer for this film I was extremely excited the history and war film buff in me jumped with joy, "finally a Korean war film" alas it is no 1917 or Dunkirk.

While this film offers some great visuals and solid performances from the entire cast it unfortunately never gripped me in any real emotional way. The two actors Johnathan Majors as Jesse Brown and Glen Powel as Tom Hudner both have great chemistry and their relationship is played out well but even with the amount of time they gave to both these characters I just couldn't seem to get attached.

This is also less a film about the Korean war and more about the relationship between these two pilots who fought in the war. Yet whatever the true history is between the two pilots and however many missions they flew together the film never felt to connect them as true brothers of war as I feel they were intended to be. This film contains all of two battle scenes, in a war film? That seems low.

After all this time being excited for this film I cannot help but feel a little disappointed. They had a great opportunity here to depict the Korean war as well as the story between these two pilots but perhaps with better direction, better pacing, and better storytelling this could've been a stronger film. I also feel my fellow audience members were a bit disappointed as well, some checked their phones multiple times and I'm pretty sure I saw someone leave early.

Oh well, it's not terrible but it's far from great. I wonder what Korean war vets, if they go out and see this film would think.

IMDb: 6/10 Letterboxd: 3/5

Watched in Theaters.

This movie is about war and love. It is about struggle and victory. And above all else, it is above racism and brotherhood. And the latter doesn't only come from same coloured brothers, but from two wingmans that are black and white.

After the hugely successful second installment of "Top Gun", Paramount treats us with another excellent aviator movie. This time it is not about modern jet powered fighter planes, but instead it is 1950's piston driven aircraft that fight in the Korean war. This where they are even faced against hard-to-battle MiG jet aircraft that have vastly superior flight characteristics.

Above all, this movie is about the struggles of a black aviator. Like a MiG, this man is vastly superior in flying planes. But we see him struggle - as a pilot - not only with his upbringing in a racial America, but also with the racial tensions that still exist in 1950's America: specifically in the military.

And last but not least, this movie is about the inhumane struggles of the military ground troops in the 'hell on earth' of the ground warfare in Korea.

Rich with stunning visual detail and effects, this movie makes one remind of such blockbuster movies like "Pearl Harbor". Combine that with the excellent "Men of Honor", and you have the inspirational ingredients that I found back in "Devotion". And with its relative long length for a feature movie - around 130 minutes - it is by no means too long. The events in the movie developed in such a pace, whereby there is a good mix of action and drama, that the movie is over before you know it. When one comes to think of it, this movie could have easily been extended with some additional content - e.g. From flight school - which could have resulted in a 4-part mini-series.

And let's not forget that this is all based on true events, which gives it all a special dimension.

Overall, this movie deserves a rating of 7.6/10, thereby resulting in an IMDb score of 8 stars. A special note is to be made of Paramount, whom is clearly producing some very excellent (best-in-class) movies/shows since the second half of 2022, whereby this specific movie is rated in january 2023.

As a film that advertises as a Korean War film about aviator Jesse Brown it takes more than half the move to get there. A few cliché moments, but overall it wasn't terrible. My biggest issue with the script is that it is very much a collection of scenes and not a story. It's a this happened and then this happened etc. Instead of this happened therefore this happened. It's not a story... I did like the film for the most part I just wouldn't say it was anything groundbreaking. It was "okay"... at one point I found myself looking back at an earlier point in the film and I thought, "the pay off of that moment was completely thrown away because of blatant bad writing" I think it's worth seeing for sure I love history and honoring those who came before but it's not something I'll watch again probably.

I remember 6 years ago I read the book On Hollow Ground. The part of the book that went over Jessie and Tom brought a tear to my eye. As I read, all I thought to myself was "wow if this story ever gets a movie they better get it right"...I really wish they did. The movie should have focused more around the connection between the grunts on the ground and the pilots. The movie did not express how absolutely crucial it was for close air support and the terrible conditions it was for troops in combat. One of the main reason Marines in the Chosin Reservoir were able to hold out and eventually make it back to the sea was because of Men like Jessie. That connection did not seem present in the movie.

Please if you are reading this then take my recommendation and read the book. I promise you will be satisfied.

I loved this film, a beautifully told story of heroes of a forgotten war, about a friendship based on a trusting relationship, as it should be during times when a human connection is needed. Jonathan and Glen did a fantastic job; they had great chemistry. The film is criticized as boring and not having much action; come on. It is about two heroes, their heroic story, and their duty to their country. I think the movie had a good pace and the necessary battle scenes. The musical score is fantastic. I loved it and enjoyed it very much. Please, don't miss it and see it; it is a great story, don't listen to superficial moviegoers who love to ruin good films. Be your critic.