Verdict
Summary
The simplicity of Iron Eagle is refreshing in today’s CGI-saturated and mind-numbingly moronic blockbuster age. It feels like a Cannon film, with a washed-out shot-on-film pallet and a genuinely appealing orchestral score by Basil Poledouris. The hard rock soundtrack slays the soundtrack to Top Gun hands-down, and Gedrick and his crew of high school pals in the movie all give the movie a sweet-natured and down-to-Earth honesty that a movie this outrageous needs to have.
Plot: When Col. Ted Masters’ (Tim Thomerson) plane goes down in an Arab country and he’s sentenced to death for trespassing, his 18-year-old son, Doug (Jason Gedrick), is determined to save him. Unfortunately, Doug isn’t the best fighter pilot — he wasn’t accepted into the Air Force because he needs to listen to music in order to hit a target. So he enlists the help of Col. Chappy (Louis Gossett Jr.) to borrow a couple of F-16 planes, fly across the Atlantic and start a rescue mission.
Review: The era of the freewheeling teenager who can save the universe by strapping himself into a spaceship or fighter jet pretty much began and ended with the 80’s, and Iron Eagle is all about that. Only this time, the kid just wants to save his dad who gets stuck behind enemy lines in the Middle East somewhere. Teenager Doug (Jason Gedrick from Massive Retaliation) is about to graduate high school, but his future is uncertain: The Air Force doesn’t want him because he has low grades, but in practice, he kills it every time he steps into a flight simulator.
His dad Colonel Ted Masters (Tim Thomerson, always welcome in any movie no matter what) is a celebrated fighter pilot who gets shot down on a mission, and his farce of a trial declares him guilty of war crimes and his sentence is death by hanging in three days. The U.S. military is powerless to save him, but Doug daydreams of hijacking a fighter jet and flying it to the Middle East to single-handedly rescue his father.
Old-timer reserve pilot and Vietnam vet Chappie (Lou Gossett Jr.) sees potential in Doug and understands his pain, and seeing that Doug is intent on executing his grandiose plan, he decides to help him hash it out to the tee before they commit major crimes by stealing jets from the air base and flying off to do their thing. Armed with a tip-top plan and a cassette player rocking to the sounds of Dio, Queen, and King Cobra, they bust a move to the Middle East and rescue Doug’s dad with all rockets firing!
Released in theaters a few months before Top Gun exploded at the box office, Iron Eagle might not be as well known as that box office behemoth, but Iron Eagle had three sequels (!?) that were made and released over the following decade. Top Gun – to date – has never had a sequel. Take that, Tom Cruise!
The simplicity of Iron Eagle is refreshing in today’s CGI-saturated and mind-numbingly moronic blockbuster age. It feels like a Cannon film, with a washed-out shot-on-film pallet and a genuinely appealing orchestral score by Basil Poledouris. The hard rock soundtrack slays the soundtrack to Top Gun hands-down, and Gedrick and his crew of high school pals in the movie all give the movie a sweet-natured and down-to-Earth honesty that a movie this outrageous needs to have. Gossett Jr., who is the only character to appear in all four entries in the franchise, gives exactly the performance you would expect him to, all growls and motivational speeches intact.
For those interested in continuity, Gedrick’s character (but not Gedrick) returned for the fourth and final entry. For the record, I saw this in a theater upon its initial release, and I’ve always preferred it over Top Gun. Directed by Sidney J. Furie, who also directed parts 2 and 4 in the franchise. The U.S. DVD release of this film is full-screen, while the UK Region 2 DVD release is widescreen.
