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I remember seeing this movie in the theater when it first came out. I think I saw it three or four times. It was the best air combat movie I had seen at the time.

I hear this movie compared to Top Gun a lot. In my opinion there is no contest. Iron Eagle is far better than Top Gun. Here's why. Top Gun had very good aerial combat sequences. Some of the best I've still ever seen. However, the plot of Top Gun was AWOL. All I remember of Top Gun is, they practiced, he got the girl, his pal died and he was the hero at the end. Iron Eagle had a good plot. However the aerial combat scenes are pretty fake and tame. Sure it was unbelievable that they could pull it off but there was a plot and a good one.

Iron Eagle's fun lies in it's youthful angst and comedy. Louis Gossett Jr. shows his veteran acting skill in this movie as the veteran pilot. Jason Gedrick was good as the young upstart pilot with too much testosterone. They chemistry between the actors was good. There is one scene where they young pilot asks for Chappy's help and he turns him down and Louis Gossett's acting skills become quite evident. One of the best scenes in the movie is the race between the motorcycle and the Cessna with a pounding rock song in the background. It is one of the best done flight sequences I've seen in a move and is not fake like the combat scenes. Another scene is when the kids use their dupe their parents and other military personnel into getting them what ever they want from the base, including two F-16s. But more than these scenes, it's really the soundtrack that makes the movie. There are songs by Queen(One Vision), Dio(Hide in the Rainbow) and The Spencer Davis Group(Gimmie Some Lovin), what a combo! Not only does the music sound good to our young pilot, it also makes him fly and fight better! While I can't say that Iron Eagle is a masterpiece, it is one of my favorite movies of all time.

Iron Eagle is out on DVD! Now I finally have and excuse to buy a DVD player!

Rayvyn

Ahhh, to be twelve years old again. I'm pretty sure if I was still that age, I would have loved this preposterous medley of bad acting, copious amounts of Queen's "One Vision" and senseless explosions. Sadly (and I do mean that), I've grown up and can recognize IRON EAGLE for what it is... and while it's not god-awful, it's not all that good, either.

IRON EAGLE is the story of new high school grad Doug Masters (Jason Gedrick, whom you'd recognize from CROSSING THE BRIDGE and ONE EYED KING had you ever heard of those movies). His fighter pilot dad has been captured by an evil Middle East country for illegally entering its territory (imagine that!). Now papa's gonna be hung and nobody in the US of A is ready to do anything about... 'cept Doug. So our hero steals military intelligence and an F-16 fighter jet (it's quite easy, really... just get your friends to distract army dudes by 'accidentially' spilling juice on their shirts and stuff). With the help of bright spot Louis Gossett Jr., he soars in to save the day.

IRON EAGLE actually starts out promising. You might even be willing to forgive its ludicrousness, but it gradually morphs into a meaningless series of fireballs and clichéd dialog. It seems perfectly content to dish out cheap thrills to violence-obsessed boys, and do nothing more. It's also too long and at times borders on the laughable. The film still has a certain charm, but unless your night is slower than molasses, you'll want to skip it.

The film focuses a boy about eighteen-years-old (Jason Gedrick) ; when his father (Tim Thomerson) is taken prisoner by a dictator (David Suchet) from Middle East , he steals a F 16 fighter jet to rescue his daddy . He's helped by the brave Colonel ¨Chappy¨ Sinclair (Louis Gosset Jr. , though Morgan Freeman auditioned for the part) . The movie contains a plethora of action scenes , explosion , blasts , aircraft battles with various jet-planes flying to sound-velocity and blown up . The picture is a blend of typical films from the 80s , as ¨Top Gun¨and ¨Rambo¨ but starred by a teenager .

The story provides entertainment and action with no sense but being sometimes a little bit boring and dull . All of the fighter aircraft used (F-16 fighters ; plus , F-21 fighters depicting enemy MiGs) are actually Israeli Air Force aircraft , repainted with the USAF symbol and a fictitious enemy symbol . Jason Gedrick is the valiant he-man , he causes wreck havoc to nasties commanded by the villain David Suchet . Our hero ¨Chappy¨ is well personified by Louis Gosset Jr , usual to all the¨Iron Eagle¨ saga . Spectacular cinematography by Adam Greenberg with excellent sky-shots . However , the score is awful , but is based in disco-music and synthesizer , in spite of being composed by Basil Poledouris (¨Conan¨ music's author) . The motion picture was regularly directed by Sidney J.Furie . It's followed by three sequels, all directed by Furie with exception the second directed by John Glen , thus : ¨Iron Eagle 2¨ (1988) with Mark Humphrey ; ¨Aces : Iron Eagle III¨ (1992) with Rachel McLish and Horst Buchhold ; and ¨Iron Eagle IV¨ with Rachel Blanchard .

This movie is not quite as bad as some of the comments want you to believe. It does have some serious reality flaws. But that's exactly where it excels. This is not a story about a kid trying to rescue his dad. This is a story about the flying fantasies of youth. I grew up playing quite a few flight simulators on computers, and this added to my fantasy of someday flying a fighter jet. This is exactly what this movie's about, a kid completely enthralled with flight simulations that he becomes a good pilot.

They should have left it at that though. The kid's fantasy of rescuing his dad (also a pilot) from some mysterious middle eastern base should not have been brought to reality. Reality should not have extended past his races in his single-engine crop-duster with a motorcycle. Throughout the movie, the kid does not see the world as a dangerous place. He still sees it as one big simulation. This is exactly how you should watch the movie, otherwise, it will seem like a ridiculous plot that's out-of-touch with the real world.

I really hate seeing people rip on this movie. They rip on the realism. How realistic are half of Arnold Swarzenegger's movies?...or any movie like them. Iron Eagle has a great soundtrack, cool dog fighting sequences, and a good story line (whether it's realistic or not). It's a story every young person who likes military fighter jets would love to live. It draws on the fact that you wish it was you "going in to knock the s... out of them.." (As Chappy put it). You people who rip on the realistic plot.....hey.....go watch a documentary. Or go glam like Hollywood and watch Top Gun. How many times have US and Russian planes flown inverted and given the other the bird from a few feet away. Iron Eagle is a great movie.....check it out.