At first glance, and with the proximity of their releases - as well as other obvious connections - it's almost impossible to not make comparisons between Devotion and Top Gun: Maverick. However, in reality this is like comparing Sense and Sensibility with Shaun of the Dead. Granted, Top Gun: Maverick is a movie about (or at least revolving around) Naval Aviators. But it's really about the flying, looking cool while doing it, and of course... never leaving your wingman. That is one way in which these two movies do connect. Because Devotion - a title that may seem like an odd choice, but isn't - is more about the men than the flying. Which is under-stating it slightly. More accurately, it's an incredible story of friendship (and devotion), in a time when ignorance and racism made it rather difficult. Jonathan Majors and Glen Powell make an excellent team as the young pilots, leading a great cast with their superb performances. The pair have what feels like a very genuine camaraderie. It's also good to see Thomas Sadoski doing a kind of military man Don Keefer as their superior officer.
Now Top Gun this may not be, but Devotion does feature some intense aerial combat scenes thanks in no small part to the impressive aerial photography. Although at times some of the CGI is a bit ropey - or at the very least, rather obvious - and the movie can be a bit gloomy in places. So gloomy in fact, I found myself checking the brightness settings on my TV a couple of times, because I was struggling to see what was going on. Thankfully however, this is not something that affects the flying scenes. The hiring of Kevin LaRosa, aerial stunt coordinator on Top Gun: Maverick, as well as the adoption of certain techniques used in that movie to film the actors playing pilots, bring a level authenticity to the movie, not to mention adding to the intensity. Once again LaRosa comes as close as possible to putting audiences in the cockpit of some legendary warplanes. And all too quickly, the appeal and the perils of such a career become rather obvious - like the joys of landing a front-engine aircraft on a carrier's rather short flight deck.
Within this story of friendship and flying, Devotion depicts the hardship Jesse Brown faced in pursuing his career, as well as life in general. A struggle that Majors portrays brilliantly. More importantly, the movie shows how his teammates could never truly understand this hardship - including Hudner - and the strain it put on their collective relationship. It's a shame, however, that much like many movies that are "inspired by true events", there are moments when it appears the filmmakers have tried to sensationalise an already sensational story. Understandably some events have been streamlined and you shouldn't get your history from movies, but certain events have been unnecessarily twisted. Although Devotion is far from the worst offender. And at its heart, the movie does capture the strength of this incredible friendship, as well as some of the surprising places and events Brown and Hudner experienced together.
Despite the gloom making it difficult to appreciate certain scenes, Devotion is both an incredible story of friendship and loyalty, and a pertinent piece of history.
8/10
Devotion is available to watch on Amazon Prime.
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