At the same time that Top Gun: Maverick hits theaters after 36 years of waiting, aviation fans can now wait for another film on the subject, and this time based on real events. Devotion brings the story of the forgotten Korean War and the fight against racism by a pioneering black naval aviator.
The new trailer for the Justin Dillard-directed war drama was released yesterday (26), at the same time that aficionados packed theaters for the premiere of Tom Cruise's new feature film.
The film is inspired by the bestseller “Devotion: An Epic Story of Heroism, Friendship, and Sacrifice”, written by Adam Makos and which tells the true story of two US Navy fighter pilots, Ensign Jesse Leroy Brown and Captain James Hudner. Brown is played by Jonathan Majors, while Hudner is lived by Glen Powell, the same actor as the character Hangman from Top Gun 2.
Even with all the barriers imposed by poverty and the blatant and extreme racial prejudice of the US in the 1940s/1950s, Brown followed the path of pioneering and became the first black US naval aviator, piloting the fighter F4U Corsair.
After 20 combat missions in the Korean War, flying for the VF-32 squadron aboard the aircraft carrier USS Leyte, Jesse was shot down. The story is amazing because Hudner still tried to save him, crash landing next to Jesse and fighting to get him out of the Corsair wreckage.
Sadly, the first of many others that followed in his path did not survive, despite the struggle of Hudner who even tried to use an ax to get his comrade out of the plane. For his actions, Captain Hudner was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor, the highest US military honor.
The trailers and teasers of Devotion, produced by Sony, arrive at just the right time. Even as attention is focused on Top Gun: Maverick, all the hype surrounding naval aviators, and military aviation as a whole, draws attention to this new film.
Since this is a true story, Devotion should present a real contrast to Top Gun, which largely shows the vibrant and glamorous side of fighter pilots, rather than the struggle they went through to get to their ranks.
Devotion should hit theaters on October 14 of this year.
