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''Iron Eagle'' is a 1986
action film The action film is a film genre that predominantly features chase sequences, fights, shootouts, explosions, and stunt work. The specifics of what constitutes an action film has been in scholarly debate since the 1980s. While some scholars such as D ...
directed by
Sidney J. Furie Sholom Joseph Furie (born February 28, 1933), commonly known as Sidney J. Furie, is a Canadian film and television director, screenwriter, and producer. After early work at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Furie made his feature film debu ...
who co-wrote the screenplay with
Kevin Alyn Elders Kevin Alyn Elders is an American writer, film director, and producer whose work includes novels and screenplays for film and television. Career Elders began his career in the 1980s as a screenwriter based in Southern California. In the length ...
, and starring
Jason Gedrick Jason Michael Gedrick is an American actor. He is best known for his work on the television series '' Murder One'' and ''Boomtown'', and the motion picture ''Iron Eagle'' as Doug Masters. He starred in the 2001 film '' Summer Catch'' as Mike ...
and
Louis Gossett Jr. Louis Cameron Gossett Jr. (May 27, 1936 – March 29, 2024) was an American actor. He made his stage debut at the age of 17. Shortly thereafter, he successfully auditioned for the Broadway theatre, Broadway play ''Take a Giant Step.'' Gossett co ...
Mann, Roderick
"Sidney Furie leads the cheer for 'Iron Eagle'."
''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...
'', February 2, 1986. Retrieved: October 27, 2010.
The film is unfavorably compared to the similarly-themed ''
Top Gun ''Top Gun'' is a 1986 American action drama film directed by Tony Scott and produced by Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer, with distribution by Paramount Pictures. The screenplay was written by Jim Cash and Jack Epps Jr., and was inspired ...
'' released the same year. It is the first installment of the ''Iron Eagle'' film series and was followed by three sequels: ''
Iron Eagle II ''Iron Eagle II'' (also titled ''Iron Eagle II: The Battle Beyond the Flag'') is a 1988 action film directed by Sidney J. Furie and written by Furie and Kevin Alyn Elders. A sequel to the 1986 film ''Iron Eagle'', it is the second installment of ...
'', '' Aces: Iron Eagle III'', and ''
Iron Eagle on the Attack ''Iron Eagle on the Attack'' (stylized on-screen as ''Iron Eagle IV'') is a 1995 direct-to-video action film directed by Sidney J. Furie (who directed the first two ''Iron Eagle'' films
'', with Gossett being the only actor to appear in all four films.


Plot

Doug Masters, son of veteran
U.S. Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its origins to 1 ...
pilot Colonel Ted Masters, is a hotshot civilian pilot hoping to follow in his father's role. He receives a notice of rejection from the
Air Force Academy An air force academy or air academy is a national institution that provides initial officer training, possibly including undergraduate level education, to air force officer cadets who are preparing to be commissioned officers in a national air forc ...
, and his father has been shot down and captured by the fictional Arab state of Bilya while patrolling over the
Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...
. Though the incident occurred over
international waters The terms international waters or transboundary waters apply where any of the following types of bodies of water (or their drainage basins) transcend international boundaries: oceans, large marine ecosystems, enclosed or semi-enclosed region ...
, the Arab state's court finds Colonel Masters guilty of trespassing over their territory and sentences him to
hang Hang or Hanging may refer to: People * Choe Hang (disambiguation), various people * Luciano Hang (born 1962/1963), Brazilian billionaire businessman * Ren Hang (disambiguation), various people *Hang (surname), Chinese surname (杭) Law * Hanging, ...
in three days. Deciding that the U.S. government will do nothing to save his father's life, Doug devises his own rescue mission. He requests the help of Col. Charles "Chappy" Sinclair, a
Vietnam veteran A Vietnam veteran is an individual who performed active Army, ground, Navy, naval, or Air force, air service in the South Vietnam, Republic of Vietnam during the Vietnam War. The term has been used to describe veterans who served in the armed fo ...
pilot currently in the
Air Force Reserve The Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) is a major command (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force, with its headquarters at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia. It is the federal Air Reserve Component (ARC) of the U.S. Air Force, consisting of commis ...
, who, though not knowing Colonel Masters personally, had a favorable run-in with him years before meeting Doug and "knew the type." Chappy is initially skeptical, but Doug convinces him that, with his friends, he has full access to the airbase's intelligence and resources and can give him an F-16 fighter for the mission. To Doug's surprise, Chappy had already begun planning a rescue operation after learning the outcome of Colonel Masters's trial. The team of Chappy and Doug devise a meticulously planned mission and the procurement of two heavily armed F-16B jets, with Doug flying the second unit. On the day of Colonel Masters's scheduled execution, Doug and Chappy fly their jets to the Mediterranean Sea and cross into Bilyan airspace. The Bilyan military responds, and in the ensuing battle, Doug and Chappy take out three
MiG-23 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23 (; NATO reporting name: Flogger) is a variable-geometry fighter aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan-Gurevich design bureau in the Soviet Union. It is a third-generation jet fighter, alongside similar Soviet aircra ...
fighters and destroy an airfield, with Chappy's plane being hit by anti-aircraft fire. He tells Doug to climb to a high altitude and play the tape he made the night before. Doug then listens as Chappy's engine fails and crashes into the Mediterranean Sea. Chappy's recorded voice gives Doug encouragement and details that help him to complete the mission and rescue his father. Making the enemy believe he is leading a squadron, Doug threatens the enemy state into releasing his father for pickup. Before Doug lands his F-16, Colonel Masters is shot by a sniper, causing Doug to destroy the airbase and engulf the runway with
napalm Napalm is an incendiary mixture of a gelling agent and a volatile petrochemical (usually gasoline or diesel fuel). The name is a portmanteau of two of the constituents of the original thickening and gelling agents: coprecipitated aluminium ...
to keep the army at bay while he lands and picks up his wounded father. Just as they take off, Doug and his father encounter another group of MiGs led by Col. Akir Nakesh, himself an
ace pilot A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down a certain minimum number of enemy aircraft during aerial combat; the exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ace varies, but is ...
. The lone F-16 and Nakesh's MiG engage in a
dogfight A dogfight, or dog fight, is an air combat manoeuvring, aerial battle between fighter aircraft that is conducted at close range. Modern terminology for air-to-air combat is air combat manoeuvring (ACM), which refers to tactical situations requir ...
until a missile from Doug finishes off Nakesh. Low on fuel and ammunition, the F-16 is pursued by the other enemy MiGs when a flight of U.S. Air Force F-16s appears, warding off the MiGs before escorting Doug and his father to
Ramstein Air Base Ramstein Air Base is a United States Air Force installation located in Rhineland-Palatinate, southwestern Germany. It serves as the headquarters for the United States Air Forces in Europe – Air Forces Africa (USAFE-AFAFRICA) and NATO Alli ...
in
West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...
. While Col. Masters is being treated for his wounds, Doug is reunited with Chappy, who had ejected from his plane and was picked up by an
Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...
ian
fishing trawler A fishing trawler is a commercial fishing vessel designed to operate fishing trawls. Trawling is a method of fishing that involves actively dragging or pulling a trawl through the water behind one or more trawlers. Trawls are fishing nets tha ...
. The two are summoned by an Air Force judiciary panel for their reckless actions. Seeing that any punishment for the duo would expose an embarrassing lapse in Air Force security, the panel forgoes prosecution as long as Doug and Chappy never speak of their operation to anyone. In addition, Chappy convinces the panel to grant Doug admission to the Air Force Academy. Days later, a plane assigned by the President returns to the U.S., reuniting Doug, Chappy, and Colonel Masters with family and friends.


Cast

*
Louis Gossett Jr. Louis Cameron Gossett Jr. (May 27, 1936 – March 29, 2024) was an American actor. He made his stage debut at the age of 17. Shortly thereafter, he successfully auditioned for the Broadway theatre, Broadway play ''Take a Giant Step.'' Gossett co ...
as Colonel Charles "Chappy" Sinclair *
Jason Gedrick Jason Michael Gedrick is an American actor. He is best known for his work on the television series '' Murder One'' and ''Boomtown'', and the motion picture ''Iron Eagle'' as Doug Masters. He starred in the 2001 film '' Summer Catch'' as Mike ...
as Doug Masters *
David Suchet Sir David Courtney Suchet ( ; born 2 May 1946) is an English actor. He is known for his work on stage and in television. He portrayed Edward Teller in the television serial '' Oppenheimer'' (1980) and received the RTS and BPG awards for his pe ...
as Ministry of Defense Colonel Akir Nakesh *
Shawnee Smith Shawnee Smith (born July 3, 1969) is an American actress and singer. She began her acting career at a young age, making her feature film debut at age 11 in '' Annie'' (1982). A few years later, she made her stage debut in '' To Gillian on Her 37 ...
as Joenie *
Melora Hardin Melora Diane Hardin Jackson (born June 29, 1967) is an American actress and singer. She is best known for her roles as Jan Levinson on NBC's ''The Office'' (2005–2013), Trudy Monk on USA Network's ''Monk'' (2004–2009), and Tammy Cashman o ...
as Katie *
Larry B. Scott Larry B. Scott (born August 17, 1961) is an American actor whose film debut was in the 1978 movie '' A Hero Ain't Nothin' but a Sandwich''. Early life Scott was born in New York City and grew up in St. Albans, Queens, the sixth of nine chil ...
as Reggie *
Lance LeGault William Lance LeGault Sr. (May 2, 1935 – September 10, 2012) was an American actor. He was best known as U.S. Army Colonel Roderick Decker in the 1980s American television series ''The A-Team''. Early and personal life LeGault was born May 2, ...
as General Edwards *
Tim Thomerson Joseph Timothy Thomerson (born April 8, 1946) is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for his role as Jack Deth in the '' Trancers'' film series, his work in numerous low-budget features, and his comedic television roles. He appear ...
as Colonel Ted Masters * Caroline Lagerfelt as Elizabeth Masters *
Robert Jayne Robert Jayne (born July 16, 1973), also known as Bobby Jacoby, is an American actor, real estate developer and professional blackjack player. Career Starting his career as a child actor, he has appeared in many television series as well as films ...
as Matt Masters *
Jerry Levine Jerry Levine (born March 12, 1957) is an American actor and director of television and theatre. As an actor, he is best known for his roles as Joe on ''Will & Grace'', Stiles in the 1985 feature film ''Teen Wolf'' and Jamie in the 1988 movie '' Ca ...
as Tony *
Robbie Rist Robert Anthony Rist (born April 4, 1964) is an American actor. He is known for playing Cousin Oliver in ''The Brady Bunch'', Martin in ''Grady (American TV series), Grady'' and "Little John" in ''Big John, Little John''. Rist is also known fo ...
as Milo Bazen * Michael Bowen as Knotcher * David Greenlee as Kingsley * Tom Fridley as Brillo *
Rob Garrison Robert Scott Garrison (January 23, 1960 – September 27, 2019) was an American actor known for his role as Tommy in the 1984 film ''The Karate Kid'' and the second season of its spinoff ''Cobra Kai''. Garrison started his acting career in the ...
as Packer *
Michael Alldredge Dennis Michael Alldredge (April 13, 1941 – December 19, 1997) was an American film and television actor. He played Frank Foley in the short-lived drama television series '' Almost Grown''. He also played Bill Graham in the miniseries '' V ...
as Colonel Blackburn


Production

According to writer/director
Sidney J. Furie Sholom Joseph Furie (born February 28, 1933), commonly known as Sidney J. Furie, is a Canadian film and television director, screenwriter, and producer. After early work at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Furie made his feature film debu ...
, the film's working title was ''Junior Eagle''. Furie and co-writer
Kevin Alyn Elders Kevin Alyn Elders is an American writer, film director, and producer whose work includes novels and screenplays for film and television. Career Elders began his career in the 1980s as a screenwriter based in Southern California. In the length ...
were inspired by the
1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and commonly known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the ...
in
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
. The script was turned down by every studio before it was picked up by Joe Wizan, former head of
20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc., formerly 20th Century Fox, is an American film studio, film production and Film distributor, distribution company owned by the Walt Disney Studios (division), Walt Disney Studios, the film studios division of the ...
. Wizan then handed the script to producer
Ron Samuels Ron Samuels is an American film producer and artist manager. His film production credits include ''Iron Eagle'' (1986), '' Aces: Iron Eagle III'' (1992), and '' Raven Hawk'' (1996). Career Samuels owned a television production company in Beverly ...
, who likened it to the old
John Wayne Marion Robert Morrison (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979), known professionally as John Wayne, was an American actor. Nicknamed "Duke", he became a Pop icon, popular icon through his starring roles in films which were produced during Hollywood' ...
westerns. Pre-production work began in late 1984. Although F-16s are featured in the movie poster, the
United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...
has a long-standing policy about not cooperating on any film involving the theft of an aircraft. Consequently, the filmmakers turned to the
Israeli Air Force The Israeli Air Force (IAF; , commonly known as , ''Kheil HaAvir'', "Air Corps") operates as the aerial and space warfare branch of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). It was founded on May 28, 1948, shortly after the Israeli Declaration of Indep ...
for the necessary aerial sequences. The filming in
Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
took six weeks, with the flight sequences choreographed by Jim Gavin, whose earlier works include ''
Blue Thunder ''Blue Thunder'' is a 1983 American action thriller film directed by John Badham. The Blue Thunder helicopter itself did exist as two copies of modified French Aérospatiale Gazelles. A spin-off television series, also called '' Blue Thun ...
''. Filming took place at both California and Israeli locales. To simulate the above-ground facilities of a typical USAF base, a combination of hangars and barracks at
Camarillo Camarillo ( ) is a city in Ventura County, California, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 70,741, an increase of 5,540 from the 65,201 counted in the 2010 Census. Camarillo is named for brothers Juan and ...
and the
Planes of Fame Air Museum Planes of Fame Air Museum is an aviation museum at Chino Airport in Chino, California. History The Air Museum was founded by Edward T. Maloney on January 12, 1957, in Claremont, California, to save historically important aircraft.
at
Chino, California Chino ( ; Spanish for "Curly") is a city in the western end of San Bernardino County, California, United States, with Los Angeles County to its west and Orange County to its south in the Southern California region. Chino's surroundings ha ...
were employed. Most Israeli airbases are situated in underground hangars, maintenance shops and crew quarters. Filming in Israel took six weeks in and around "regular Israeli training missions". The aircraft used for both the American and the Bilyan air forces were Israeli jets: single-seat F-16As, two-seat F-16Bs, and F-21/C-2 Kfirs simulating MiG-23s, painted with fictional national markings.


Music


Soundtrack

The soundtrack album was issued by
Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007), and simply known as Capitol, is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-base ...
on LP and cassette, and later on compact disc. It features songs by
Queen Queen most commonly refers to: * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen (band), a British rock band Queen or QUEEN may also refer to: Monarchy * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Q ...
,
King Kobra King Kobra is an American heavy metal band founded by drummer Carmine Appice after his tenure with Ozzy Osbourne from 1983 to 1984. History For their first two albums, the band consisted of four relatively unknown musicians: vocalist Marcie ...
, Eric Martin, Dio, Adrenalin, George Clinton and more. In 2008,
Varèse Sarabande Varèse Sarabande is an American record label, owned by Concord Music Group and distributed by Universal Music Group, which specializes in film scores and cast recording, original cast recordings. It aims to reissue rare or unavailable albums, as ...
released the original musical score by
Basil Poledouris Basil Konstantine Poledouris (; August 21, 1945 – November 8, 2006) was an American composer, conductor, and orchestrator of film and television scores, best known for his long-running collaborations with directors John Milius and Paul Verhoe ...
as part of their CD Club.


Release


Home media

''Iron Eagle'' was released on
VHS VHS (Video Home System) is a discontinued standard for consumer-level analog video recording on tape cassettes, introduced in 1976 by JVC. It was the dominant home video format throughout the tape media period of the 1980s and 1990s. Ma ...
,
Betamax Betamax (also known as Beta, and stylized as the Greek letter Beta, β in its logo) is a discontinued consumer analog Videotape, video cassette recording format developed by Sony. It was one of the main competitors in the videotape format war ag ...
, and
LaserDisc LaserDisc (LD) is a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium. It was developed by Philips, Pioneer Corporation, Pioneer, and the movie studio MCA Inc., MCA. The format was initially marketed in the United State ...
by
CBS/FOX Video 20th Century Home Entertainment (previously known as Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, LLC. and also known as 20th Century Studios Home Entertainment) was a home video distribution arm that distributes films produced by 20th Century Stud ...
in 1986. On October 1, 2002, it was released on
DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...
and on February 3, 2009, it was reissued on DVD by
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Inc. (abbreviated as SPHE) is the home entertainment distribution division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony. Background SPHE is responsible for the distribution of the Sony Pictures libra ...
in a double-feature set with the 1993 film ''
Last Action Hero ''Last Action Hero'' is a 1993 American fantasy action comedy film directed and produced by John McTiernan and co-written by Shane Black and David Arnott. It is a satire of the action genre and associated clichés, containing several parodies ...
''.


Reception


Box office

''Iron Eagle'' opened at number one at the U.S. box office with a gross of $6,104,754 from 1,080 screens. It went on to gross $24,159,872 at the American and Canadian box office. The movie was a decent success at the cinema in North America and it also generated $11 million in home video sales in U.S.A., enough to justify a sequel.


Critical response

Film reviewers were generally negative; Kevin Thomas of the ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...
'' called the film "ludicrous", "preposterous", and "a total waste of time", saying it "achieves a kind of perfection of awfulness that only earnest effort can produce". Film historian and reviewer
Leonard Maltin Leonard Michael Maltin (born December 18, 1950) is an American film critic, film historian, and author. He is known for his book of film capsule reviews, '' Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide'', published from 1969 to 2014. Maltin was the film criti ...
dismissed the film as "a dum-dum comic-book movie ..full of jingoistic ideals and dubious ethics, along with people who die and then miraculously come back to life. Not boring, just stupid." Joe Kane of "The Phantom of the Movies" said "''Iron Eagle'' boasts the hottest rock score of any war film since ''
Apocalypse Now ''Apocalypse Now'' is a 1979 American psychological epic war film produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The screenplay, co-written by Coppola, John Milius, and Michael Herr, is loosely inspired by the 1899 novella '' Heart of Darkn ...
''. Alas, the similarity ends there. Forget the picture and buy the soundtrack album instead; King Kobra's titular music video, ''Never Say Die'', is better made than the movie itself." ''
Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' magazine commented that the film has "breakneck action and some dandy dogfights", but the dialogue is "simply laughable".
Janet Maslin Janet R. Maslin (born August 12, 1949) is an American journalist, who served as a film critic for ''The New York Times'' from 1977 to 1999, serving as chief critic for the last six years, and then a literary critic from 2000 to 2015. In 2000, M ...
of the ''
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' gave the film a favorable review, saying it has a "fun-loving feeling" and "something for everyone", appealing to teenagers and military aviation buffs for the "skillfully done" aerial combat sequences, along with the heartwarming, fatherly-like interracial relationship between Chappy and young Doug. On review aggregation site
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...
, the film has a score of 20% with an average rating of 4/10, based on reviews from five critics.


Sequel

A sequel titled ''Iron Eagle II'', was released in 1988.


References


Bibliography

* Beck, Simon D. ''The Aircraft-Spotter's Film and Television Companion''. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, 2016. . * Maltin, Leonard. ''Leonard Maltin's 2007 Movie Guide''. New York: New American Library, 2006. . * Orriss, Bruce. ''When Hollywood Ruled the Skies: The Post World War II Years''. Hawthorne, California: Aero Associates Inc., 2018. .


External links

*
''Iron Eagle'' at AllMovie
* * * * {{Sony franchises Iron Eagle (film series) 1986 films 1986 action films American action films American aviation films American coming-of-age films Canadian action films Canadian aviation films Cold War aviation films English-language Canadian films Films directed by Sidney J. Furie Films scored by Basil Poledouris Films set in fictional countries Films set in the Mediterranean Sea Films set in the United States Films shot in California Films shot in Israel Films about the United States Air Force TriStar Pictures films 1980s English-language films 1980s American films 1980s Canadian films English-language action films