Simply A Masterpiece

one of my absolute favorites!

Good movie, but best of all time? Hardly . . .

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

There is one main reason why this movie was made – to make money based on the popularity of "Top gun" . There is one main difference – "Top gun" was made for teenagers (adults can watch it too) , while "Iron eagle" is aimed for kids. If you want to enjoy the movie you have to remember that . It explains why the plot of this movie is so naive, if not unrealistic."Iron eagle" is obviously a rather low budget movie. It doesn't have any big names (with the exception of Louis Gossett Jr. , who was quite well known in the 80's after he won an Oscar for " The officer and gentleman" ) , the soundtrack doesn't have any big stars ( with the exception of Queen and Twisted Sister) and the action scenes aren't too spectacular ( still they are OK ) . Yet , this movie has some kind of charm that doesn't allow me to hate this movie.Maybe it's nostalgia. I remember watching this movie when I was young and I loved it. A story about a young pilot that saves his father from bad guys and becomes a hero… A story of father-son relationship between Doug and Chappy … A story of friendship when Doug's friends help him any way they can … What's here not to love ? Adventure, friendship and respect. It worked when I was young , it works now . Sure , I look at this movie differently after all those years. That doesn't change the fact that this movie got heart ( or at least feels sincere to me).The acting isn't anything special. Jason Gedrick as main hero is quite wooden .Thankfully Louis Gossett Jr. has so much charisma that he practically carries the movie on his own. It's not strange that in the sequels ( completely unnecessary and bad by the way ) he is the main hero. Let's not forget also about David Suchet as the main villain. He's good.Action scenes can't compare to the ones from Scott movie , but still they are watchable. Sidney J. Furie directs the movie in a decent way. It's the same guy who directed the terrible "Superman 4 : Quest for peace" . Don't be afraid . Here he gives the movie charm that is very needed to make movie likable, when you have a mediocre script and low budget.I like couple of songs from the soundtrack . Queen – "One vision" , Twisted Sister – "Were not gonna take it" , Adrenalin – "Road of the gypsy" , Rainey Haynes – "Old enough to rock and roll" and my favourite King Kobra – "Never say die (Iron Eagle)" . No Oscar winners , but fun songs to listen during the movie.Don't be scared by the low rating . Overall it's a weaker movie than "Top gun" , but still fun (with the right attitude from the viewer). I give it 2/10.

I have reviewed a number of the negative reviews of this movie and have just watched it again. Of course the story is fantasy. No teen is going to bypass Air Force base security or fly an F-16, but I can tell you from 40 years experience as an Army and Air Force doc and flight surgeon that those of us who have walked the walk, not just talked the talk, love this movie. We got to fly because we qualified for it above others who just as passionately wanted it. We have walked in the Valley of the Shadow of Death so you guys can live free. Every flyer I know loves what they do as passionately as portrayed in this movie and would choose to do what is right rather than leave a fallen comrade. We live "Iron Eagle" and "Top Gun" and "Platoon" and "Full Metal Jacket" every day of our service to you and our country.One of the three best days of my life was the day I was commissioned an Air Force officer in 1972 and one of the worst was the day I was informed that I had to retire from the reserve. I just confirmed a need for my services again and will be returning as a National Guard officer for another six years just as my youngest gets her commission as an officer in the US Army.Watch this movie not for the realistic story but for the realistic portrayal of the passion of those of us who stand in harm's way to preserve your ability to live free. I don't expect you to emulate me. It will be enough if you merely try to understand me, and to appreciate what this movie is trying to say..WRD

as a retired USAF MSG (aircraft maint. spec), this has got to be one of the worst movies i have ever seen. the fact that a teenager could ever get on the flight-line, much less get into an f-16 is ludicrous. the military spends millions on each pilot to make them the best in the world and this movie makes the air force and all its members seem stupid at best. yes, i know it is only a movie but it conveys a message to the younger folks that we are all idiots, and believe me, we are not. the logistics involved in setting up any type of mission are highly involved, even in the eighties, military computers were too secure to hack by any teenager, and the other flaws in this movie make peter pan more believable. sorry, to me, this movie has no entertainment value at all.

...But it definitely still only deserves 4/10 stars and no more. A moronic dumb kid's father is a fighter pilot who gets shot down by some Arab country. They never name the country in the movie, its really ridiculous, they just vaguely refer to some Arab nation, this movie is really ignorant like that. But Lamar from Revenge of the Nerds is in here, he is friends with the main character Doug Masters. Well, Doug Masters, who lives on an Air Force base, his father is an air force pilot, yet he fails to get into the air force academy, conceives of a plot (with help from his retarded friends) to steal two jets and go rescue his father. Yea, exactly - this is One of the Greatest Films Ever Made!!! Louis Gossett Jr is fantastic in his role. You can tell he basically wanted to smack the hell out of Doug Masters the whole movie. Well anyway, you can probably guess how the plot ends, I can't believe they made 3 sequels to this movie.