From 1950 to 1953, a major conflict pitted North Korea versus South Korea, but it became part of the Cold War between the USA and authoritarian or Communist regimes, to include China and the Soviet Union. A year after the Korean War began, Hollywood produced motion pictures about that war and continued doing so 20 years after it ended. Notable examples include Sayonara (1957), Pork Chop Hill (1959), The Manchurian Candidate (1962) and M*A*S*H (1970). However, once the 1970's hit, Hollywood all but stopped making films about the Korean War. This was obviously due to the onslaught of the Vietnam War, which subsumed Hollywood to an even greater degree.
Looking back over the 70 years since that conflict, there hasn't been much in media and even in education. Many schools don't teach the Korean War, as they do others. Because of which, the Korean War has been nicknamed, if not outright deemed "America's Forgotten War." Baby Boomers remember, but most in the younger generations know next to nothing about it. Millions fought in that war. Reportedly, 36,500 Americans died as a result. Military historian Adam Makos' 2015 book details the experiences of one of those Korean War veterans.
Jonathan Majors (Da 5 Bloods and The Last Black Man in San Francisco) stars as Jesse Brown, the real-life, African-American veteran who served in the Korean War. In fact, Brown was the first, African-American aviator to complete the United States Navy's basic flight training program. He's from Mississippi, born in 1926. Despite racism, he was able to go to college and join the armed services. He married in 1947. He became a commissioned officer with the rank of ensign in 1949. He was assigned to Quonset Point in Rhode Island that same year. His daughter was born not that long after.
Having not read Makos' biography, I'm not sure what the title means or truly references. However, there are several references that can be gleaned by what is depicted in this film. First off, Majors' performance is incredible and powerful in so many ways. This is exemplified in one scene where Jesse talks to himself in the mirror reiterating all the racist and hateful things anyone has ever said to him. He talks about the bigotry and discrimination he's faced. He even describes a pool incident in which he could have died. Yet, his perseverance, a kind of devoted spirit, helped him to survive and even succeed.
Glenn Powell (Top Gun: Maverick and Hidden Figures) co-stars as Tom Hudner, a fellow naval aviator who gets assigned to Quonset Point in 1950, about a year after Jesse. He's put in Fighter Squandron 32, or VF-32, the same unit as Jesse. He's a couple years younger. He's single, not married nor has any children, but he's a lieutenant. He's a higher rank than Jesse, which causes some slight or subtle tension. Tom is higher up, despite being younger and less experienced in certain regards.
People are going to compare this film to Top Gun: Maverick (2022), which was released the same year as this one and has gone on to become the highest-grossing film, the ultimate blockbuster of 2022. This film, like Top Gun: Maverick, is also about naval aviators. This film, like Top Gun: Maverick, has Glenn Powell. One difference is the patriotism that leans toward jingoism, as well as the shades of military propaganda. The German remake of All Quiet on the Western Front (2022) reintroduced the debate of war films that glorify war, as opposed to critiquing and condemning war.
Most filmmakers would argue that they're not glorifying or celebrating war but rather honoring the soldiers who served and fought to protect American lives or values. Top Gun: Maverick and its predecessor divorced themselves from politics by not identifying any political affiliations or even countries, which likely undermined any argument that they're not ra-ra military and war. This film doesn't divorce itself completely from politics or political issues, such as racism. It's about a real person and a real conflict. As such, it's able to state more assertively that it's about honoring soldiers and thus veterans, one in particular, that of Jesse Brown.
This can speak to another explanation of its title, that of the devoted feelings that soldiers have about one another and being there for each other, especially in combat. Tom talks about wanting to join the Navy in the wake of the Pearl Harbor attack and feeling frustrated over not being able to be there for his fellow soldiers because World War II had ended by the time he finished his military training.
There is a more literal explanation of this film's title though. When Jesse and Tom along with VF-32 set sail aboard the USS Leyte, Jesse writes letters back home to his wife, Daisy, played by Christina Jackson (Swagger and Outsiders). Those letters were always signed at the bottom with the phrase "devoted husband." Often, women are given short shrift in war films like this where it's mostly about brotherhood and male friendship. Director J. D. Dillard (Sweetheart and Sleight) who in real-life is the son of an African-American, naval aviator does as much as he can to establish Jesse's marriage in order to make that "devoted husband' line land, or rather take-off.
The centerpieces though are the aerial sequences. Of course, it will be compared to Top Gun: Maverick and not be able to measure up. Yet, Dillard does make the aerial sequences thrilling and engaging. There aren't many and they aren't that long, but Dillard does manage to make them count. One sequence that incorporated one long, continuous take from outside a plane into the cockpit and down for a crash landing was particularly memorable.
Notably, pop star Joe Jonas plays Marty Goode, one of the fellow aviators serving along side Jesse and Tom. Joe Jonas is the older brother to Nick Jonas, a more popular pop star who also played a naval aviator in the Roland Emmerich film Midway (2019). Joe Jonas, however, does an original song called "Not Alone" that works very well here. Among the supporting cast, shout-out to Spencer Neville (The Obituary of Tunde Johnson and Days of Our Lives) who plays Bo Lavery what is arguably the comic relief of this film. Neville is the equivalent to what Powell's character was in Top Gun: Maverick.
Rated PG-13 for strong language, war action and smoking.
Running Time: 2 hrs. and 19 mins.
In theaters.
