Iron Eagle was the US Air force’s response to the Navy’s Top Gun
Iron Eagle is a family oriented military themed action movie. It has been compared many times to Top Gun unfavorably, and unfairly called a rip off. The truth is the Iron Eagle was the first to be released, so it was not a copy of the aforementioned Navy pilot movie. This movie is about the real Air Force and is even loosely based on some bombing runs at actually happened when the US attacked Libya in 1981 in what was called the Gulf of Sidra incident.
I have to agree with Johnny Lawrence (Cobra Kai) that Iron Eagle is the better film. Not only did it spawn 3 sequels,: while we’re still waiting on Top Gun 2 after over 35 years. But it doesn’t need to use sex to sell the film. Iron Eagle is quaint, quirky, and seems realistic when compared to other military movies of the era. There is some character development even with the children in the supporting roles.
Louis Gossett Jr. is the Iron Eagle (a seasoned colonel, who never seems to get promoted to General) and he stars in all 4 films. This first movie has him, as Colonel Charles “Chappy” Sinclair, co-ordinate a group of kids (all the children of military parents) who want to help air force pilot hopeful Doug Masters save his father. Colonel Masters has been caught behind enemy lines and is about to be executed in the middle east and officially nothing is being done. The kids are trying to steal an F-16 on their own, with Doug flying, but logistically they need help. Meanwhile, Chappy doesn’t feel right about the younger Colonel being left to die, but he needs another pilot to make an attack effective.
