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Devotion
(Columbia Pictures/Black Label Media)
By Lucas Allen
Hot on the heels of the highly successful summer blockbuster “Top Gun: Maverick” comes another new movie about war and aviation. “Devotion” is based on a true story that takes place during America’s “forgotten war” that pits battles in the sky and on land. The movie is adapted from the 2017 book “Devotion: An Epic Story of Heroism, Friendship, and Sacrifice,” by Adam Makos.
It’s 1950, and America has entered the Korean War, sending off their bravest to try to end the conflict. Ensign Jesse Brown (Jonathan Majors) was the first African-American naval pilot, who fought the horrors of racism to get where he wants to be. He’s supported by his loving wife Daisy (Cristina Jackson) and they’re raising a young daughter. He’s soon teamed with his new wingman Sgt. Tom Hudner (Glen Powell), and together these two men join other pilots for combat training.
The two also form a friendship during the duration of overseas training while facing hardships along the way. In battle, they defy the odds, taking on opponents on the ground as well as in the air. But their friendship is put to the test when they not only have to fight for what matters, but also to understand each other’s worlds.
Basically, it’s a straightforward true war story with some of the elements you’ve come to expect. The drama is perfectly sound, with some real-life people portrayed by the actors holding the anchor. It doesn’t show much of the racism unlike similar movies done previously, but it does well in conveying the pain of it through Brown’s facial emotion and dialogue. When he does that ritual of speaking certain insults to himself in the mirror, you can feel the emotional trauma he expresses with his sadness and anger. It’s the kind of scene that makes this story as timely today.
Since it’s a war picture, you may have come for the artillery battles before staying for the actual drama. There are only a few battle sequences shown throughout the two-hour runtime, which may be a disappointment for the action crowd. However, the modern filmmaking techniques used to make these scenes help to put you in the cockpit with these characters and experience how terrifying being in the middle of the war can be. By the end, you’ll be completely moved by the heavy drama about the tragedy of war itself.
Majors gives a powerful performance showing different sides of his character conveyed well in each and every one of his scenes. Powell’s performance is pretty much the complete opposite of his previous role from “Top Gun: Maverick,” with that smug charm plus he shows a little more range this time around. Together, these two actors bring friendly chemistry and humor to their scenes. There’s also an odd moment of Brown meeting actress Elizabeth Taylor (Serinda Swan) during shore leave in Cannes that’s mainly there to pad the movie’s second act, and it feels unnecessary.
The best way to sum up “Devotion” is that it’s basically a war movie with heart. It may not reach as high as it could, but it certainly knows what it was going for and succeeds in its own right. If you wish to see a movie this season that pulls your heart-strings and gets your mind blown, then this may be the one for you.
THE MOVIE’S RATING: PG-13 (for strong language, some war/action violence, and smoking)
THE CRITIC’S RATING: 3.25 Stars (Out of Four)
