If You Liked ‘Top Gun’ You Have To See The Showstopping Korean War Drama ‘Devotion’

Josh ShepherdNovember 29, 2022

Following the sky-high box-office numbers of “Top Gun: Maverick,” anyone who glanced at the movie trailer for “Devotion” — a true story of heroic U.S. Naval pilots, currently in theaters — probably thought producers were trying to cash in on the craze.

This historical film has been in the works for over six years, however, starting shortly after the book, “Devotion: An Epic Story of Heroism, Friendship, and Sacrifice,” began to make waves. It recounts how two long-overlooked pilots led a mission that turned the tide in the Korean War’s most brutal battle.

“That entire war has been woefully forgotten,” author Adam Makos told me in a phone interview. “The last major Korean War movie was ‘Pork Chop Hill’ starring Gregory Peck, released in 1959 — over 60 years ago. And Hollywood hasn’t gone there since.”

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Diverse talent came together to produce “Devotion.” Actor Glen Powell, known for “Hidden Figures” and recently as one of the “Top Gun” pilots, read the book and ultimately met real-life pilot Tom Hudner to secure the film rights prior to the decorated veteran’s death in 2017.

Then there’s film director J.D. Dillard, whose father was only the second African American pilot in the Navy’s Blue Angels squadron.

Dillard proved to be the ideal pick to helm the story of Hudner and Jesse Brown, the first black aviator in Naval history. Brown is played by actor Jonathan Majors, who will soon be seen in “Creed III” and multiple “Avengers” films as baddie Kang the Conqueror.

When Authenticity Is Costly

The author, who spent months with Hudner and Brown’s family members for research, said interacting with them left him in awe even more so than meeting Hollywood stars.

“If we’re to become better people as Americans, to grow as a country and culture, we have to remember our heroes,” said Makos. “A culture that forgets its heroes has no future.”

Such a rare ethos of honor permeates the film — including with another key player, aerial coordinator Kevin LaRosa Jr., known for deploying the CineJet system on “Top Gun: Maverick” for maximum in-flight realism. Here they took it a step further, restoring four authentic F4U Corsairs for their lead pilots to fly.

Makos, who has also authored three books on key World War II figures, was thrilled. “The moment I saw those planes coming into the hangar, I knew we were going to have something very serious, real, and visceral,” he said. “They could’ve done one or two planes and the others digitally, but they didn’t.”

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He also points out that the visuals look so good some will assume it’s all CGI. “That Corsair really is ripping down the river, with the prop tips at five feet above the waves. Sure, a little bit of CGI comes in from the scenery and the bullets being fired at him. But the scene is actually happening.”

Prelude to Heroism

The climax of the story is set in November 1950, at