tgrills

Just a comment on the trivia bit: The Valkyrie supersonic bomber is a long fuselage with a delta wing at the root and canards at the cockpit area. The Valkyrie is 180 feet long; the Falcon is 49 feet. The Valkyrie has six engines, the Falcon has one. The Valkyrie does not resemble the Falcon in the slightest, not even the Dassault Falcon. I do believe that the trivia bit just may be a little off.

Now I have to come up with more lines of text so that it will make 10 lines -- go figure. Now I have to come up with more lines of text so that it will make 10 lines -- go figure. Now I have to come up with more lines of text so that it will make 10 lines -- go figure. Now I have to come up with more lines of text so that it will make 10 lines -- go figure.

This is a superlative movie and I'll try to put any spoilage at the end. There are multiple themes interwoven in the script. The first and most important theme is that of redemption and of course the second chance. Eddie Jones is the trainer who is an educator, and to some extent, a rescuer of damaged souls. One of the surprises is that he needs rescuing himself. While set in a framework of a traditional fight movie, it does have something extra. If you haven't yet had the privilege of seeing this flick, stop reading here. I would say any spoiler begins here: I don't generally go in for the gay experience in movies as it doesn't interest me as a dramatic theme or personally. Just a matter of personal taste. I don't give a damn about orientation except as it relates to fairness and decency to other people. It does here. There is a strong theme of love and trust here with the gay's place in a "manly" sport. It is this tension that provides so much drama and is so important to us all when we consider how we treat each other.

Jones' character has an almost Christlike ability to repair another's broken spirit and it is his hubris (for the purpose of the drama) that his orientation has interfered with both his career as boxer and trainer, as well as his own sense of worth. His self-sacrifice for his protégé elevates this drama and gives it much of its specialness.

The theme of love and self-worth are masterfully handled here. The secondary theme that love transcends orientation - that it should not matter - is illustrated well here. One's human obligations trump one's personal tastes somehow. I loved the trainer's sense of caring and him personally, and it is one of the triumphs of this flick that Tommy Riley does too, in his own hetero way. More importantly, trust, character, and humane values are validated here as well.

I was also intrigued by the art and techniques of using facial aspect to show different stages and struggles in character development. The ways the director and cinematographer use the visual effects of contrast in facial definition are notable. From the somewhat maniacal face of lust and personal struggle in the face of the trainer at one point, to the final difference we see in Tommy's face itself at the end: more mature, seasoned, and somehow stronger for the sense of love, loss, and yet redemption, seen in his visage. A most striking way of making one's point. I give this film both my thumbs up.

I've read some of the other comments on this film and mostly agree. The glitches are hilarious, especially the stock footage of the F100 floating on its engine power before crashing. Yes, there are artistic flaws here, and yes it's a love story more than simply a war story. However, we can glean a lot more from these older movies by looking at some of the behavior that is special to the time. For example, who knew that the Joe College lingo would call something George for good and Tom for bad. And "Koo Koo Daddyo!" That's early fifties and I was around 2 and 3 when the war was on and 8 when the movie was made. The philosophy of Saville saying he kills planes. You ask any fighter pilot and he will tell you that in the final analysis, that's what establishes air superiority. You get a real feel for the times when you apply observation and reflection (that's why I love the WWII movies). So...there's a lot more to these movies, even the flawed ones, than just the story. But I don't have to tell any of you that. You know.