Iron Eagle (1986)

User Rating:

4.9/10   

Director:

Sidney J. Furie

Writers:

Kevin Elders (written by)
Sidney J. Furie (written by)

Release Date:

17 January 1986 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Thriller | War

Tagline:

Break the sound barrier. Break the speed barrier.

Plot:

When Doug's father, an Air Force Pilot, is shot down by MiGs belonging to a radical Middle Eastern state...

Plot Keywords:

Rescue | Radical | Colonel | Pilot | Fuel

US TV Schedule:

Wed. July 22

10:00 AM

AMC

Cast

Louis Gossett Jr.	...	Charles 'Chappy' Sinclair
Jason Gedrick	...	Doug Masters
Tim Thomerson	...	Col. Ted Masters
Larry B. Scott	...	Reggie
Caroline Lagerfelt	...	Elizabeth Masters
Jerry Levine	...	Tony
Robbie Rist	...	Milo
Michael Bowen	...	Knotcher
Robert Jayne	...	Matthew (as Bobby Jacoby)
Melora Hardin	...	Katie
David Greenlee	...	Kingsley
Michael Alldredge	...	Col. Blackburn
Tom Fridley	...	Brillo
Rob Garrison	...	Packer
Chino 'Fats' Williams	...	Slappy

Runtime:

117 min

Country:

USA | Canada

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Argentina:Atp | Peru:PT | Iceland:12 | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:PG-13 (certificate #28010) | West Germany:16 | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Arizona, USA

Company:

TriStar Pictures

Trivia:

During "The Snake Scene" in which Doug Masters races his Cessna 150 against a motorcycle-riding Knotcher, the pilot of the Cessna 150 Aerobat was actually renowned aerobatic pilot Art Scholl, who was killed later that year when his Pitts S-2 camera plane crashed while filming in-cockpit footage for the flat spin sequence in the movie Top Gun (1986).

Goofs:

Factual errors: The cockpit and controls of a real F-16 are nothing like they appear in this movie.

Quotes:

[trying to convince Chappy to help him]
Doug Masters: Jesus, Chappy, he's only got...
Chappy: Three days, and if you keep talking you're gonna waste one of 'em.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Family Guy: Movin' Out (Brian's Song) (#6.2)" (2007)

Soundtrack:

Maniac House

And you have to deal with me, Doug Masters

I'm sorry, but I just can't help it, I love watching Iron Eagle. Now, do not misunderstand me, I am not saying that this is a great movie. No, rather, I would put it that this is an endlessly entertaining movie. For people who cut this movie to pieces for not being realistic are kinda missing the point. Of course Iron Eagle's plot was ridiculous. But I believe its target audience was kids, and I sure remember finding this cool when I was little. Now I just find it amusing as a guilty pleasure, kinda like Road House. This movie is part of the great pantheon of 80's, kids-taking-on-the-stodgy-adult-power-structure movies. You must remember D.A.R.Y.L, Real Genius, E.T., etc. If you ask me, just watching Doug and Knotcher "Ride the Snake" in the beginning is worth the cost of the DVD. That whole sequence was so STUPID! But, at the same time, it was hilarious, funny, totally 80's, all that good stuff. So bottom line, Iron Eagle is a great 80's guilty pleasure. The hairstyles, the dancing, the music, the dialogue, its all funny as hell. I have Iron Eagle on DVD and to me it was totally worth $9.99 at Best Buy. If you love laughing at dated, unrealistic action movies, this one is a must-see. Oh yeah, and I think its plot was only marginally stupider than 1986's other fighter pilot action pic, Top Gun.