Devotion

Starring: Jonathan Majors, Glen Powell, Christina Jackson, Thomas Sadoski, Darren Kagasoff, Joe Jonas, Spencer Neville, Nick Hargrove, Boone Platt, Dean Denton, Joseph Cross, Serinda Swan
Directed by: J.D. Dillard
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Action, Drama, War
2022

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Two fighter pilots (Jonathan Majors, Glen Powell) form a friendship as they fight during the Korean War.

Review:

Tim: I typically enjoy movies about fighter pilots. There's something automatically exciting about brave men and women flying at breakneck speeds, dogfighting enemy combatants, thousands of feet above the surface of the earth. 2022 has definitely been a fighter pilot film year, as Top Gun: Maverick broke all kinds of records, "saved" the theatrical experience, and as of this writing, was still my favorite film of the year. Interesting, Glen Powell starred in two similar movies- in addition to the aforementioned Top Gun sequel, he also stars in Devotion. This movie is quite different- a bit less of a high octane crowd pleaser, more focused on telling a true story of two friends during the Korean War. While it's far from a great movie, it's an entertaining, worthwhile movie that I enjoyed watching.

J.D. Dillard's film is good- it tells an interesting true story that most people have never heard of before. It also depicts the Korean War, an armed conflict that we've seen less of on the silver screen. It dives deep into themes of race, as black men (and women) faced horrible opposition and blatant racism in the 1950s- even if you were a talented fighter pilot fighting for your country. The only problem I had is that other movies have done all these things better. There's better Korean War movies, fighter pilot movies, movies tackling racism in the 1950s, movies about racism in the military, movies about male friendships that cross artificial race lines. This movie does all these things, but none of them are ever great. It's good, but the movie is missing anything extraordinary. It's good, but it's overly long (2 hours and 16 minutes? There's not even close to enough story to account for that runtime). There's nothing especially memorable about the story. The best "based on a true story" films almost feel like fiction- you can't believe this actually happened. Everything in this film feels very much like it could happen. It's stable and consistent from start to finish, but nothing that really makes you sit up and take notice. As I've been saying, it's always good but never more than that.

The cast has some real strengths, however. I'm a huge fan of Jonathan Majors and I've been waiting for his inevitable rise to the top. His performance here will mostly go unnoticed by average movie watchers, but it's yet another solid, impressive turn. Majors is one of the most gifted actors of this generation and what he does here is just further proof of his immense talent. He delivers a performance that feels complicated and complex. He's a hero, but he's suffered incredibly throughout his life- like so many black men of this era. This all feels so vivid and you feel his humanity in his every scene. It's such a good performance. He has a terrific partner in Glen Powell. I've been so impressed with Powell in recent years. He may not be quite as gifted as Majors, but he can absolutely have a long career in Hollywood. His performance here is less arrogant than the one in Top Gun: Maverick and he shows he can be more nuanced in his work. Powell makes us care about his character, makes us lean in to understand him better. I thought Powell and Majors worked exceptionally well together. Getting to see these two rising stars interact is definitely the highlight of the movie.

The supporting cast doesn't have big names, but there's some solid performances. I've only seen Thomas Sadoski a few times before, but I was not prepared for how excellent he was here. He gets minimal screen time, but he fully uses every second he gets. His performance transcends the role and emerges as one of the most memorable of the film. Whenever he was on screen, my eyes tended to gravitate to him, to see what he would do. Sadoksi is definitely a major plus here. Daren Kagasoff may not have a huge career, but he gives a strong performance here. I wasn't convinced by anything Joe Jonas did, but I appreciate him taking this smaller supporting role to try and build his career. He's okay. I thought Serinda Swan was excellent as Elizabeth Taylor. Her character's inclusion feels a bit farfetched, but she absolutely convinces us with her memorable performance. Christina Jackson gives a nice supporting turn, too.

Devotion is a good movie. It doesn't have a huge budget, but it tells an interesting story that's worth telling. It lets us learn more about the Korean War and asks us to reflect on the systemic racism prevalent in the 1950s and how it impacted brave men and women. It might not be the most memorable film and it's definitely too long. However, it's worth our time.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Top Gun: Maverick, Pork Chop Hill, Dunkirk