Top Gun: Maverick
 

Top Gun: Maverick

Yeah, it was a bit cheesy here and there, and it definitely played fast and loose with military tech, tactics, and the chain of command, but I found TG:M to be a tight, entertaining, feel-good action flick that did nostalgia right.


SPOILERS AHEAD!

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Interesting how the bad guy- never identified by name in the movie- was a mashup of Russia (the OPFOR 5th Gen fighters were clearing Su-57s), North Korea, and Iran (the F-14).

The Darkstar looked a lot like the F-19 stealth fighter mockup that Tom Clancy modeled the stealth fighter from Red Storm Rising on.

Some :rolleyes: moments:
GPS jamming rendering the F-35 useless
Flares fooling radar-guided SAMS
A naval aviator being surprised that an F-14 would take off with its wings extended
An F-18 Super Hornet carrying drop tanks and LGBs when launched to tackle enemy 5th Gen fighters
No redundancy measures for mission (i.e. why not a third pair of Hornets?)

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Top Gun: Maverick
 

Liked the show, good continuation of the franchise. Another Red, White and Blue wins the battle despite the odds being stacked against them.

****Spoilers Alert*****

- No AA guns or MANPADS present at objective, despite the issues with SAM along improbable approach route to HVT.
-No CAP accompanying carrier based Hawkeye.
-No jammer/wild weasel support or fighter cover on infiltration/exfiltration route.
-Pristine enemy F14 armed and sitting in the hardened aircraft shelter without any ground crew/guards milling about, despite being attacked by cruise missiles.
-No CAP over carrier group despite being the fact they are in harms way and just launched a major strike on another country, not once but twice...airfield and enrichment facility.
-No BVR engagement by either side.
-No Drop tanks released despite over maximum g being applied to aircraft on ingress or egress.

Svart Krabba
 

Throwing out one I watched a month or two back that was pretty fun - Black Crab (or Svart Krabba in original Swedish).

It's not without it's pitfalls, but overall the movie has a pretty strong military post-apocalypse feel to it that wouldn't be entirely out of place within a Twilight 2000 setting.

The Battle of Algiers
 

The Battle of Algiers-not quite war but OOTW? Very dark and very realistic-the anguish of the French Republic and ALN.

Danger Close: The Battle of Long Tan. A company of Aussie infantry and a couple of Kiwi forward observers (backed by nearby artillery batteries) vs a battalion of VC and a battalion of NVA. And Ragnar Lothbrok in khaki. I enjoyed it and it sticks close to the actual events.

Second on Danger Close. Nice to see a film that shows combined arms. Also nice to see a Vietnam war film that focuses on the non-US forces.

Another recommendation I’d throw out is The Great Raid. It’s about the Cabanatuan Raid in 1945- a joint US/Filipino operation to liberate US POWs held by the Japanese. Scaled down and relocated it would make a great scenario.

In the tangentially related, when the kids get ready to fight the monster in second part of season 4 of Stranger Things, one of them channels Jed Eckert from Red Dawn with the gray hoodie and camo bandana. If your going to war, go with style!

Oppenheimer
 

Although most folks probably wouldn't classify Oppenheimer as a war movie, it is definitely war-adjacent.

I worried that it was going to be ponderous, obtuse. Nolan's made some of my favorite films of the 2010s (Dark Knight, Inception, and Interstellar), but, due in part to sky-high expectations going in, I was very disappointed by his last few movies (Dark Knight Rises, Dunkirk, and Tenet). Not liking his only other historical war picture (Dunkirk), I went into Nolan's Oppenheimer feeling a little bit leery.

I'm pleased to report that I enjoyed it greatly. For a 3-hour long movie, it didn't drag at all. I did jump around a bit, but it wasn't difficult to follow. Despite knowing what was going to happen each step of the way, it was quite suspenseful. The acting was outstanding by the whole cast, and the cinematography/sound was awesome (I didn't even see it in IMAX). I recommend it highly.

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If you can find it, Gunner Palace from 2004-ish is pretty good. Atypically, it’s a documentary following the day to day routine of soldiers during later 03 and 04. Highly recommended to get a picture of the average day at war during the post-invasion days of OIF.