Film Review: The Blue Angels

3.5 Stars

As a hyper-local film critic, I was delighted to see the AMC Cherry Blossom 14 parking lot packed over Memorial Day Weekend. I sincerely wish I could say it was because the movie-going public was dying to see the latest releases, but alas: it had just rained cats and dogs all day. This wet reality created a small town phenomenon called “seeing everyone, all at once, at the movies.” I loved it.

My personal excursion out to the theater was driven by a regional curiosity to a new documentary and the alluring promise of an accomplished editor-turned-director in Paul Crowder (Riding Giants, Dogtown, and Z-Boys). His latest project, The Blue Angels, was intriguing to me after experiencing the real roar of the famed Naval jet show here in Traverse City as part of the National Cherry Festival.

To call The Blue Angels a real-life version of Top Gun would be too simple, although that may be the easiest possible way to understand the 1-hour-33-minute film so squeaky clean it’s rated G for all audiences.

Filmed in cooperation with the Department of Defense and displaying jaw-dropping visuals captured in special IMAX cameras from the cockpits, The Blue Angels is a traditional observational documentary that follows the flight demonstration crew in training for one season in 2022 with unprecedented behind-the-scenes access.

We watch as they onboard rookies into the squad, the team leader known as The Boss retires, and the first female pilot in history joins them. By interweaving the daily training regimen with interstitial interviews from the crew themselves, director Crowder paints a portrait of the Angels crew as a unique team and family within the military. Their personal passion for the history and goals of the project is heartfelt and compelling.

It’s not until the film’s third act that we finally learn the origin story of the Angels, launched in 1946 primarily as a public relations stunt to remind citizens that the Navy (and not just the Air Force) flew planes. From there, it grew into a powerful and iconic recruitment tool, demonstrating the Navy’s “professionalism and teamwork” and evolving into the international symbol of elite daredevil flying.

The aerial cinematography puts you inside the formations of jets racing at 400 mph and sometimes just 18 inches away from each other. (Called the famous Diamond 360 stunt, it’s so dangerous that in some years, the crew can’t ever reach the synchronicity to perform it.)

It’s clear that each pilot chosen for the squad has reached a career pinnacle, and some of those featured in The Blue Angels were inspired to join the Navy after seeing the Angels air shows as kids. For each of the 140+ crew members that support and travel with the performances, there is obvious pride in the perfection of the work.

After experiencing the real life roar of the Angels “buzzing the tower” in our own downtown, I expected the cinematic version of the escapades to be somewhat of a letdown. I was pleasantly surprised to be just as fascinated, terrified, and awestruck as I have been in person. And while Traverse City didn’t make it into the film’s footage, fans of the Angels here will still love the film.

There are no dissenting voices and no negativity displayed in The Blue Angels, making it a clear salute to the pomp and circumstance of their own mystique and a bit of an inside job. On balance, it may have been more complex to discuss the project costs (over $40 million per year to run), or to question the booms and 118 decibel sonic blasts on cities and wildlife, the environmental impact of aircraft that burn over 4,000 gallons of fuel per hour, or the impact on local air spaces and transportation when the show comes to town.

But that wouldn’t be as much fun. Part of the allure is the enduring shock and awe of it all and the danger of humans pushing their human limits to the edge. The Blue Angels still have that going for them … at least until the robots start flying.

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