The Blue Angels
In 1946, in order that Navy pilots not be forgotten, Admiral Nimitz created an elite flying squad to perform for the public, “The Blue Angels.”
Laura's Review: B-
Produced by “Top Gun: Maverick” star Glen Powell and directed (and co-edited) by Paul Crowder, this is a promotional movie about a group formed for U.S. Navy PR that works both as a rah-rah recruitment video and as a backstage look at just what goes into those breathtaking air shows.
The film focuses on the 2022 team of six pilots who will fly as one led by Commanding Officer and Flight Leader ‘Boss’ Captain Brian Kesselring, who speaks to his pilots in barely comprehensible rat-a-tat aviation lingo and to us in more measured tones from his living room couch. We will also spend a lot of time with first-year flier Chris “Cheese” Kapuschansky, who, as position 4 in the Angels’ infamous diamond pattern, explains how difficult his part is as he must continually look to the right while his controls are on his left.
Practice flights, which began pre-dawn and start off with simply turning in one direction as a unit, are analyzed on video frame-by-frame afterwards, every pilot receiving criticism as they aim for perfection. Physical training is a must in an endeavor which requires powering through incredible G-Forces or risk passing out, an experience recreated here visually. We witness their first full run-through at El Centro Air Base, where the men, in bright cobalt blue uniforms, march out in formation, each turning sharply to climb into the plane bearing his name. Then a date in March signals the first public air show and The Blue Angels will go on the road for 300 days with a support team of 144 personnel including everything from maintenance to crew teams to safety engineers to a narrator who interacts with audiences.
While one would expect a movie about death-defying precision flying filmed with IMAX cameras to be vertigo inducing, cameras mounted in cockpits mainly focus on those 12 to 18 inch gaps separating the planes’ wings, oddly giving the impression of being suspended in air rather than the 400 mph the planes are moving at. The first actual tactile sensation comes during an opposing roll, two planes flying directly at each other, then rolling as they pass. We experience most of these stunts, such as the fleur de lis, observing as if in the audience. An air show in Chicago provokes anxiety as we see these pilots performing stunts with downtown high rises as their backdrop.
We see the entire entourage bonding as one big family while they miss their families back home. Crowder builds to a climax as this team prepares to end its run as Kesselring picks his successor, an unusual privilege in the U.S. military. Newbie boss Alexander Armatas will lead the Angels’ first-ever female pilot, Amanda Lee. We’ll also witness both of them losing consciousness while training in a centrifuge. The dangers inherent in the highly coveted job are noted with a portrait of the twenty-eight pilots who’ve died since 1946, the most recent being Captain Jeff Kuss who died in 2016 practicing for an air show in Tennessee.
“The Blue Angels” is more of an all-encompassing look at what goes into these air show tours than it is wall-to-wall flying stunts on an IMAX screen, but Crowder’s done a good job giving the team individual platforms as they work to form a seamless unit.
Robin's Review: B
The US Navy’s Flight Demonstration Squadron has been wowing audiences with their expert flying skills since 1946. Director Paul Crowder imbedded himself and his crew in the thick of that elite team as they prepare for another season of precision flying as “The Blue Angels.”
I remember, when I was about six or seven, my dad took us to Hanscomb AFB for an US Air Force air show, which including the Thunderbirds, their precision flying team. I was in awe and probably, for a little while, wanted to becomcxe a jet fighter pilot. That was soon replaced by some other new passion, like becoming a magician.
I walked into “The Blue Angels” in an IMAX theater where I got all of the enhanced sight and sound. My first impression was that I was watching a finely done recruiting video for the Air Force aviation program. By using the Blue Angel precision flying team as the focal subject, they are showing potential new recruits the best of the best of the best in flying jets.
Paul Crowder follows the Blue Angels, their pilots, ground crews, flight surgeon and safety officer (same person), administrators, transport crews and more through their 2022 air show season. Besides all the talking head, mostly pilots but others too, there is the incredible aerial photography of the 60 some odd shows they perform in a season.
It is this spectacular combination of finely-honed flying skills and the photography that puts it on display. While it is not at the level of wall to wall excitement that was on display in the 2019 documentary, “Apollo 11,” there are visceral moments watching the Angels that rival that other doc.
The fun of watching this well-done homage to those brave, skilled pilots are those moments when you are in the cockpit, flying 400 miles an hour, inches away from three other jets all flying as a single machine. I had some sweaty-palm moments watching these guys (and now a femme Blue Angel, too) perform only inches away from each other.
The filmmakers do not skimp on introducing us to the pilots and their support team members. We learn about each of the formations they fly, the precision they must maintain and get to watch it all happen up close and personal. The seven-year old in me was thrilled!
Amazon releases “The Blue Angels” on IMAX screens for one week beginning on 5/17/24. It begins streaming on Prime on 5/24/24.
