Film Review - Devotion (2023)

 Devotion is a new Netflix film and takes place in 1950 just as the Korean War is starting and concerns 2 naval pilots, Tom Hudner (Glen Powell) and Jesse Brown (Jonathan Majors) the first African American to serve as a Naval Aviator but with the War heating up these 2 and their naval pilots will have to work hard to help the effort and come back home alive.

 

Devotion is quite good and when I was watching it I was reminded a lot of the 1990 film Memphis Belle which starred Harry Connick Jr, Sean Astin, Matthew Modine and Billy Zane among others and like that film this was very much a drama film first and a war film second but both films balance both of those elements very well and this one though it is 140 minutes long never dragged or lost its pace for me.

 

The first reason for this is the cast, Powell is good here even if at times it feels like he’s doing a different version of his Hangman character from Top Gun Maverick but Jonathan Majors is excellent here and though at times he does his soft talking he really delivers a great performance here and it is easy to see why he is headed for great things in the years ahead.

 

The second reason is also the use of the early 50’s history, this is long before the Civil Rights movement of the 60s and only 5 years after the end of the Second World War but you find yourself getting really interested in the time period and what’s going on, the fears of a third world war loom over some of the films events and the sight for some of a man of colour as a Naval Aviator is both one that some don’t like while others see as inspiring even though Jesse himself in one scene of the film just sees himself as another Aviator regardless of his skin colour.

 

Also there is some war action here but not an awful lot but when it is there it is good to watch and blends in well with the drama elements of the film.

 

And so that was Devotion and not an awful lot to say about this one, I liked the history, the story and the actors even though it doesn’t quite hit the heights of Dunkirk or 1917, 3 out of 5.