The Korean War wages on, and the Navy is tapped to stay on alert in the surrounding seas of the Korean Peninsula to help suppress enemy advancement and partake in some strategic air missions. One of those pilots was Jesse LeRoy Brown (Jonathan Majors), a decorated pilot who would go on to have the unfortunate legacy of being the first African American casualty of the Korean War after his plane went down in a remote part of the country. His wingman, Tom Hudner (Glen Powell) would mount a rescue mission, but it was ultimately unsuccessful. Brown’s legacy was not forgotten, least of all by his wife Daisy (Christina Jackson), and he was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his merits in the skies. 

From Sony Pictures comes Devotion, a family-friendly, context-considered, war drama directed by J.D. Dillard from a Jake Crane and Jonathan Stewart script based on Adam Makos’ novel of Brown’s life. Both helped and harmed by Tom Cruise‘s triumphant release of Top Gun: Maverick earlier in the year, Devotion is up against some unfair expectations, even before mentioning the shared cast member in Powell, and while it shows competency as a war movie, inspirational story, and an action film, at 139-minutes it should have been able to achieve a better balance with its three masters. Further, the sputtering third act feels even more bloated as it hands over narrative control from Jesse to Tom. 

The film opens and follows Majors’ Jesse, a skillful pilot who must fight doubly hard to prove his merit given the racism he has to contend with in addition to the standard stresses of being a navy pilot. It is unfortunate that the script takes so many shortcuts, and it is very apparent in how it handles Jesse in writing him as such an outlier in the squad; he does not have the same confidence as the other pilots, he is the only one with a shown family connection, he as an appreciation for the finer things in life, and yet it still almost paints him as a dangerous character as he flies by his own rules during a test flight. Majors does well in the clumsily written role, and the script is competent enough to know the proper avenues to unlock an emotional response in the audience so ultimately it works, but it feels lazy and transparent. The narrative strings are glaringly apparent as it prepares obvious setups for equally obvious emotional payoffs that even those without the backing knowledge of history can see coming from a mile away. Even actively trying to stay in-step with the narrative and not jumping ahead guessing what will happen next, it is way too clearly laid out that audiences will grow impatient as spends way too much time in the setup leaving little to be surprised about come time for the resolution.  

The second lead in the film is Powell’s Tom, who comes from the university setting to the field and the film is seemingly trying to draw a parallel between overcoming being seen as a pilot on paper that knows the books and being the only African American pilot on the squadron. Needless to say, this approach does not work well on the page and translates equally poorly to screen, but the duo of Tom and Jesse make enough chemistry by themselves without this loose connection. That is about where the praise for Tom starts and ends, however, as the character is otherwise very duly written and therefore dully performed. It is not all Powell’s fault as the script does not give him much to do in the film except stand up for Jesse when things get out of hand, but since the film does eventually become Tom’s story, it would have been nice to see more of their friendship blossoming in the early half instead of him always coming to Jesse’s defense. Thankfully, the script does not paint him as a blatant white savior, but through the arcs of the plot – admittedly based on historical events – Devotion teeters dangerously close to being a narrative valorizing Tom instead of a document celebrating Jesse. 

Tom’s role is the key to understanding the fundamental flaw within the script: it is formulaic and not at all exciting. Credit is due to cinematographer Erik Messerschmidt who injects some life into the film during Keith Woulard’s choreographed stunt work, but there just is not enough meat on the bones to make Devotion a fulfilling experience. In the later throws of the narrative when Jesse’s plane goes down, there is finally some excitement that is also driving the story forward as Jesse and Tom find themselves behind enemy lines, but before we get to that point, we need to endure a way-too-long first act establishing Jesse’s home life as well as a long digression following the squad galivanting around Cannes on a dock-day. It is these extended sequences that drive the action to a halt and further, add little narrative value to the overall film because they do not seize on this opportunity to show more nuance in the relationship between the men. 

Devotion also struggles under the limitations of its PG-13 rating, and while it may open itself up to a wider, family-oriented demographic, the run time is daunting enough to keep people away. It is not seeking to shock audiences with the horrors of war, but its family-friendly attitude towards conflict equates the tragedy to little more than being cold and muddy. The glossy veneer, coupled with the buddy-comedy aspects of the script really does a disservice to the narrative. It still has an air of importance and respect about it, but overall, the film feels hollow and without heart despite going through the proper motions. It is not offensive, and it would be a struggle to say that it was in poor taste even as the narrative changes hands, but it certainly does not feel like a fitting tribute to the war hero that it was meant to be.