Aces: Iron Eagle III

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For the video game known as Aces: Iron Eagle III in Japan, see Ultimate Air Combat.

Aces: Iron Eagle III
Theatrical release poster
Directed byJohn Glen
Written byKevin Alyn Elders
Based onCharacters
by Kevin Alyn Elders and Sidney J. Furie
Produced byRon Samuels
Starring
CinematographyAlec Mills
Edited byBernard Gribble
Music byHarry Manfredini
Production
companies
Distributed by
Release dates
  • January 9, 1992 (1992-01-09) (Germany)
  • June 12, 1992 (1992-06-12) (US & Canada)[1]
Running time
98 minutes[1]
CountriesCanada
United States[2]
LanguageEnglish
Budget$13.5 million[1]
Box office$2.5 million[3]

Aces: Iron Eagle III is a 1992 American-Canadian action film directed by John Glen, produced by Ron Samuels, and written by Kevin Alyn Elders. A sequel to the 1988 film Iron Eagle II, it is the third installment of the Iron Eagle film series, the first and only entry in the series to be given an R rating and the only entry in the series to not be directed by Sidney J. Furie. Louis Gossett Jr. reprises his role as Brigadier General Charles "Chappy" Sinclair, the only returning cast member from the previous films, starring with Rachel McLish (in her acting debut), Paul Freeman, Sonny Chiba, Horst Buchholz, Christopher Cazenove, Mitchell Ryan, and J. E. Freeman. Retired boxing champion Ray "Boom Boom" Mancini appears in a cameo role.

The film was panned by critics and grossed $2.5 million[4] off a reported $13.5 million budget.[1] It was followed by a sequel in 1995, Iron Eagle on the Attack, released direct-to-video.

Plot

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Upon hearing that an old friend named Ramon Morales was killed in a crash in the Gulf of Mexico, U.S. Air Force Brigadier General Charles 'Chappy' Sinclair is summoned to Lethridge Air Force Base in Brownsville, Texas, where the remains of Ramon's plane are being examined. Chappy mentions that among Ramon's surviving family members are his sister Anna and his father, the mayor of a small Peruvian village. It is discovered that Ramon was shot down while carrying several kilograms of cocaine, which places this case under DEA jurisdiction.

Meanwhile, in Izquitos Village in Peru, former Nazi captain Gustav Kleiss runs a drug cartel while holding Anna hostage. He is being aided by USAF General Simms in delivering the drugs overseas. As the cartel begins to smuggle their contraband in barrels disguised as U.S. Air Force property, Anna breaks free and sneaks into the cartel's cargo plane, telling her father she will return with help. After the plane lands in Lethridge, she meets up with Chappy, who informs her that Ramon was killed. Chappy goes to DEA Agent Warren Crawford, who offers to help him if Anna can pinpoint the cartel's location.

Following Ramon's funeral, Chappy and his friends decide to fly to Peru. Chappy convinces air show promoter Stockman to loan him four World War II planes, which are retrofitted with laser-guided missiles.

Chappy destroys the cocaine factory. Simms takes off with a shipment in his cargo aircraft, but he is stopped by DEA helicopters led by Warren. Kleiss arrives at the scene with a prototype Messerschmitt 263. Chappy outsmarts Kleiss with an inverted roll aided by booster rockets before destroying the prototype jet. Kleiss ejects from his jet and lands in the jungle, where he attempts to bribe Anna, only to be impaled by a spring-loaded Punji stick trap. Back in Texas, Chappy, Anna and the surviving aces celebrate with a barbecue.

Cast

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Production

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The aerial filming involved real aircraft mixed with replica aircraft. Replicas included a North American T-6 Texan once used for the film Tora! Tora! Tora! and modified to resemble a Mitsubishi A6M Zero, and four Soko G-2 Galeb aircraft painted to resemble "Peruvian Air Force" fighters. The prototype Scaled Composites ARES was used to resemble the semi-fictional Messerschmitt Me 263.[N 1]

An authentic North American P-51 Mustang was painted to resemble a Messerschmitt Bf 109.[6] A P-38, at the time named, 'Joltin Josie,' and owned by Planes of Fame in Chino, California, was used as the lead fighter.[7] Many aerial scenes were filmed around southern Arizona, including Tucson, Marana, Nogales, and Sahuarita. Patagonia Lake and the Patagonia and Santa Rita Mountains can be seen in the aerial dogfights.[8]

This film was originally owned by New Line Cinema (which was later merged with Warner Bros. on February 28, 2008). However, when Alexander Bafer renamed his production company Carolco Pictures, formerly known as Brick Top Productions on January 20, 2015 and Alexander Bafer had left the company on April 7, 2016, this was sold to StudioCanal.

Reception

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Critically, Aces: Iron Eagle III fared worse than its predecessors, with a Rotten Tomatoes score of 14% based on reviews from 7 critics.[9]

In his review, Richard Harrington of The Washington Post called the film "an uncalled-for continuation of the Iron Eagle series" and mentioned that it is "chock-full of racial and ethnic stereotypes, none of them particularly objectionable, but all of them faintly ridiculous."[10]

James Berardinelli gave the film half a star out of 4, saying the plot "is at about a kindergarten level of intelligence, proving once again that low-budget action flicks shouldn't try to develop a storyline -- it only becomes a liability."[11]

Elizabeth Aird of The Vancouver Sun gave it one star and described it as "a hilarious cardboard concoction of clichés." She did praise the aerial sequences.[12]

Patrick Davitt of The Regina Sun gave it a half star and said it had "terrible writing and hokey stunt, a real turkey."[13]

John Law in his review published in the Niagara Falls Review gave is one star and a half. He said the film was really dumb and "nothing in Iron Eagle III even comes off as competent. It’s like a haywire high school student production that Lou Gossett Jr. just happens to appear in."[14]

Sequel

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Main article: Iron Eagle on the Attack

A sequel titled Iron Eagle on the Attack, was released in 1995.

References

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Notes

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  1. ^ The Messerschmitt Me 263 was designed and tested but never flew on its own power.[5]

Citations

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h "AFI|Catalog". catalog.afi.com. Retrieved 2019-10-30.
  2. ^ "Information: 'Aces: Iron Eagle III'." British Film Institute. Retrieved: May 21, 2019.
  3. ^ Aces: Iron Eagle III at Box Office Mojo
  4. ^ Orriss 2018, p. 180.
  5. ^ Christopher 2013, p. 142.
  6. ^ Cox, Jack. "A new Hollywood aviation thriller features flying by EAA members."Sport Aviation, September 1991.
  7. ^ Beck 2019, p. 10.
  8. ^ "Original print information: 'Aces: Iron Eagle III'." TCM. Retrieved: May 21, 2019.
  9. ^ Aces: Iron Eagle III at Rotten Tomatoes
  10. ^ Harrington, Richard. "'Iron Eagle III'." The Washington Post, June 15, 1992. Retrieved: May 21, 2019.
  11. ^ Berardinelli, James. "Review: 'Iron Eagle III'." 'ReelViews, June 12, 1992. Retrieved: May 21, 2019.
  12. ^ Aird, Elizabeth (June 13, 1992). "Our brave heroes fly to wild, blue yonder in search of distressed damsels and cliches". The Vancouver Sun. pp. E10.
  13. ^ Davitt, Patrick (June 21, 1992). "Movies". The Regina Sun. p. 33.
  14. ^ Law, John (June 20, 1992). "No flight left in incompetent 'Iron Eagle III' Trilogy like the idiot half-brother of 'Top Gun'". Niagara Falls Review. pp. B8.

Bibliography

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  • Beck, Simon D. The Aircraft-Spotter's Film and Television Companion. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, 2016. ISBN 9-781476-663494.
  • Christopher, John. The Race for Hitler's X-Planes. The Mill, Gloucestershire: History Press, 2013. ISBN 978-0-7524-6457-2.
  • Orriss, Bruce. When Hollywood Ruled the Skies: The Post World War II Years. Hawthorne, California: Aero Associates Inc., 2018. ISBN 978-0-692-03465-1.
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