The Blue Angels (2024)

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The Blue Angels
Amazon movie poster
Directed byPaul Crowder
Release date
  • 17 May 2024 (2024-May-17) (location)[1]
Running time
94 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box officeUS$2,098,380 million

The Blue Angels is a 2024 documentary film about the Blue Angels pilots of the United States Navy. It was directed by Paul Crowder and released ahead of Memorial Day weekend; on May 17, 2024, at IMAX theaters and on May 23, 2024, on Amazon Prime Video. The film is G-rated and critics have said the movie is "squeaky-clean" and is an advertisement for the military.

Background[edit]

The idea for the film came from Rob Stone and former Blue Angel Greg “Boss” Woolridge.[2] Production began in March 2022, and the film was expected to be released in 2023.[3] The members of the 2022 Blue Angels demonstration team are featured in the movie and their team leader was Captain Brian Kesserling.[4] CAA Media financed the movie production.[5] It was produced by JJ Abrams and Glen Powell who flew with the Blue Angels while filming Top Gun: Maverick.[6][7] It documents the journey of becoming a Blue Angel; beginning with the way they are selected and trained, and culminating in the challenges of the Blue Angel show schedule. The film shows the skill of the pilots without staging or Computer-generated imagery.[6] The film was produced by Amazon Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) Studios and IMAX; it is G-rated and it is one hour and thirty-four minutes long.[8] The IMAX theater run began on May 17.[1]

History[edit]

Capt. Brian Kesselring salutes from the cockpit of his F/A-18 Super Hornet

Creating a film for IMAX theaters required larger cameras. It was a challenge for the film crew to find places to put cameras because they were too large to put inside airplane cockpits or on airplane wings. The filmmakers used a helicopter to fly a camera among the demonstration planes. A special camera which has a speed of 1,000 frames-per-second was also used during filming.[6] It took nine months to film the documentary and the film crew employed film techniques which were used in the production of the movie Top Gun: Maverick.[9]

It was released on May 17, 2024, at IMAX theaters for a one-week run, and on Amazon Prime Video from May 23, 2024.[1][10] It has been called "an intimate look at the men and women who make up the U.S. military’s most famous flight demonstration squadron".[11] The film shows the close bonds that develop among Blue Angel team members and their cooperative efforts to be precise in flight performances.[11] Director Paul Crowder said,

You watch them do what they do with the Blue Angels, to fly these 22-ton jets 12 inches apart at 400 miles an hour, to have the trust in each other within the entire team — the whole team. That's something we really wanted to get across to the audience.[11]

The film also introduces the first female fighter jet demonstration pilot to be accepted into the Blue Angels, Amanda Lee.[12][a] The crew then helps train Amanda Lee and the other pilots who were selected to perform as demonstration pilots in the next Blue Angel season.[14]

Reception[edit]

The film's opening weekend May 17, 2024, on 255 IMAX screens grossed US$1.3m.[15][16] It grossed $2,098,380 million during the week-long IMAX run.[17][15] Movie critic Matt Zoller Seitz described the film techniques as lots of low-angled heroic shots, slow motion power walking; filmed like a Hollywood Action film. He called it an advertisement for the Blue Angels, their planes, the military, and patriotism. He conceded that the filming and flying were "technically impressive".[12] Film critic Stephen Schaffer writing for the Boston Herald said, "The Blue Angels offers an apt celebration of this American military institution.[18] Sioux City Journal editor Bruce Miller said, "For the audience, it was a chance to view the show from a new vantage point".[4] Mark Meszoros of The News Herald said the film, "does not soar when it comes to human drama". He called the film squeaky-clean and said, "If there WERE any real drama behind the scenes, you wouldn’t know it from the film".[19]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ Note, the source introduces Lee as the first Blue Angels pilot, but she was the first demonstration pilot. The first female pilot to join the Blue Angels was Captain Katie Higgins Cook in 2015, flying a transport plane, the Lockheed C-130 Hercules known as Fat Albert.[13]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c Merolla, Jennamichelle (20 March 2024). "'Top Gun: Maverick'. star Glen Powell produced new doc about the Navy's elite pilots". TODAY.com. Archived from the original on 26 May 2024. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  2. ^ Bahr, Lindsey (17 May 2024). "'The Blue Angels,' filmed for IMAX, puts viewers in the 'box' with the elite flying squad". Associated Press. Archived from the original on 22 May 2024. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  3. ^ Evans, Greg (11 March 2022). "Imax And Bad Robot Begin Production On 'The Blue Angels' Documentary". Deadline. Archived from the original on 7 February 2023. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  4. ^ a b Miller, Bruce (23 May 2024). "'It was time' for a Blue Angels film like no other". Sioux City Journal. Archived from the original on 23 May 2024. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  5. ^ Rubin, Rebecca (1 May 2023). "J.J. Abrams and Glen Powell's Aviation Doc 'The Blue Angels' Lands at Amazon". Variety. Archived from the original on 17 May 2024. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  6. ^ a b c Joseph, Gina (22 May 2024). "New documentary gives viewers a birds eye view of the 'Blue Angels'". Macomb Daily. Archived from the original on 25 May 2024. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  7. ^ "'The Blue Angels' Documentary Amazon Prime Video Review: Stream It Or Skip It?". Archived from the original on 2024-05-25. Retrieved 2024-05-27.
  8. ^ "The Blue Angels". San Antonio Current. 16 May 2024. Archived from the original on 28 May 2024. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  9. ^ Leighton, Mara (15 May 2024). "7 behind-the-scenes secrets from the daredevil filming of 'The Blue Angels' documentary". Amazon. Archived from the original on 24 May 2024. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  10. ^ Gilchrist, Todd (2024-05-17). "'The Blue Angels' Review: Dazzling Imax Documentary Showcases Top Guns, but No Mavericks". Variety. Archived from the original on 2024-05-20. Retrieved 2024-05-27.
  11. ^ a b c Hays, Gabriel (21 May 2024). "'Blue Angels' doc shows how 'incredible' iconic aviation team, U.S. Navy are amid recruitment woes". Fox News. Archived from the original on 26 May 2024. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  12. ^ a b Seitz, Matt Zoller. "The Blue Angels movie review & film summary (2024) | Roger Ebert". Roger Ebert Reviews. Archived from the original on 24 May 2024. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  13. ^ Dvorak, Petula (June 21, 2015). "Breaking the gender (and sound) barrier – Capt. Katie Higgins is first female Blue Angels Pilot". The Modesto Bee. The Washington Post. p. D3. Archived from the original on May 26, 2023. Retrieved May 26, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ Johnson, Benjamin (17 May 2024). "Generations of pilots watch Blue Angels documentary premiere in Pensacola". Pensacola News Journal. Archived from the original on 17 May 2024. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  15. ^ a b Goldsmith, Jill (19 May 2024). "Imax Doc 'The Blue Angels' Soars, 'I Saw The TV Glow' Shows Broad Appeal, Nice Open For 'Babes' In Upbeat Indie Weekend – Specialty Box Office". Deadline. Archived from the original on 25 May 2024. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  16. ^ Bahr, Lindsey. "John Krasinski's 'IF' hits a box office nerve with $35 million debut". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  17. ^ "The Blue Angels (2024) - Financial Information". The Numbers. Nash Information Services, LLC. Archived from the original on 28 May 2024. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  18. ^ Schaefer, Stephen (14 May 2024). "'The Blue Angels' doc captures high-flying mission". Boston Herald. Archived from the original on 17 May 2024. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  19. ^ Meszoros, Mark (21 May 2024). "'The Blue Angels' review: Doc soars with aerial photography, not drama". News-Herald. Archived from the original on 23 May 2024. Retrieved 27 May 2024.

External links[edit]

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