Top Gun: Maverick continues to receive rave reviews from all quarters, with actor Anthony Edwards—who plays Maverick's friend Nick “Goose” Bradshaw in the 1986 movie—becoming the latest famous person to give his stamp approval, per ET. The movie truly is a treat, but what makes it so good?
One area in which the Paramount Pictures project truly impresses is in the aerial dogfight scenes. In the third act, Maverick and Rooster have a hard time battling Su-57 Felons belonging to enemy forces, but luckily they survive. For fans who wish to get similar doses of sky-high entertainment, Redditors have recommendations on the best aerial dogfight movies to watch.
Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970)
Stream On Pluto TV
Angry about a trade embargo imposed by the US, Japan conducts an aerial strike on the Pacific Fleet anchored at Pearl Harbor. Kubrick1138 says "the aerial combat footage [in Tora! Tora! Tora!] was really well shot," and that "seeing the planes dip and bank while chasing each other in widescreen was exciting."
Most military movies only provide limited aerial combat scenes, but Tora! Tora! Tora! serves these moments to the excess. Hundreds of period-appropriate planes hit the sky, resulting in quite the spectacle. Also, with little to no creative liberties taken, the movie not only triggers an adrenaline rush but also serves as a history lesson.
Memphis Belle (1990)
Stream On Amazon Prime Video
The crew of a B-17 Flying Fortress sets out to bomb a manufacturing plant in Germany in order to complete the tour of duty but things don't go as perfectly as planned. Redditor Crosshare calls the movie "fantastic and underrated."
The war drama awes fans because of its emotional moments, including when a Captain opts for a nose dive to extinguish the fire on one of the engines, and another where pilots scream in horror as their plane falls to the ground. Everything that could go wrong does indeed go wrong, leading to plenty of improvisation. After all the challenges and the success, the ending feels even more worthwhile.
Battle Of Britain (1969)
Stream On History Vault
The British RAF goes on a mission to prevent Operation Sea Lion (Hitler's planned raid of Britain). About the Guy Hamilton flick, Sparkski says it has "some really good air combat scenes considering the year it was made."
The movie takes a major step toward avoiding any form of failure by first including plenty of stars in its cast. Famed actors such as Laurence Olivier, Trevor Howard, Christopher Plummer, Robert Shaw, and Michael Caine all take up different roles. German actors are also used to make events feel more authentic. But above all, planes are deployed on a scale never seen before, resulting in an endless string of flying sequences.
Pearl Habor (2001)
Stream On Amazon Prime Video
Bricktopgr admits that "even though Pearl Harbor isn't a great movie, the dogfights over the English Channel were filmed really well," adding, "There was a good sense of speed and realistic motion overall." The movie tells a similar story to that of Tora! Tora! Tora!, but more from an American perspective.
Pearl Habor might not be a top pick for critics, but it's still considered one of Michael Bay's best movies for several reasons. Instead of just being a dark tale about war, a perfect romance storyline gets weaved into the events too. The "enemy shines first before the hero wins" trope is applied to good effect. with Japanese forces obliterating most of the airfields as well as capsizing the fleets.
Top Gun (1986)
Stream On Paramount+
About movies with great aerial combat scenes, The_Real_Pavalanche comments, "Top Gun goes without saying, obviously." In it, a Naval pilot tries to redeem himself after being partially responsible for the death of his friend.
Top Gun is one of the best airplane movies in general because it sacrifices plot for spectacle. There are no complex arcs or dialogue, just incredible cinematography involving fighter jets and the air tussles they find themselves in. Instead of serving the audience ready-made super pilots, the movie does well by taking them through the training journey first.
12 O'Clock High (1949)
Stream On Vudu
Members of the US Eighth Air Force are tasked with bombing Germany and Nazi-Occupied France. Redditor briancarknee notes that "they used actual combat footage from WWII so it's about as accurate of a depiction as you can get."
Focus is placed more on the weariness and the emotional drain that the pilots experience due to the demanding nature of missions but that doesn't kill any entertainment value. There are still multiple action-packed moments, and it's as accurate as movies get. According to Air Force Magazine, 12 O'Clock High is frequently used in USAF leadership courses.
Red Tails (2012)
Stream On Disney+
After being kept on the sidelines for too long, three skilled Black pilots are finally granted the opportunity to take part in the Tuskegee Training Program, and Agent MV thinks the "dogfight scenes were top-notch!"
Indeed, very few Hollywood dogfights match those seen during the Operation Shingle sequence where the Tuskegee Airmen take on a German ace pilot known as Pretty Boy. The aerial battles are clearly intense because the airmen are seeking to prove everyone wrong. As they do that, themes of racism, depression, and alcoholism are explored to add depth the action-heavy story.
The Dam Busters (1955)
Stream On Virgin TV Go
Other-Barry-1 explains that The Dam Busters is"old and obviously dated but they nailed how hard their objective was and how yet, they still achieved it." The plot revolves around Operation Chastise, in which the RAF's 617 Squadron attacks dams in Nazi Germany.
What The Dam Busters really thrives at is depicting something close to a pyrrhic victory. The British forces do win in the end but the cost of the victory is too great. The casualties are many, but this never breaks the RAF's resolve. While the planes are the true stars, Barnes Wallis's bouncing bomb steals the show.
Skycrawlers (2008)
Stream On Netflix
Vidzphile says "[Skycrawlers is] animated, but the aerial scenes are really well done." In it, a group of cloned teenagers participates in a war meant to profit a few individuals.
There's a good reason this Mamoru Oshii project is a popular aerial combat movie. Like many Japanese anime projects, there's a constant splash of color that makes the movie visually appealing and contrasts with the serious themes. Minutes barely go by without action sequences., and the abundance of missions is all due to the fact that corporations have heavily invested in pointless wars as a way to make money.
Wings (1927)
Stream On Hulu
In one of the movies that won Best Picture without any acting nominations, two men join the military towards the end of World War I, hoping to fly fighter planes. And they do, but not without paying the price. PainMatrix reminds everyone that the dogfights were so good that "Howard Hughes later mimicked [them] in Hell's Angels."
As the first-ever movie to win an Oscar for Best Picture, it's difficult to dispute Wings' impact on the genre. Apart from being a yardstick for future aviation military movies, what ultimately makes it a golden offering in the genre is the twist during the epic Battle of Saint-Mihiel. After being shot down by German forces, one of the men steals a German plane, only to be shot down again by the other, who mistakes him for a German pilot.