‘Devotion’ Toronto Review: Jonathan Majors and Glen Powell Are The Original ‘Top Guns’ In Korean War Portrait Of The First Black Navy Pilot.

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Director  JD Dillard says he grew up hearing all about his own father’s  experiences as the second African American Blues Angels pilot, so naturally when Adam Makos’ book, Devotion came out he was instantly intrigued about adapting to the screen.

The book tells the story of the friendship and, yes, devotion (where the title comes from in part) of two elite US Navy fighter pilots who made a big difference in one of the Korean War’s most intense battles in the early 1950’s.

But the story has great significance as it really tells the extraordinary tale of Jesse Brown who became the first Black  aviator in Navy history, and together with his unique friendship and working relationship with Tom Hudner the pair became legend as authentic Navy wingmen heroes.Coming just a few months after the gigantic success of Top Gun Maverick, this Sony Pictures release which just had its World Premiere tonight at the Toronto International Film Festival, is an earnest and sometimes stirring aerial war epic that may not quite soar to those heights (what could?) but in keeping its focus on Brown, the racism he experienced, and other aspects of his life, personally and in the air, this is a story that marches to its own beat despite the inevitable comparisons people will make.

The success of the Tom Cruise film in fact may make a difference in getting audiences out to see this one as well.Jonathan Majors plays Brown and he is excellent in the role, showing the sacrifice he made for his family and country, the obstacles he faced, and the genuine camraderie he had with a mensch by the name of Tom Hudner who happens to be played by Glen Powell who as it turns out also had a significant role in Top Gun Maverick, furthering the link between the two