โDevotionโ Tells True Story of Remarkable Fighter Pilot Rescue from Forgotten War.
The story behind the best-selling book by Adam Makos, โDevotionโ, is nearly as remarkable as the story Makos tells in the book itself. And now on the heels of the successful release of โTop Gun: Maverickโ, Sony Pictures is hyping the upcoming release of a major studio production adapted from Adam Makosโ book, โDevotionโ.
But Makosโ story has a big hill to climb compared to the built-in appeal of the sequel momentum in โTop Gun: Maverickโ. The question is, will โDevotionโ pack theaters the way โMaverickโ did? The answer may be interesting.
โDevotionโ is the based-on-fact story of the dramatic rescue attempt of Ensign Jesse Leroy Brown, a U.S. Navy F4U Corsair pilot from (then) VF-32 flying from the aircraft carrier USS Leyte (CV-32) during the Korean conflict in 1950. After 20 successful combat missions over Korea, Ensign Brown was shot down on December 4, 1950. Although Brown did not survive the ordeal, his wingman, U.S. Navy Capt. Thomas Jerome Hudner Jr., crash-landed his own F4U corsair in an attempt to rescue Ensign Brown. Capt. Hudner was eventually award the Medal of Honor, the U.S. militaryโs highest award for valor, for his attempt to rescue Ensign Brown.
But like all great stories, there are two additional sub-plots to the story behind โDevotionโ.
Firstly, Ensign Jesse Leroy Brown was the very first African-American U.S. Navy aviator. He overcame poverty and entrenched barriers to become The U.S. Navyโs first black fighter pilot. The U.S. Navy was slow to adopt racial integration of fighter pilots and followed the U.S. Army Air Forces by a decade after they started the 332nd Fighter Wing, the โTuskegee Airmenโ in 1940. The film โDevotionโ showcases the obstacles presented to Ensign Brown by racism during the era.
Additionally, the story behind the story, or how author Adam Makos came to curate the heroic attempted rescue story of Ensign Jesse Leroy Brown and Capt. Thomas Jerome Hudner Jr., is also fascinating. Makos authored the 2017 book, โDevotion: An Epic Story of Heroism, Friendship, and Sacrificeโ. The book went on to become a significant hit, climbing to popular literary best seller lists and earning a remarkable 1,613 five-star ratings on Amazon.
Makos had built a minor literary schtick from interviewing veterans of WWII and Korea and telling their stories in his magazine, โValorโ prior to hitting it big with โDevotionโ. His 2012 book, โA Higher Callโ, showcased the remarkable story of WWII German fighter pilot Franz Stigler who intercepted a heavily damaged USAAF B-17 bomber over Europe and escorted the wounded crew to safety. The books, artwork their stories inspired, and now the upcoming release of the film โDevotionโ have propelled Makos into mainstream media for curating stories in the same way Hollywood icon Tom Hanks has done with stories like, โSaving Private Ryanโ and his more recent cinematic tour de force, โGreyhoundโ.
But the big question is, will movie audiences embrace the story and themes in โDevotionโ the same way they did with โTop Gunโ and โTop Gun: Maverickโ? The answer is, possibly.
Makosโ real-life plot contains several elements that Hollywood script writers have already taken inspiration from in several movies, including most recently, the scene in โTop Gun: Maverickโ where a similar incident with a pilot shoot-down and rescue (albeit quite fantastic in concept) takes place. But that isnโt the first. In the highly acclaimed 1954 film, โThe Bridges at Toko-Riโ, a similar fictitious pilot-to-pilot rescue scene originally conceived by author James Michener takes place.
Additionally, in an era when WWII and Korean War veterans are increasingly disappearing, the retelling of their stories is becoming precious and rare before they are obscured by the distortions of time and perspective that pervade revisionist narratives.
The first theatrical trailer for โDevotionโ debuted on YouTube the day after the general release of โTop Gun: Maverickโ in U.S. theaters. Sony Pictures has said that the film โDevotionโ is, โscheduled to be released in limited theaters on October 14, 2022, before expanding wide on Oct. 28, 2022โ.
