... there's no apparent logic to any of this, except as a way to capitalize on the current vogue for imperialist fervor and steal the thunder from Paramount's "Top Gun,"...

"Iron Eagle’s" greatest resemblance to "Top Gun" is that it is also deeply silly. Had it dispensed with dull drama and repetitively disappointing action beats, it may not have been so culturally grounded by comparison 40 years later.

This couldn't even excite me as a kid. A bad film.

I always like to read through the other reviews and see what people are saying, at least the 1 star and 10 star reviews. The 1 Star reviews all say relatively the same thing. They all say that it's not realistic. This is a movie about an Air Force brat that manages to pilfer an F16 and flies off to the Middle East to rescue his father... and some people seem shocked that it's unrealistic. Just what exactly did they think they were sitting down to watch? Yeah, it's totally unrealistic, it kind of depicts the Air Force as your average business office... with jets. And the ease of which they can sneak in there and take as many classified documents as they want is part of the charm. It's totally unrealistic, but it's part of the charm. And then, of course there is the unrealistic battle, and, honestly, if it were realistic it wouldn't be as much fun. But to top it off you have Jason Gedrick playing his role VERY understated while still managing professional intensity. He's able to be both soft spoken and frightening and he really sells it, especially against Louis Gossett Jr. who is capable of pulling a trick or two himself when he wants to... when he wants to. It's over the top fun in the best possible 80s pro-America way.